December 23, 2024

Let Your Kingdom Come

July 30, 2015 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Your glorious cause, O God
Engages our hearts
May Jesus Christ be known
Wherever we are
We ask not for ourselves, but for Your renown
The Cross has saved us so we pray
Your Kingdom come

Let Your Kingdom come
Let Your Will be done
So that everyone might know Your Name
Let Your song be heard everywhere on earth
‘Til Your sovereign work on earth is done
Let Your Kingdom come

Give us Your strength, O God
And courage to speak
Perform Your wondrous deeds
Through those who are weak
Lord, use us as You want, whatever the test
By grace we’ll preach Your gospel
‘Til our dying breath

Sovereign Grace
Bob Kaughlin

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

I just love when a song, such as this anthem, stirs my heart and provides me with lyrics to sing out the Scriptures!  (You, too?)

When Jesus was asked by one of His disciples to teach them how to pray, this is what He thought important to include in their prayers (and ours, too!):

And it came to pass, that, as He was praying in a certain place,
when He ceased, one of his disciples said unto Him,
Lord, teach us to pray…
And He said unto them, When ye pray, say,
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
Give us day by day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins;
for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
Luke 11:1ff

Such a simple prayer (thank You, Lord…You know we are really very simple beings!) yet full of deep, foundational truths.  As I sang along to this song, I thought about how Jesus was the One Who brought God’s Kingdom to the earth…and will be the One Who, when He returns as Lord of lords and King of Kings, will fully and completely—forEVER and EVER—establish God’s Kingdom here on earth…as it is now in Heaven.  Glory!  HalleluJAH!  Praise You, Jesus!  Thank You, Father!

The prophet Jeremiah spoke the prophecy of Jesus’ first coming to the earth:

“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch;
And He will reign as king and act wisely
And do justice and righteousness in the land.
In His days Judah will be saved,
And Israel will dwell securely;
And this is His name by which He will be called,
‘The Lord our righteousness’ ”
Jeremiah 20:5 and 6

Daniel also spoke prophetically of the Kingdom to come:

But the saints of the Most High shall receive the Kingdom,
and possess the Kingdom forever, even forever and ever.
Then the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven,
Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High.
His Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.
Daniel 7:18, 27

When God sent Gabriel to Mary, the angel spoke these words about Jesus and His Kingdom:

“…He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High;
and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;
and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever,
and His Kingdom will have no end.”
Luke 1:32 and 33

And much was told to John in the vision given to him (the Book of Revelation), including this passage among many, many others:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth;
for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.
And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying,
“Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men,
and He will dwell among them,
and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them…”
Revelations 21:1-3

These truths are such comfort and encouragement to us as we live in this dark, and increasingly darker, world.  But we must remember to pray…daily…as Jesus instructed.  And we must keep our hearts set toward God as we anticipate Jesus’ return and His everlasting Kingdom!

 *   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

Sovereign God,

Thy cause, not my own, engages my heart,
and I appeal to Thee with greatest freedom
to set up Thy Kingdom in every place
where Satan reigns;
Glorify Thyself and I shall rejoice,
for to bring honour to Thy name is my sole desire.
I adore thee that Thou art God,
and long that others should know it, feel it,
and rejoice in it.
O that all men might love and praise Thee,
that thou mightest have all glory
from the intelligent world!
Let sinners be brought to Thee for Thy dear name!
To the eye of reason everything respecting
the conversion of others is as dark as midnight,
But Thou canst accomplish great things;
the cause is Thine,
and it is to Thy glory that men should be saved.
Lord, use me as Thou wilt,
do with me what Thou wilt;
but, O, promote thy cause,
let Thy kingdom come,
let Thy blessed interest be advanced
in this world!
O do Thou bring in great numbers to Jesus!
let me see that glorious day,
and give me to grasp for multitudes of souls;
let me be willing to die to that end;
and while I live let me labour for Thee
to the utmost of my strength,
spending time profitably in this work,
both in health and in weakness.
It is Thy cause and Kingdom I long for,
not my own.
O, answer Thou my request!

a prayer from Valley Of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions – by Arthur G. Bennett

Filed Under: Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Lord, Teach Us to Pray – Week 13

December 22, 2012 by

Last week we concluded our series on prayer entitled Lord, teach us to pray! Each week we asked with that same desire as Jesus’ disciples did — ”Teach {me} to pray.” And graciously He did, didn’t He? This week, I would like to join in as we finish this part of our journey together.

We have now completed our study A Daughter’s Worth from the book by Ava Sturgeon. All week we have been focusing on God and the optimism that our hearts have as we do so. We have been SO encouraged and exhorted!

  • On Monday, Diane shared about giving honor and praise to God.
  •  On Tuesday, Teresa reminded us that God is holy and that we can live holy lives.
  •  On Wednesday, Jordan talked about having happiness and joy.
  •  On Thursday, Tonya communicated about trusting in Him, knowing He cares for us.
  •  On Friday, Tina shared about our eternal Hope of life with God.

As such our focus has been all about God!  Nothing wrong about that, hmmm?  Every day we have so very much to be thankful to God for and to voice our praises to Him!  Whether by ourselves in our own hearts as we pray…or when we fellowship in our small groups or Bible studies (like this one!)…or perhaps when we gather to corporately praise and worship in the churches we belong to…we are living our lives right NOW praising our God and our Lord. AND we look forward to raising our praises forever! That’s right…we will be right along with the angels and the host of heaven!

Revelation 5:11-14
Then I looked, and I heard the voices of many angels on every side of the throne and of the living creatures and the elders, and they numbered ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands,  Saying in a loud voice,  Deserving is the Lamb,  Who was sacrificed, to receive all the power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and majesty (glory, splendor) and blessing!  And I heard every created thing in heaven and on earth and under the earth [in Hades, the place of departed spirits] and on the sea and all that is in it, crying out together, To Him Who is seated on the throne and to the Lamb be ascribed the blessing and the honor and the majesty (glory, splendor) and the power (might and dominion) forever and ever (through the eternities of the eternities)!  Then the four living creatures (beings) said, Amen (so be it)!  And the elders [of the heavenly Sanhedrin] prostrated themselves and worshiped Him Who lives forever and ever.

We SO look forward to this time…it is our HOPE!  We wait for the return of our Lord to gather His church together.

Revelations 22:20,21
He Who gives this warning and affirms and testifies to these things says, Yes (it is true). [Surely] I am coming quickly (swiftly, speedily). Amen (so let it be)! Yes, come, Lord Jesus! The grace (blessing and favor) of the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) be with all the saints (God’s holy people), those set apart for God, to be, as it were, exclusively His). Amen (so let it be)!

Yes, come, Lord Jesus, come! Amen!

—————————————————

In this final week of our study A Daughter’s Worth, we have focused on living optimistically because of how great our God is…honoring and praising Him…living holy because we CAN BE holy…having true joy…resting in Him, trusting Him…looking forward to eternal life with Him. All of which are great reminders of how much worth we truly have!

Instead of a question this week, I ask you to proclaim this TRUTH,  ‘I, _________ (insert your precious name here) am a daughter of the Most High God, and to Him I am of SUCH worth! One way in which my Father shows me just how much worth I have to Him is ________________________________!

(Please share with us in the comment section what you wrote…I’ll post mine, too.)

Oh. How. He. Loves. Us. So. <3

The following is a video of a beautiful rendition of the Lord’s Prayer being sung by the Martins.  enjoy!  perhaps this might become your favorite  way of praying this prayer that Jesus instructed His disciples (and us!) when He answered their plea, “Lord, teach us to pray!”

Our next study “Not a Fan – Teen Edition” will begin in February, 2013.  Please check back often for more details.  If you have a question about GCH:decaf, please email us at GCH_decaf@girlfriendscoffeehour.com.

Filed Under: Teens Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Lord, Teach Us to Pray – Week 11

December 8, 2012 by

 

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 last few months, we have been intentionally pursuing 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 can continue to develop into daughters 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 another 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 considered scripture after scripture and saw our Lord’s constant example showing that it was not His will that was important but His Father’s.  If it were ever possible for anyone to justifiably state and act on their own will, it would have been Jesus; true?  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 the next 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.

The following week we considered the phrase, “Give us this day our daily bread.”  We recognized that Jesus IS the ‘bread of life.”  We looked at John chapter 6 where Jesus spoke repeatedly about this.  We clearly saw Jesus’ heart of compassion, wanting them (and us!) to live forever by partaking of the Bread of Life—Himself—and receiving that blessing.  We also looked at  Jesus’ instruction that 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!  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!)

Then we focused on the next direction Jesus gave as He taught His disciples (and now us!) to pray.  It is the request to “…forgive us our debts.”  In Matthew chapter 18, Jesus addressed the issue of forgiveness in two different ways.  We looked first at the record where Peter asked Jesus how many times did he need  to forgive him and let it go? Jesus answered him, ‘I tell you, not up to seven times, but seventy times seven!” Nothing has changed.  We, too, are to forgive “…seventy times seven…”  (In other words, just keep on forgiving!)  Then Jesus gave further clarification and direction to Peter and the other disciples.  He held nothing back in communicating that forgiveness, or the refusal to forgive, is an issue of the heart.  We saw (in verses 21-35) a righteous example of compassionate forgiveness (the king forgiving the servant his debt of 10,000 talents).  And, in comparison, the depiction of the forgiven servant having a hardened, merciless heart that refused to forgive  his fellow attendant’s small debt.  In the completion of this parable, the king then does have him thrown in jail because of his lack of forgiveness.  Jesus tells His disciples (and us!) in verse 35, “So also My heavenly Father will deal with every one of you if you do not freely forgive your brother from your heart his offenses.”  God through Christ has forgiven us for so, SO much!  And He compassionately, mercifully, and lovingly, continues to forgive us as we repent and ask.

Then we looked at His next direction to His disciples (and us!): to ask our Father to “lead us not into temptation…”  This phrase must be kept in its context firmly attached to the next phrase, “but deliver us from the evil one.” Of great importance is to remember that God does not “tempt” anyone (James 1:13,14).  And in Matthew 4:3 we clearly see that THE tempter is satan, our enemy.  We are so thankful to know, that Jesus, our High Priest, our Intercessor, our Mediator, our Redeemer, our Savior, our Lord, is right there to help us (Hebrews 4:15).  We are not alone in handling temptation.  He understands and has shown us how to handle satan’s tempting.  We see Jesus’  great example in Matthew 4:1-11.  His response—the very thing that kept Him from being tempted—was the truth of the Scriptures.  Jesus replied to satan each time, “…it is written….”  We, too, can have the assurance of the truth of the Scriptures when our enemy tries to tempt us.

And last week we focused on the final instruction Jesus gave to His disciples (and us!) as He taught them how to pray—“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” These two phrases are to be understood together in their context.  Jesus clearly stated that not only did they need to recognize temptation but also recognize that they could not ‘handle’ it on their own—they needed to pray for God’s deliverance.  We also looked at Jesus’ prayer recorded in John chapter 17.  One  portion of Jesus’ prayer includes asking God “keep and protect them from the evil one,” and also Jesus praying for “…all those who will ever come to believe in (trust in, cling to, rely on) Me.”   THAT IS US!  You and me…mentioned in Jesus’ precious prayer to God!  He knew we  could not handle it on our own!  Our reliance on our heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus (seated at His right hand) gives us the ability, the strength to be delivered from evil.

________

Now, the phrase we are studying this week is ‘for Yours is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever.’  What an exclamation of praise to our heavenly Father!  In Jesus’ instruction on prayer to His disciples (and us!), He began and ended with praise—‘hallowed be Your Name’ is the first phrase and ‘for Yours is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory’ is the concluding phrase.  Jesus obviously thought it of utmost importance that His Father be praised and glorified!  In fact, there are a number of records in the Gospels where Jesus communicates exactly this!  Here are a few of them:

Matthew 5:16

Let your light so shine before men that they may see your moral excellence and your praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and recognize and honor and praise and glorify your Father Who is in heaven.

John 13:31, 32

…Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once.

Chapter 14:13

Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

Chapter 15:8

My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be My disciples.

Chapter 17:4

I have glorified You down here on the earth by completing the work that You gave Me to do.

Praising God should be a part of all of our communication with our heavenly Father but especially in our prayers.  Jesus made sure that His disciples (and us!) knew that God was to be glorified and praised!  His final point to them (and us!) when they asked Him to teach them to pray was the importance of praising and glorifying God.

Oh. How. He. Loves. Us. So.  <3

—————————————————

This week, in our study A Daughter’s Worth, we have been focusing on spreading God’s Word…through our witness both by sharing our story; keeping our hearts clean so that we live out our faith; by continuing to grow in God’s Word; by the influence and example we can have on sisters younger than ourselves, and by sharing the Bible with the people in our lives who do not yet know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  In each of these areas of our lives we have SO much to praise God for as well as share with others so that they, too, can praise and glorify our wonderful heavenly Father!

Ask yourself:  ______ (insert your name here), how much worth do I have if Almighty God, Who has all the power and deserves all the glory, calls me His daughter?   <3

“…For Yours is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever….”

God loves you!

and i do, too!

<3 coleen

Filed Under: Teens Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Lord, Teach Us to Pray – Week 10

December 1, 2012 by

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 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 another 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 considered scripture after scripture and saw our Lord’s constant example showing that it was not His will that was important but His Father’s.  If it were ever possible for anyone to justifiably state and act on their own will, it would have been Jesus; true?  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 the next 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.

The following week we considered the phrase, “Give us this day our daily bread.”  We recognized that Jesus IS the ‘bread of life.”  We looked at John chapter 6 where Jesus spoke repeatedly about this.  We clearly saw Jesus’ heart of compassion, wanting them (and us!) to live forever by partaking of the Bread of Life—Himself—and receiving that blessing.  We also looked at  Jesus’ instruction that 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!  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!)

Then we focused on the next direction Jesus gave as He taught His disciples (and now us!) to pray.  It is the request to “…forgive us our debts.”  In Matthew chapter 18, Jesus addressed the issue of forgiveness in two different ways.  We looked first at the record where Peter asked Jesus how many times did he need  to forgive him and let it go? Jesus answered him, ‘I tell you, not up to seven times, but seventy times seven!” Nothing has changed.  We, too, are to forgive “…seventy times seven…”  (In other words, just keep on forgiving!)  Then Jesus gave further clarification and direction to Peter and the other disciples.  He held nothing back in communicating that forgiveness, or the refusal to forgive, is an issue of the heart.  We saw (in verses 21-35) a righteous example of compassionate forgiveness (the king forgiving the servant his debt of 10,000 talents).  And, in comparison, the depiction of the forgiven servant having a hardened, merciless heart that refused to forgive  his fellow attendant’s small debt.  In the completion of this parable, the king then does have him thrown in jail because of his lack of forgiveness.  Jesus tells His disciples (and us!) in verse 35, “So also My heavenly Father will deal with every one of you if you do not freely forgive your brother from your heart his offenses.”  God through Christ has forgiven us for so, SO much!  And He compassionately, mercifully, and lovingly, continues to forgive us as we repent and ask.

Then, last week, we looked at His next direction to His disciples (and us!): to ask our Father to “lead us not into temptation…”  This phrase must be kept in its context firmly attached to the next phrase, “but deliver us from the evil one.” Of great importance is to remember that God does not “tempt” anyone (James 1:13,14).  And in Matthew 4:3 we clearly see that THE tempter is satan, our enemy.  We are so thankful to know, that Jesus, our High Priest, our Intercessor, our Mediator, our Redeemer, our Savior, our Lord, is right there to help us (Hebrews 4:15).  We are not alone in handling temptation.  He understands and has shown us how to handle satan’s tempting.  We see Jesus’  great example in Matthew 4:1-11.  His response—the very thing that kept Him from being tempted—was the truth of the Scriptures.  Jesus replied to satan each time, “…it is written….”  We, too, can have the assurance of the truth of the Scriptures when our enemy tries to tempt us.

“For we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to understand and sympathize and have a shared feeling with our weaknesses and infirmities and liability to the assaults of temptation, but One Who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning.  Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it]”  (Hebrews 4;15,16).

 

This week we look at the final instruction Jesus gave to His disciples (and us!) as He taught them how to pray.  He began to teach them about prayer saying, “Pray therefore like this…” Now, here in the final words of His instruction, He continues teaching them, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

Jesus used the word “but ” showing that these two phrases are to be understood together in their context.  (Perhaps it would be helpful to refer back to last week’s blog to review about “…lead us not into temptation.”)  Jesus clearly stated that not only did they need to recognize temptation and evil but also recognize that they could not ‘handle’ it on their own—they needed to pray for God’s deliverance.

In John’s Gospel, chapter 17 are recorded the words of a beautiful prayer that Jesus prayed to His Father.  (Remember the timeline of the actual occurrence of this event!  Jesus and His apostles were together at the Last Supper.  He prayed this prayer at the very end of their meal. Then He immediately left to go and pray in the Garden of Gesthemene with Peter, John, and James.  And we know that is where He encountered Judas coming to betray Jesus.)  Here is a portion of Jesus’ prayer during the Last Supper.

John 17:14-21

I have given and delivered to them Your word (message) and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world [do not belong to the world], just as I am not of the world.

I do not ask that You will take them out of the world, but that You will keep and protect them from the evil one.

They are not of the world (worldly, belonging to the world), [just] as I am not of the world.

Sanctify them [purify, consecrate, separate them for Yourself, make them holy] by the Truth; Your Word is Truth.

Just as You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.

And so for their sake and on their behalf I sanctify (dedicate, consecrate) Myself, that they also may be sanctified (dedicated, consecrated, made holy) in the Truth.

Neither for these alone do I pray [it is not for their sake only that I make this request], but also for all those who will ever come to believe in (trust in, cling to, rely on) Me through their word and teaching,

That they all may be one, [just] as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe and be convinced that You have sent Me.

I am always humbled seeing that something of great importance to my Lord at this time was His asking His Father to “…keep and protect them from the evil one.”  It also shows the great love that Jesus and God shared for us!  Take note of verse 20:

Neither for these alone do I pray [it is not for their sake only that I make this request], but also for all those who will ever come to believe in (trust in, cling to, rely on) Me through their word and teaching,

THAT IS US!  You and me …mentioned in Jesus’ precious prayer to God!  He knew we  could not handle it on our own!  Our reliance on our heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus (seated at His right hand) gives us the ability, the power, the strength to be delivered from evil.

Oh. How. He. Loves. Us. So.  <3

—————————————————————–

This week, in our study A Daughter’s Worth, we have been focusing on finding God at school…no matter what your “school” looks like.  We have looked at dealing with all the different relationships that you girls have as students. And at dealing with pressure and expectations. And recognizing that God is always with us!  And one thing to remember is that His Presence protects us from evil!

Ask yourself:  ______ (insert your name here), how much worth do I have knowing that my Lord prayed and asked our heavenly Father to protect me from the evil one?  How much worth do I have knowing that He always covers and protects me from evil?   <3

“…deliver us from the evil one….”

Filed Under: Teens Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Lord, Teach Us to Pray – Week 8

November 17, 2012 by


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 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 another 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 considered scripture after scripture and saw our Lord’s constant example showing that it was not His will that was important but His Father’s.  If it were ever possible for anyone to justifiably state and act on their own will, it would have been Jesus; true?  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 the next 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. 

Last week we considered the phrase, “Give us this day our daily bread.”  We recognized that Jesus IS the ‘bread of life.”  We looked at John chapter 6 where Jesus spoke repeatedly about this.  We clearly saw Jesus’ heart of compassion, wanting them (and us!) to live forever by partaking of the Bread of Life—Himself—and receiving that blessing.  We also looked at  Jesus’ instruction that 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!  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!)

Here in week eight, we are focusing on the next direction Jesus gave as He taught His disciples (and now us!) to pray.  It is the request to “…forgive us our debts.”

In Matthew chapter 18, Jesus addressed the issue of forgiveness in two different ways.  The first occurrence is recorded in verses 21,22:

“Then Peter came up to Him and said, Lord, how many times may my brother sin against me and I forgive him and let it go? [As many as] up to seven times?  Jesus answered him, I tell you, not up to seven times, but seventy times seven!”

Oh boy!  Can’t you just picture Peter’s jaw dropping?  I’m thinking that is not exactly the answer he imagined the Lord would give him, right?  But that was, and is, our Lord’s response.  Nothing has changed.  We, too, are to forgive “…seventy times seven…”  (In other words, just keep on forgiving!)

Jesus goes on to give further clarification and direction to Peter along with the other disciples about this important issue of forgiveness.   We are going to look at verses 21-35; you can either open your Bible, or follow this link to read this entire record.  <http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2018:23-35&version=AMP>

Jesus tells quite a story in this parable!  He hold nothing back in communicating that forgiveness, or the refusal to forgive, is an issue of the heart.  See how He portrays the king towards the man who owed him much money.

“And his master’s heart was moved with compassion, and he released him and forgave him [cancelling] the debt” (verse 27).

Wow!  This king was owed over 10,000 talents.  A talent was an amount of money used in Jesus’ day and time.  Biblical scholars do not agree on the total equivalent in today’s monetary value.  I’ve seen it quoted in the range of $10,000,000 to $3 billion.  But we can say with certainty that 10,000 talents was a vast amount of money to owe.  The king had every right and reason to imprison the man for his failure to repay.  He didn’t; he forgave him the entire debt out of a heart of compassion.  This is forgiveness.

As Jesus continues, He depicts this man (the servant) now going to his fellow attendant and demanding what was owed to him.  It is NOT with a similar attitude of forgiveness that he addresses his peer.  Rather, it is with a hardened, merciless heart that he refuses to forgive and, instead, he (the original, forgiven servant) has the man (his fellow attendant) thrown into prison until he can repay this small debt.

The record continues as we see the king (the master) call the first man back to him, and chastise him for being pitiless and merciless toward his fellow attendant.  The king then does have him thrown in jail because of his contemptible attitude and lack of forgiveness to his fellow attendant.

And then Jesus clearly states His second point.

“So also My heavenly Father will deal with every one of you if you do not freely forgive your brother from your heart his offenses” (verse 35).

God through Christ has forgiven us for so, SO much!  And He compassionately, mercifully, and lovingly continues to forgive us as we repent and ask.

Colossians 2:13,14

And you who were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh (your sensuality, your sinful carnal nature), [God] brought to life together with [Christ], having [freely] forgiven us all our transgressions,

Having cancelled and blotted out and wiped away the handwriting of the note (bond) with its legal decrees and demands which was in force and stood against us (hostile to us). This [note with its regulations, decrees, and demands] He set aside and cleared completely out of our way by nailing it to [His] cross.

Oh. How. He. Loves. Us. So.  <3

—————————————————————–

This week, in our study A Daughter’s Worth, we have been focusing on family relationships and their importance in our growth as Christians.  Forgiveness is a foundational need among family members.  We have so much need to be continually forgiven, as well as we must extend much forgiveness to our parents and siblings.

Ask yourself:  ______ (insert your name here), how much worth do I have if God has so graciously and mercifully forgiven me for my sins?  How much worth do I have if  Jesus was willing to die for me so that I could have forgiveness of my sins?   <3

“…Forgive us our debts….”

****************************************************************

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

Filed Under: Teens Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Lord, Teach Us to Pray – Part 7

November 10, 2012 by

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

—————————————————————–

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….”

______________________________________________

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

Filed Under: Teens Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Lord, Teach Us to Pray: Part 6

November 3, 2012 by

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

—————————————————————–

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...”

_________________________________________________

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

Filed Under: Teens Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,