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!’
After that 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 Matthew chapter 13 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.
The following 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 a 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.
And then last week we studied the phrase ‘
“Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” From the perspective of our Lord’s life and ministry. In John 6:38 we read that Jesus came down from heaven not to do His own will but to do the will of His Father on the earth. Jesus was always the perfect example to His disciples, and of course to us. 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. We looked at a number of promises that God has given us regarding our knowing His will. 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.
Now this week we are considering the phrase, “Give us this day our daily bread.” There are a number of connotations that I believe can be applied to understanding what Jesus was teaching them here. The first would be to recognize that Jesus IS the ‘bread of life.” In the sixth chapter of the book of John, He repeatedly helped them to understand the eternal importance of recognizing Him as the Sustainer of life—eternal life. In verse 35 Jesus states,
“I am the Bread of Life. He who comes to Me will never be hungry, and he who believes in and cleaves to and trusts in and relies on Me will never thirst any more (at any time).”
Further along in this record, He reiterates this statement and adds,
“I am the Bread of Life [that gives life—the Living Bread]. Your forefathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and [yet] they died. [But] this is the Bread that comes down from heaven, so that [any]one may eat of it and never die. I [Myself] am this Living Bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this Bread, he will live forever.” (verses 48-51)
And He qualifies it even more by saying,
“Just as the living Father sent Me and I live by (through, because of) the Father, even so whoever continues to feed on Me [whoever takes Me for his food and is nourished by Me] shall [in his turn] live through and because of Me. This is the Bread that came down from heaven. It is not like the manna which our forefathers ate, and yet died; he who takes this Bread for his food shall live forever.” (verses 57,58)
So we clearly see Jesus’ heart of compassion, wanting them to live forever by partaking of the Bread of Life—Himself—and receiving that blessing. Jesus always knew His mission, “…this is the Bread that comes down from heaven, so that [any]one may eat of it and never die. I [Myself] am this Living Bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this Bread, he will live forever…” (John 6:50, 51).
I think that when Jesus was addressing their desire to learn to pray, He focused on the basics: 1) recognizing God as their Father Who is in heaven and that He is holy; 2) asking for God’s Kingdom as well as His Will to be accomplished on earth and in heaven; and 3) acknowledging need of their daily bread.
Immediately before giving them this beautiful sample (Matthew 6) of how to pray, Jesus was talking to them about how not to pray(verses 1-7), and was using the prayers of the Pharisees as a ‘bad’ example. He encourages them in verse 8, saying,
“Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”
THIS is the essence of Jesus’ instruction. If they would pray, “give us this day our daily bread…” they would be humbly acknowledging that their heavenly Father already KNEW what their needs would be that day. For us, just like Jesus’ disciples, it is when we recognize our immense need for God’s provision that we step back from trying to accomplish it (whatever ‘it’ may be for that day) and let the One Who has so much to give to us provide so perfectly for us!
Further along in this chapter, immediately following Jesus’ teaching them HOW to pray, He also reminds them of how WELL their Father in heaven takes care of them.
“Therefore I tell you, stop being perpetually uneasy (anxious and worried) about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, or about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life greater [in quality] than food, and the body [far above and more excellent] than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more than they?” (verses 25-26)
For our practical application, let’s remember: Jesus answered their plea to teach them to pray, and in the midst of that instruction, He directed them to pray, “give us this day our daily bread.” Then, He gently reminded them that God already provided that daily bread for them! (AND for us!)
“Therefore do not worry and be anxious, saying, What are we going to have to eat? or, What are we going to have to drink? or, What are we going to have to wear?
For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows well that you need them all.” (verses 31, 32)
God, our heavenly Father, Who is Holy, knows our need AND has already provided for our need, gives us our daily bread. And the reason is… Oh. How. He. Loves. Us. So. <3
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This week , in our study A Daughter’s Worth, we have been looking at the importance of having godly friends along with being a godly friend. This is another oh-so-important daily need of ours! Having Christian relationships and friends who hold us accountable, and build us up, and forgive us when we are wrong, and bring out the best in us as we share our hearts on spiritual matters and God’s goodness is vital to living well as a Christian! And God has graciously provided for this in our lives, too.
Ask yourself: ______ (insert your name here), how much worth do I have knowing that my “heavenly Father knows well my needs” and provides for them all? <3
“…Give us this day our daily bread….”
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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
