The Lord’s Prayer
The Lord’s prayer sets a model for us on how to pray. We need to be mindful, however, that while Jesus told His disciples to pray “in this manner,” He did not tell them to literally pray the prayer word for word. For those who do, it can simply be a rote prayer, holding no meaning at all.
This wonderful prayer is given to us as an example for us on how to pray.
Praying how Jesus taught His disciples
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One day, one of the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. They wanted Jesus to teach them to how pray just as John the Baptist had earlier taught his disciples who had once followed him and later turned to Jesus. They saw Jesus as the “master of prayer” and wanted to know His secrets of prayer – they wanted to know the power of prayer. [12]
Luke 11:1 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, as John also taught his disciples.
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The disciples first saw that with Jesus, prayer was a necessity. He had made it a regular habit to go away to spend time with His heavenly Father. They had been continually watching Him and saw that prayer was more than an occasional practice for Him – it was a lifelong habit. Everything He did arose out of prayer. Jesus’ prayers were not always formal – sometime He kneeled, yet other times His prayers were simple conversations wherever He was. Prayer for Him was an attitude of mind and heart, consisting of the very air He breathed. His whole life – His whole countenance consisted of a life of prayer. In his daily busyness and pressures, having frequent interruptions, Jesus was constantly in prayer. This, in of itself, was His secret to the life of prayer - practicing the constant attitude of the presence of God. Jesus always knew that God was at work to will and do His good pleasure.
Praying the Lord’s Prayer
Jesus began his teaching on prayer by expressing what is known today as the Lord’s Prayer. It could better be defined, however, as the Disciple’s Prayer. It was a prayer that Jesus told His disciples to pray like, but not to pray the exact words like rote praying. It was simply a model for prayer.
Luke 11:2-4 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.
This prayer could be broken up into several sections as the model in prayer:
1. Our Father which art in heaven
Here we are acknowledging God as our heavenly Father. Our relationship with Jesus gives us the privilege of calling God our heavenly Father. Just as Jesus had stated earlier, we do not go to Him (meaning Jesus) for petition, but instead to our Father in heaven.
John 16:23-24 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name, ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
2. Hallowed by Thy name
As was pointed out in previous lessons, we should enter into prayer with praise and worship, proclaiming God for Who He is. He is to be praised, and He desires worship from His people. In this we are reverencing or hallowing His name.
3. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
The desire for us, as well as God’s will, is to have earth be like heaven. In all that we pray, our prayers should be centered in on petitioning that the earth be filled with God’s love – that the earth become like heaven.
4. Give us day by day our daily bread.
God wants us to ask for our daily needs. He is our Father, and He wants to take care of His children. Our essential needs are food, clothing, shelter, and love.
5. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.
God forgave our sins when we came to Jesus; however, that forgiveness is not experienced if we don’t forgive others. We put up barriers, or walls, when we refuse to forgive others. The two run hand in hand.
Luke 17:4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.
6. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
All Christians want to be delivered from evil. The secret is to not fall into temptation. God has promised us that we, as His children, will not be tempted beyond our endurance.
Matt 26:41 "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."
1 Cor 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
This kind of praying is only the beginning of an intimate prayer life with God, our Creator. As we continue our development in prayer, God shows us various ways of growing our intimacy with Him.
Know God through His Word
The best way to know God’s ways is through His Word, speaking honest and heartfelt prayer. As you study His Word with a receptive heart, you begin to see what pleases or grieves Him and what gives Him great pleasure and joy. As you seek with your heart to do His will, according to His Word, you purpose to train your spirit to listen to what God is saying to you personally. Your spirit becomes tuned to God’s voice through the revelation of the Holy Spirit residing within you. You come to know and understand the voice of your heavenly Father. The more you learn the Word of God, the more you discover how to pray. Your seeking in prayer will not be in contradiction to His Word, and God’s response back to you will never violate it.
Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
The process along the way, however, can be somewhat confusing. Most sincere Christians know that God wants to be their guide because He has promised to guide every believer; yet, they fear they will fall short of what God will do for them personally. They become afraid they will miss God’s guidance through some fault or weakness of their own; thus, they never discover how to be led by the Spirit of God. [13] “Most people who are not being led by the Holy Spirit seem to be grouped into one or more of the following categories:
They are young Christians just beginning to learn God’s Word and His ways. The learning process has not matured at this point.
They are not sure of their position with their heavenly Father.
They are not sure that God is willing to work in their lives.
They are not sure that God has a plan for their lives.
They are not convinced that God will communicate with them personally.
They have remained carnal in their thinking - choosing not to grow in their relationship with Christ, not sincerely desiring from God the guidance they need. [14]
Carnal Christianity
Once a person has become a Christian, the normal and right thing to do is begin a life of wanting to follow Christ. It is natural to want to be guided by the power of God. That wanting came about by the Holy Spirit Who entered into your human spirit at the New Birth. Christians who do not seek to be guided by God, therefore, simply show only that they do not desire God as they should.
Hos 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…
If Satan could place a barrier in the growth of a new Christian, it would be to have them hold on to the desires of the world. It is, therefore, critically important that all Christians be concerned about their own receptivity to the Holy Spirit’s guidance, along with the necessity of studying His Word to seek to be led by God’s Spirit in the right way. Believers should not only be convinced of God’s will to guide, but also be willing to individually do the preparation for God to provide that guidance in their life. If you willfully sin and refuse to honor God in your daily life, along with the lack of worshipping and praising Him as Lord, you cannot expect His guidance. If, however, you obey what God has taught in His Word, seeking to do His will, you can expect Him to lead and answer your prayers continually.
I John 3:21-22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.
Hindrances in receiving God’s guidance
Often Christians who seek God’s guidance go about it in the wrong way. Through lack of spending time with God and His Word, their spiritual senses are out of focus. Sometimes by needs or problems, many Christians are led away from biblical truth, looking for an emotional experience or an inward prompting; thus, overlooking the guidance that has been there all along - the Word of God. In failing to see the importance of following the teachings of the Word of God in guiding one’s life, theses people leave themselves open to all sorts of delusions. They allow themselves to become discouraged, and many give up altogether. Their basic mistake was not taking the time to earnestly study God and His Word and purposing to follow what the Holy Spirit reveals. They then lack the guidance and direction from the Holy Spirit and ultimately their destiny in God.
2 Tim 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Attend a church that supports the Word of God
To begin your new life in Christ, you need to sit under the anointing of a Bible-believing leadership within the local Church.
Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
God has set pastors, evangelists, and teachers as ministry gifts in the church. They are given for the edifying of believers in order to bring them to maturity and their ultimate calling in God.
Eph 4:12 & 15 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ…[That we] may grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ. AMP
1 Pet 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility; for God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble.
You have the responsibility to discover truth in the Word of God so that you may grow in your Christian walk. Attending and becoming a part of a good Bible-believing and practicing church where the leadership is growing in Christ is vital to your Christian growth.
You are also admonished by the Word of God to reject error. It is important to know that truth and error come from the mind of man. The human mind is fallible and imperfect. Nearly everyone, in some way or another, is indoctrinated with the philosophies or traditions of man. They are slowly and subtly passed on through the minds of honest parents, pastors or priests, teachers at school or professors at college, or even friends, neighbors, acquaintances, or co-workers. Each person, flawed as they may be, only know what they have been indoctrinated into. There are even many in church leadership who fall within this category, mixing the philosophies of man and the Word of God. It is important, therefore, to emphasis that the only basis for real truth comes from the Word of God and only the Word of God.
John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
It has been said that water will never rise above its source. In the same way, your Christian experience and walk with Christ can never be higher than the source from which you draw. You must, therefore, sit under the leading of a local church that teaches the uncompromising Word of God and preaches it as a way of life. [15]
To learn more about hearing the voice of God, it is important to associate with those believers who follow and support the teachings of the Word of God without adding or taking away from its doctrine. Be cautious of those who believe and/or teach otherwise.
Biblical people who were led by God
The Bible contains many accounts of how God guided His people and revealed His plans to mankind. Throughout the Old Testament, God has led His prophets to following His will as they preached to the children of Israel. Throughout the book of Acts, God has demonstrated through Philip, Peter, Paul and Silas, along with the Church at Antioch, His direction. The Bible is filled with examples of God’s direction to His people. The Scriptures contain explicit promises of divine guidance in the Old and New Testament.
Psm 32:8 I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.
John 16:13 Howbeit when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth…
John 10:4-5…He putteth forth His own sheep, He goeth before them, and the sheep follow Him; for they know His voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from Him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
The Holy Spirit is your Comforter, Teacher, and Guide
To be led by the Spirit of God, you must be sensitive to God’s voice. Jesus has given you the Holy Spirit to help you understand the Word of God. The Holy Spirit dwells in you as your Comforter, Teacher, and Guide.
John 14:15-16 If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
The more you earnestly read and study the Word of God, train your spirit to listen to what He says to you, you become sensitive to His voice. As you pray for understanding, you become tuned to God’s voice in ways far beyond natural comprehension.
Prov 3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.
Psm 32:8 I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.
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Little of the Word, with little prayer, is death to the spiritual life. Much of the Word, with little prayer, gives a sickly life. Much prayer with little of the Word gives more life, but without steadfastness. A full measure of the Word and prayer each day gives a healthy and powerful life. Andrew Murray |
#4 Lesson Assignments
[11] Virkler, Mark & Patti. Dialogue with God. Bridge-Logos Publishers. North Brunswick, N.J. 1986.
[12] Virkler, Mark & Patti. Dialogue with God. Bridge-Logos Publishers. North Brunswick, N.J. 1986.
[13] Basansky, Bill. How to Know the Father’s Voice. Harrison House. 1987
[14] Basansky, Bill. How to Know the Father’s Voice. Harrison House. 1987
[15] Basansky, Bill. How to Know the Father’s Voice. Harrison House. 1987