Matthew 6:9-13

This, then, is how you should pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” Matt 6:9-13,

This is an incredible model for prayer. Jesus spoke this to His disciples because they wanted what Jesus had; power. After watching his life they seemed to be able to perceive that prayer was Jesus’ power source. We often try to reduce the Lord’s Prayer into a system to manipulate the hand of God to get what we ask for. But the key is far deeper than a formula.

It starts with worship, an acknowledgement of Lordship, and finding our place in an intimate relationship with the Father through His precious Son, Jesus Christ. Until we are intimately connected with the Father, knowing His heart, knowing His voice, and able to be assured of our total forgiveness and the joy the Father has in our relationship, and the deep love He has for us, we need not move from this place in our hearts until it is established.

Then comes the declaration of His Kingdom. His is an invisible kingdom where He alone is the ruler. We all know what heaven will be like: perfection, no sickness, no pain, but total wholeness and a relationship with the Father and the Son that is beyond our highest expectations.

We declare His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. That means that we are to usher His will into this present world. We are His ambassadors to establish heaven right here on earth. We are to be like Jesus here on earth. We are to see those in bondage set free, see the sick healed, addictions broken, and people saved. If you want to know the will of the Father, look to heaven, and then be His hand and heart extended to a world in need of God. It’s God’s will to heal and save and deliver, for we know sickness is not in heaven, the devil is not in heaven, there is no brokenness in heaven and here on earth we are to usher in that kingdom. What an adventure and battle. What a joy to walk with purpose and power.

We ask for today’s bread. God will provide what we need when we are doing what He says. I’ve heard a lot of exploitation of God’s people on giving, but the truth is that God wants to provide abundantly for us. God wants to bless us for His own sake, not for ours. He wants to bless us so that we will give, not so that we will consume more for ourselves. Praise God for His goodness. It’s His will to provide. All we need to do is ask and follow His instructions.

Forgiveness is our key to relationship with a Holy God. Sin and God’s holiness can’t be in the same space. So God in His wisdom sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us that through His blood and victory of resurrection we can have right relationship with God. Because His grace is extended to us, we must extend forgiveness towards those who offend us.

The Lord doesn’t want you to fall into temptation. He gives us a way out. Always. Look for the way out and don’t yield to the temptations life brings. Pray for deliverance from the evil one. Let’s not be yielding to the devil. He’s to have no part in us as Jesus said, “the devil has no part in me.” We will do the will of the Father. We follow Him and we have the Holy Spirit abiding in us to enable us to walk out the power-filled life we see in this prayer. Let’s be full of God and walk out His will, so that here on earth His will can be established.

Until He returns

Pastor Darrell