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 God Who 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.
Then we came to the third aspect, as we followed Jesus’ instruction,— “hallowed (kept holy) be Your name.” And we looked at five examples in the Scriptures where Almighty God is described as holy: we saw the Psalmist proclaim that ‘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.’ What a privilege that our Father…Who is in heaven…would allow us to come before Him and call Him ‘holy!’
The following week we looked at the next aspect of prayer that Jesus deemed important— “Your Kingdom come.” We considered the question, “What is the ‘Kingdom’? by focusing on just two ways to understand what Jesus meant. The first connotation that “Kingdom” has refers to the eternal Kingdom. And then to understand “Kingdom” in another way, we looked specifically at the 13th chapter of the book of Matthew where Jesus spoke in parables and used tangible examples to help His disciples (and us!) to understand the importance of having ‘the Kingdom’ established in our hearts. .He wants you and me to be in that Kingdom along with Him.
Last week, we focused on the next aspect of Jesus’ instruction ‘Your will be done.’ It is Almighty God’s will that we are to be concerned about…not our own. We continually saw Our Lord’s constant example that it was not His will that was important but His Father’s. We looked at number of records in the Scriptures which clearly spoke of Jesus’ great desire for His Father’s will. If it were ever possible for anyone to justifiably state and act on their own will, it would have been Jesus; true? We were reminded of the great humility and the beautiful love that He and His Father shared in Their relationship. Jesus always desired His Father’s will, always sought His Father’s will, always purposed to know His Father’s will so that He always did His Father’s will. And what did we find was His Father’s will?—salvation and redemption through Jesus Christ. We were assured that at the very foundation of God’s will lies our hope, which is salvation through Jesus leading to eternal life.
Now in this sixth week of wanting our Lord to teach us to pray, we come to the phrase “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” There are a few different avenues of approach to understanding the meaning of this phrase. But, as always Jesus gives the very best, the simplest understanding. In John 6:38 we read,
“For I have come down from heaven not to do My own will and purpose but to do the will and purpose of Him Who sent Me.”
Clearly Jesus states the essence of today’s study. He was coming to earth from heaven to do His Father’s will. Jesus always exemplified the type of heart and behavior that He was teaching to His disciples. He taught them so much by example. So, it makes sense that when He was teaching them how to pray, He would include this critical aspect. The disciples probably had no true concept of what ‘come down from heaven’ really meant. But they were convinced that what Jesus taught them was of vital importance. As we, too, should be convinced.
We, too, can live with that same heart as Jesus did. God has promised to lead us, to guide us, to show us His Will. The following are just a few of the many, many promises God has given us regarding our knowing His will.
Proverbs 3:5,6
Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.
In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.
Psalms 32:8
I [the Lord] will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.
Romans 12:2
…But be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].
James 1:5
If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and begrudgingly, without reproaching or fault-finding, and it will be given him.
Jesus, Who knew His heavenly Father like no one else did, desired to do God’s will. God’s perfect will. He simply and clearly taught His disciples AND US to do the same.
How thankful are we to know that? Oh. How. He. Loves. Us. So. <3
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This week , in our study A Daughter’s Worth, we have examined some negative and positive emotions, and focused on the truth of knowing God’s will in each of those areas: that when we are disappointed, it is God’s will to help; when we have anxiety, it is God’s will that we give Him our concerns because He cares for us; when we allow jealousy in by having an ungrateful heart, that it is God’s will for us to be thankful; that when we experience confusion in our relationships, it is God’s will for us to reconcile and to have peace.
Ask yourself: ______ (insert your name here), how much worth do I have if my heavenly Father—Almighty God—desires to show me His will? <3
“…Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven...”
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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.
If you are interested in joining us in our GCH:decaf Teen Girls Ministry, please click the sign-up form button at the top of our webpage. Just follow the instructions on the form and hit submit. We’ll be happy to add you to one of our Online Bible Study Groups! Our new study is A Daughter’s Worth! Please email megan@girlfriendscoffeehour.com for more information
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