The Model Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 ends with, For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. It ends with a hallelujah chorus, if you please. Never pray utilitarian prayers without acknowledging to whom we are praying. There is a difference between thanksgiving and praise. Thanksgiving is expressions of appreciation for what is done for us. Praise is the expression of adoration of the person without regard, if you please, for what they have done for us. It is the recognition that it all begins with "who" we are before the "what" we do. Praise is about the "being" and thanksgiving is about the "doing". Praise Him for who He is!
Holy! Holy! Holy!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Pray Avoiding Temptation!
While it is true that it is no sin to be tempted, it is a dangerous thing to get comfortable with being tempted. Chuck Swindoll says that we are prone to want to fly close to flame, hoping not to get burned. However, I have learned that there is an intersection where temptation and opportunity meet and when they do, there is an occasion for sin. I recommend that you avoid that intersection all together. Weight has always been an issue in my life. If there is ice cream in the fridge, I will eat it.(Opportunity+Temptation often=Sin) But if I do not bring it home from the grocery, then I will avoid it. Matthew 6:13a says, And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Satan tempts you so you may stumble. The Lord tests you so you may succeed at developing your character. Lord, help us not to fly so close to the flames that our hair is singed by the fire.
Chuck Lawless teaches that sin (temptation) looks so inviting while we are being wooed by it. However, when we step across the line to act upon the temptation, we are then trapped by the Evil One (Satan). One drink or one use of whatever the drug of choice it might be will not hurt is the lie. But then you are addicted and cannot get free. We even call it the "monkey on our backs". So we are taught to pray for deliverance from the Evil One.
I John 1:9 says, If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I think we get this, that God will forgive us after we have sinned against Him. However, Matthew 6:13a is the preventive measure. If we prayed this one, we'd have to pray I John 1:9 much less often.
Pray Avoiding Temptation!
Chuck Lawless teaches that sin (temptation) looks so inviting while we are being wooed by it. However, when we step across the line to act upon the temptation, we are then trapped by the Evil One (Satan). One drink or one use of whatever the drug of choice it might be will not hurt is the lie. But then you are addicted and cannot get free. We even call it the "monkey on our backs". So we are taught to pray for deliverance from the Evil One.
I John 1:9 says, If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I think we get this, that God will forgive us after we have sinned against Him. However, Matthew 6:13a is the preventive measure. If we prayed this one, we'd have to pray I John 1:9 much less often.
Pray Avoiding Temptation!
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Pray With Forgiveness!
Did you know that it is possible to pray the Model Prayer and be asking the Lord to refrain from forgiving you of your sins? Notice Matthew 6:12, And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. In other words, forgive me in the same manner in which I forgive others. It is easy to see that if you are unwilling to forgive those who have wronged you and you repeat this prayer, then you are asking the Lord not to forgive you. You may take out the as in verse 12 and insert an equal sign (=) in its place. So you are actually praying forgive me equal to the way I forgive others. The same door you open to give out forgiveness is the one through which the Lord will come to deliver your own forgiveness, so if you don't open it, He will refrain from forgiving you. That prayer can be scary. Do you harbor ill feelings toward anyone in your heart? The book of Hebrews calls this a root of bitterness. I once read that anger and bitterness held toward someone else is like an acid, it is worse on the container than the one on which it is poured. I know that, in my life, I have learned that I can only find room in my life for one enemy and that is Satan himself.
You may want to suggest that perhaps no one has ever hurt me like they have harmed you. And if I had experienced what you had been through, then I would not be able to handle it even as well as you have. He was dying on the cross for our sins and said, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. Surely you and I have faced nothing that can even be compared with the torture of crucifixion, the bearing of our sins, and yet He was able to forgive us.
Every word in the Bible is inerrant and inspired and is there by the Spirit's design. Of all the elements in the Model Prayer, only this one is repeated in the following verses after the prayer. When the Lord sees fit to repeat something, I think it means we need to give it some special attention.
Pray with forgiveness!
You may want to suggest that perhaps no one has ever hurt me like they have harmed you. And if I had experienced what you had been through, then I would not be able to handle it even as well as you have. He was dying on the cross for our sins and said, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. Surely you and I have faced nothing that can even be compared with the torture of crucifixion, the bearing of our sins, and yet He was able to forgive us.
Every word in the Bible is inerrant and inspired and is there by the Spirit's design. Of all the elements in the Model Prayer, only this one is repeated in the following verses after the prayer. When the Lord sees fit to repeat something, I think it means we need to give it some special attention.
Pray with forgiveness!
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