Developing Intimacy With God - 11. Jesus’ Teaching About Prayer Part 1

Developing Intimacy With God

11. Jesus’ Teaching About Prayer (Part 1)

“9 ‘This, then, is how you should pray:
‘“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.”
Amen.” (Matthew 6:9-13)

This is, quite possibly, the prayer that is most frequently used, and repeated, by those professing to be Christians, as well as those who are not. It is often called the “Lord’s Prayer”. This is not, however, because Jesus would have prayed it. As He was without sin, He would have had no need to have asked God for forgiveness of sin. It is the Lord’s Prayer, because it was given by Jesus, to serve as a model for His Disciples to know what prayer is to be like, hence Jesus saying, “How You should pray” (Matthew 6:9). Let’s look at it together now, albeit briefly, over the next 2 studies.

Father: Calling God, “Father”, implies that God is in a personal relationship with me, as a Christian Disciple. I am to think of God as a loving and generous Father. God is not impersonal, but wants to be approached intimately as a child approaches its daddy. By saying “our Father”, the individual Christian disciple, I should realize that I am not alone, but rather, I am part of a wider church family.

Holy: When we call God, ‘holy’, it is symbolic of what is to be our intimate adoration of Him. When I call out and say that God is ‘holy’, it affirms that I am to place Him and His purposes at the very top of my list. That is, God is to be number one priority in all aspects of my life and this world. His glory, His kingdom and His will are to be my supreme concern high above my own needs. WOW!

Kingdom: God is a King and He rules! Jesus has inaugurated the Kingdom of God. He is its King. The Kingdom is not yet complete so I, as a Christian Disciple, as somebody who claims to follow Jesus, must pray that His Kingdom will become more and more complete. This is where I pray that the Gospel will spread far and wide, and that God’s Kingdom will continue to grow until Jesus Christ returns in glory, to rule with majesty and honour.

Will: As God is holy and a king, His Will is already being done in heaven. I am to pray that life here on earth will approximate to life in heaven as the Kingdom grows! As a Christian Disciple, I am to be wanting to place God as number one priority in all facets of life and to see God’s kingdom spread, and that I will also pray that God’s Will be top priority as well! These are, I think, the three priorities for a Christian Disciple, such as I am.

• That God will be number one
• That His Kingdom will spread
• That His will be done on earth

Give Us: This signifies that I, as a Christian Disciple need to rely on and trust in God for all things that are necessary for life to continue. So often, particularly in the Western world, we rely on our own finance and goods, to supply our needs and therefore seemingly forget that God has provided for our needs that way. As a Christian Disciple, I am to be thankful for all the good gifts that God my Father has supplied to me. Often, without my needing to ask Him! That is certainly my own experience in the 35 years that I have been a follower of Jesus. Could it also be said, that this is also your experience of God supplying your needs? 

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