Praying Dependently!

In Matthew 6:11, our Lord teaches us to pray, Give us this day our daily bread. It is interesting that at no time does He indicate that we should pray for our monthly needs, annual budget, retirement to be vested; but for our daily ones. Many people are finding that there is more month at the end of their pay check during these times of recession. Throughout biblical history, there is an emphasis upon daily dependence upon the Lord for our provisions. The children of Israel tried to store the manna provided for them for multiple days only to find that it spoiled. It was as if its built-in obsolescence was for 24 hours only. This required the followers in the wilderness to trust that the Provider would not forget them tomorrow. This fact prompted the words, His mercies are new every morning! No need to eat leftover mercies when His are new every morning. However, that requires us to trust Him! By the way, my wife refuses to ask the blessing over leftovers. She says they have already been blessed.
It is also interesting that He never suggests that we pray for our daily steak and potatoes. But we are taught to pray for our needs to be met, not our luxuries and wants to be satisfied. My dear bride and I will soon celebrate forty-one years of marital bliss. But when we first married, there were some rocky times. She is the baby and I am the oldest. We had many discussions about what is a necessity and what is a luxury. For instance, if you have seen a recent picture of me, you would know that I consider all hair brushes to be a luxury that I can see no need for.
Philippians 4:19 reads, And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Pray dependently!

Praying Submissively!

There is a beautiful couplet in the Model Prayer in Matthew 6:10 that reads, Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. This is a statement of fact, Thy kingdom come, followed by a statement of amplification or description as to what that statement might look like, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. The Scripture teaches that the kingdom of God is not territorial. In other words, you cannot say it is here or there, but it is in you. In short, the kingdom of God is in your life when you let Him be the King of your life. When He is King in your life, you will do His will. Surely if there is any place where the will of God is done, it is in heaven. This verse says that His kingdom becomes reality in us when we obey Him as is true in heaven.
Mr. Hughes, a fine deacon who served in the FBC, Central, (near Baton Rouge, LA) once told me that so often in his life when he reached the end of his rope, he just tied a knot in the rope and kept hanging on. He went on to say that he really only lived in obedience when he turned lose of the rope and fell into the loving arms of our Lord. You cannot submit to His will as long as you are still nursing your own will. Except a person die, he cannot live again!
When we pray, we do not seek to have Him submit to our will, but we submit to His! Pray submissively!

Praying Reverently!

While the first element of the Model Prayer from Matthew 6:9-13, "Our Father who is in heaven..." teaches us to pray confidently. This familiarity does not need to be to the exclusion of reverence. The same Jesus who said "Abba, Father" (which is translated, Daddy) also taught us to pray, "Hallowed be Your Name" . No matter how intimate our relationship with Christ, we need never forget that He is not like us. He is not just at the top of the list of humans, He is on a totally separate list. "His name is above every other name." Philippians 2:9 It seems that we either reverence other things than His Name in this country or we don't reverence anything at all. We are to come boldly before His throne of grace, but never to take this access to the Almighty for granted in any way. It is a unique privilege to approach the King of Kings in such a way. This is why I could never refer to Jesus Christ our Lord as the "Man Upstairs". Let us pray with confidence and reverence!

Praying Confidently!

Looking at the Model Prayer from Matthew 6:9-13 gives us insight into seven elements that should be prominent in our prayer life. Notice that I do not refer to this prayer as the Lord's Prayer. The Lord's Prayer is recorded in John 17. However this passage is an answer to the question as to how we should pray. Therefore, this is the Model Prayer. The first element of prayer is confidence. In 1975, I became pastor of the Jerusalem Baptist Chruch in Pumpkin (most often pronounced "punkin") Center, Louisiana. Our daughter, Cheri, was two years old at the time. She often accompanied me as we visited the homes of the families in the community. Her usual spot was standing on the front seat of my pick-up truck immediately behind my right shoulder. (Please note that this was long before child restraint seats or seat belt laws) She had so much confidence in her Dad until I could have told her that the cows in the pasture were snakes and she would have believed it. Or that the horses were dragons. Or.... Well, you get the idea. I believe that may be something of what our Lord had in mind when He said, Except you become as a little child, you cannot enter the kingdom... Do you have that kind of confidence in your Lord when you pray? Simon said they had toiled all night and caught nothing, but nevertheless at your word...Luke 5:5 Do you take Him at his word?