Well, today is Tuesday, so that means something Bible-study related. I still haven't quite decided what to do next; I'd ask for opinions but so far that kind of question has been rather pointless so I'll just keep praying and considering...maybe by next week I'll have some sort of direction.
Meantime, I did have one more short lesson from my CWJC teachings hanging around in my computer, so I thought I'd pull it up and share it. It's a lesson on following Jesus' prayer pattern, and if it seems a bit abrupt, it's because it's basically just the notes that I used to teach from, unembllished. Anyway, here 'tis:
Jesus’ Teaching on Prayer
Matthew 6:9-13, NIV
‘This, then, is how you should pray’ (contrasted with people who pray on street corners, babbling on and on with lots of words to make a show – see verses 5-8). There is a parallel passage in Luke 11: 1-4, in which Jesus responds to his disciples’ request to teach them to pray with almost the same language. This is not a different approach to the story; it is an entirely different time and place in which Jesus teaches the same thing.
Our Father in heaven – First and foremost is the relationship with God the Father; that is the prerequisite to receiving anything from God
Hallowed be your Name – Adopt an attitude of worship; put yourself in awe of God
Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven – Deliberately place yourself in submission to God, surrender your will to His. Recognize that, if God’s will is to be done on earth, then we must each individually do that will.
After we have, in prayer, by prayer, and because of prayer, done those three things, then we are to present our requests for God – and these could be requests either for ourselves (supplication) or for others (intercession), since the plural ‘us’ is used. These requests are for:
Sustenance – that our needs be met – Give us today our daily bread
Forgiveness (note that this indicates we must forgive others) –Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors (Debt: something that is owed)
Guidance – Lead us not into temptation
Deliverance – Deliver us from the evil one
Some translations (marginal notes in the NIV) add praise to the prayer – For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. While this does not appear in the oldest manuscripts, it is a paraphrase of a prayer of David’s in 1 Chronicles 29:10-13. God is certainly worthy of our praise.
What we call ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ is actually a model prayer for us; a form on which to construct our individual communion with God. It implies, not just talking to God, but also receiving from Him; listening to Him (for guidance, for example).
Several months ago, my pastor taught about this subject, using The Lord's Prayer. Ever since, I have used this example when I pray. I won't say that praying has gotten easier but it has proven to be more effective and I can get into the spirit of prayer easier than before.
ReplyDeleteI don't think any of us realize how hard the Enemy fights to keep us from praying...it is never really easy to do it. But there's a reason for that; he fights it because it is so effective. Even lame, unanointed feeling prayers have power we don't realize. And that is a great encouragement to me.
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