Today we continue a series entitled Lord, teach us to pray! Do you ever cry out with that same desire as Jesus’ disciples did — ”Teach {me} to pray”?
Each Saturday over the next couple of months, we will intentionally pursue asking the Lord to do just that—teach us to pray. I believe that, as we continue to look at learning how to pray through the Scriptures, we will develop into daughters who pray—who delight, yearn, love to pray to their Father. This is my heart’s desire.
Jesus was asked this important question by His disciples. One of the places that it is recorded is in Luke 11, verse 1: “Then He was praying in a certain place; and when He stopped, one of His disciples said to Him, Lord, teach us to pray….” Listen to the words that He spoke to them when they asked:
Pray, therefore, like this:
Our Father
Who is in heaven,
hallowed (kept holy) be Your name.
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven (left, remitted, and let go of the debts,
and have given up resentment against) our debtors.
And lead (bring) us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Amen.
Matthew 6:9-13
The first week, in this series, we focused on the very first, and most important aspect, of Jesus’ instruction—addressing God Almighty as “Our Father….” We found that He wants to be our Father…our Abba Father!
The second week, we looked at the very next aspect of prayer that Jesus deemed of importance—“Who is in heaven.” This attribute tells of the utmost importance of Who God is…He is in heaven. And we also were reminded of an awesome promise from God, that we will dwell for all eternity with Jesus and our Father, Who is in heaven.
Last week, as we followed Jesus’ instruction, we came to the third aspect referring to Almighty God— “hallowed (kept holy) be Your name.” We looked at one definition of holy: exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness And we looked at five examples in the Scriptures where we saw the Almighty God, ascribed by the Psalmist as ‘You are holy’…that the prophet Habakkuk called Him ‘my Holy One’…that Isaiah saw in a vision God seated on His throne with the seraphim proclaiming ‘holy, holy, holy’…that Jesus our Lord prayed ‘Holy Father’…that one of the seven angels praise Almighty God saying ‘You Who are and were ‘O Holy One.’ There is no doubt Who each of these examples is speaking about—our Father. What a privilege that our Father…Who is in heaven…would allow us to come before Him and call Him ‘holy!’
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Now here we are, this fourth week, looking at the next aspect of prayer that Jesus deemed important— ‘Your Kingdom come.’ We, of course, need to ask the question, “What is the Kingdom?” I believe it is represented in two distinct ways in the Scriptures. There are more than 125 references in the New Testament alone to “Kingdom.”
The first connotation that “Kingdom” has would be in reference to the eternal Kingdom, commonly understood as Heaven, where God and Jesus dwell. Jesus had already taught the disciples the proper and respectful attitude toward God Almighty when He brought attention to ‘our Father, Who is in heaven…’ Throughout the Bible much is spoken of (especially in the books of Isaiah and Revelations) about Heaven, or as we are discussing here, God’s Kingdom. This is one of the things I believe our Lord communicates in the Lord’s Prayer—to constantly have that attitude of heart as we pray to be yearning for that time when the Kingdom comes! And, oh, don’t we long to live for eternity in that heavenly Kingdom ?!!!
Which bring us to another understanding of “Kingdom.” There are a number of records in the Gospels that show us Jesus’ great desire to give us understanding about the Kingdom. (You can use a Bible search engine and do a short study to help you get a better grasp on this; I use <biblegateway.com>). We are going to focus today on just one time that Jesus was teaching about His Kingdom.
In Matthew chapter 13, Jesus spent the day, sitting on the shore and finally, because the crowds listening had grown so large, sitting off-shore a bit in a boat, teaching and sharing about the Kingdom. During this time, He spoke a parable to them about the Kingdom comparing it to a sower and his seed (verses 2-9). He spoke another parable to them about the Kingdom relating it to a grain of mustard seed and how it grows (verses 31, 32). He then told them another parable about the Kingdom comparing it to the leaven used in baking bread (verse 33). Finally, He withdrew along with His disciples and talked with them continuing to help them to understand the parables. However, while still with the crowds, Jesus began to answer privately their questions.
verses 10-13:
“Then the disciples came to Him and said, Why do You speak to them in parables?
And He replied to them, To you it has been given to know the secrets and mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
For whoever has [spiritual knowledge], to him will more be given and he will be furnished richly so that he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
This is the reason that I speak to them in parables: because having the power of seeing, they do not see; and having the power of hearing, they do not hear, nor do they grasp and understand.”
And He explained a parable, verses 18-23:
“Listen then to the [meaning of the] parable of the sower:
While anyone is hearing the Word of the kingdom and does not grasp and comprehend it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the roadside.
As for what was sown on thin (rocky) soil, this is he who hears the Word and at once welcomes and accepts it with joy;
Yet it has no real root in him, but is temporary (inconstant, lasts but a little while); and when affliction or trouble or persecution comes on account of the Word, at once he is caused to stumble [he is repelled and begins to distrust and desert Him Whom he ought to trust and obey] and he falls away.
As for what was sown among thorns, this is he who hears the Word, but the cares of the world and the pleasure and delight and glamour and deceitfulness of riches choke and suffocate the Word, and it yields no fruit.
As for what was sown on good soil, this is he who hears the Word and grasps and comprehends it; he indeed bears fruit and yields in one case a hundred times as much as was sown, in another sixty times as much, and in another thirty.”
Don’t you just love the heart and compassion and attention that our Lord gave to his disciples (and us!) as He explained. The subject over and over is the Kingdom. But He uses tangible examples to help them and us to understand the importance of having ‘the Kingdom’ established in our hearts. Our desire is for Jesus’ words to be at the center of our heart, the focus of our pure living, the impetus for our choosing His ways over the ways, the cares, the pleasures of the world. Further on He uses other examples through parables to explain about the Kingdom.
verses 44-51
The kingdom of heaven is like something precious buried in a field, which a man found and hid again; then in his joy he goes and sells all he has and buys that field.
Again the kingdom of heaven is like a man who is a dealer in search of fine and precious pearls,
Who, on finding a single pearl of great price, went and sold all he had and bought it.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet which was cast into the sea and gathered in fish of every sort.
When it was full, men dragged it up on the beach, and sat down and sorted out the good fish into baskets, but the worthless ones they threw away.
So it will be at the close and consummation of the age. The angels will go forth and separate the wicked from the righteous (those who are upright and in right standing with God)
And cast them [the wicked] into the furnace of fire; there will be weeping and wailing and grinding of teeth.
Have you understood all these things [parables] taken together? They said to Him, Yes, Lord.
verse 53: “When Jesus had finished these parables (these comparisons), He left there.”
The kingdom of heaven is of great and precious value; Jesus wanted them to know and realize this. Our Lord’s strong desire is for us to have Him, the King, ruling in our hearts and that a lifestyle of that will allow us entrance in the future to eternity, in the Kingdom, with Him and Almighty God.
Jesus, Who God has made to be King of our lives, wants us to thoroughly understand the TRUTH about the Kingdom…He wants you and me to be in that Kingdom along with Him… Oh. How. He. Loves. Us. So. < 3
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This week we have talked and talked about fully embracing how beautiful we ARE: because I am who God made me to be; believing the TRUTH not the lies; holding in our minds that truth and not allowing the world’s viewpoint to color our thinking; that who we are in Christ makes us SO beautiful; that our eternal VALUE–it makes us beautiful! As I have reconsidered the value of who God made me (and you!) to be, and I think on these truths, and I recognize that I am beautiful in light of this, it has reminded me that I have value and I am beautiful inside&out because Jesus IS my Lord, my King, and that I have His Kingdom NOW reigning in my heart. And YOU, my sister, too!
So let’s embrace this truth…ask yourself: How much worth, ______ (insert your name here), do I have if Jesus, as King, wants to reign in my heart? My heart…His home! Truly, how beautiful and valuable am I to my Lord and my God…I can only imagine! <3
“…Your Kingdom Come..”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_OB7d-B1Vw
Grace, mercy, and peace to you
from God the Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ
with love,
coleen
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For the A Daughter’s Worth Bible Study, you will need the book, your Bible, pen or pencil, a highlighter and a quiet place. You can order the book right through our website from clicking the sign-up form button at the top of our webpage.
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About coleen hayden
