Give us this day our daily bread… When I come to this portion of the prayer, I think of Exodus and God raining down bread upon the Israelites. The Israelites had been complaining that they had nothing to eat so God said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain […] Read more
Your kingdom come,Your will be done,On earth as it is in heaven. Jesus tells us that we should pray that God’s kingdom on earth would look like God’s kingdom in heaven. He tells us to pray that God’s will should be done on earth in the same way that God’s […] Read more
Your will be done… One of the most asked questions I heard when I taught Bible classes was how we know the will of God. Somewhere along the line, the students had been told, or they had reasoned, that the will of God had primarily to do with the path […] Read more
Your kingdom come… The British Empire, The Roman Empire, The Spanish Empire, The Russian Empire, The Caliphates, Chinese Dynasties, Mongols, Aztecs, Greeks, Macedonians, Egyptians, Mayans, Babylonians, Huns, Assyrians, Napoleon, Genghis Khan, Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Michael Jackson. These all have at least two things in common; first, they ruled or […] Read more
Hallowed be Your Name… I had a discussion the other day about the “unforgivable sin.” One person said it really wasn’t scriptural; God forgives everything. Another person told how their church said certain sexual sins were unforgivable; premarital sex, homosexuality, bestiality, and the like. But most said they weren’t sure […] Read more
Our Father in Heaven… Jesus told us to pray to Our Father in Heaven, not our earthly father. This important distinction needs to be addressed because many have had horrible-no-good-very-bad-fathers; and they are the only sort of father we can imagine. But even those who have had good fathers still […] Read more
Our Father… Luke’s genealogy of Jesus begins by saying Jesus was thought to be the son of Joseph and concludes by saying he was the son of God. The first record we have of Jesus’ speaking is in his twelfth year when he replies to Joseph and Mary who were […] Read more
Now that Jesus has gotten some qualifications out of the way—not to pray like the hypocrites; not to pray like the Gentiles—he finally begins to tell his disciples how to pray. He finally gives to us…wait for it…ta-dum…THE LORD’S PRAYER! I’m sure some of you think I am being a […] Read more
And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Jesus’ first words in Matthew 6 about prayer […] Read more
…and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” Jesus was asked to heal the blind, the deaf, the mute; he was asked to raise the lame and the dead. He was asked about the prophets and the […] Read more