Title Prayer Movement/Matthew 6:9-13
Content 'The Lord's Prayer is the sum total of religion and ethics' says Wellington.
Martin Luther, the Reformer, said that 'Christians offer the eternal Lord's Prayer'. 'The six articles of the Lord's Prayer sum up everything we can ask of God.' In the words of Calvin, the reformer of Geneva.
'The Lord's Prayer' refers to the prayer the Lord taught his disciples. This is the prayer the Lord Himself taught after one of his disciples was asked to teach it.
Therefore, the Lord's Prayer is an essential pattern of prayer offered by all Christians in all ages and times of our lives.
The content of this Lord's Prayer is concise and simple, yet contains the fulfillment of every satisfaction.
First, in the introduction, the object of prayer is said. It is 'our Father who art in heaven'.
The content of the main body of the prayer consists of six articles. Among them, three petitions relate to God. The first petition relates to 'God's name', the second petition relates to the 'Kingdom of God' or his rule, and the third petition relates to 'His will'. It has to do with his sublime plan and purpose for mankind.
The last three supplications are directed at humans (Christians), which are:
This is the fourth petition. It relates to the daily bread we need, the fifth petition relates to the forgiveness of sins, and the sixth petition relates to the challenge of the enemy, that is, salvation from temptation and evil.
And the song 'Kingdom and Power and Glory' of the final concluding part follows. That was part of the Jesus globalization movement. I hope that we will think of the 'Lord's Prayer' movement that Jesus taught us together, and the progress and success of the Jesus globalization movement through this prayer.
I. Introductory Prayer - Who is the object of prayer?
In verse 6 of the text, it says [our Father in heaven].
This is what the Lord said, and the object of our prayer is 'our Father in heaven. This means,
1) It means the one who is in heaven. It is a word that distinguishes it from all the gods on earth, and moreover, from the man-made artificial idol gods. It means that no image or deity on earth can ever be the object of our prayers.
2) It means the living God. It means 'in heaven'. The meaning of this word is ① his eternal self-existence, ② his holiness, and ③ his omnipotence.
3) He said my father. This word means ① a personal God ② a God with love, blessings and trust ③ a God who is always with us and close to us. ④ In addition, it shows that he is a special spirit father. ⑤ He said 'our father'. My father, not your own father, but [our father] is telling us that he is the father of all Christians in all ages and times. Nevertheless, he is by no means the father of unbelievers, but [our father].
II. There are six contents of prayer.
The first petition is the name of God.
In the text 6:9, it says [...Hallowed be your name...]. A name is synonymous with personality. 'his essence' means 'his character' 'his whole being'. The name of God in the Bible is Elohim, the God of power, El-shaddai, the Almighty of salvation, Elyon, the Most High God, Adonai, the Lord God, Jehovah. Soon, it will appear as God (self-existence), etc.
He said that he wants [to be sanctified]. It is a prayer that wants to be separated. The way God's name is distinguished means that we worship only God. It means not making, serving, or following any gods other than God. Therefore, Psalm 9:10 says, “He who knows your name will trust in you.” Psalm 20:7 says, [Or by chariots or by horses, but we shall boast in the name of the LORD our God].
Calvin said about the prayer in this text, 'Let God alone be glorified'. Bruce said, 'It is a prayer that only God the Father is the object of worship (worship).
The second supplication is the self-reign of God.
In chapter 6:10, it says, [Thy kingdom come...]. Here, the country ( ) means the rule of a kingdom ruled by a king ( ). It does not mean the rule of a tyrant or the will of a democratic human majority, but a rule that is completely ruled by an omnipotent king. Then, it is a prayer that God Himself will rule over the existing created world (the natural world) and mankind, including individuals, families, peoples, nations, and the international world. My wish is that only you, God, should become the eternal emperor of this time and the next life. Only then will justice flow like a river, and justice shine like sunlight.
The third petition wanted God's will to be done on earth as well.
Matthew 6:10 says [...Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven].
It is 'God's will' and 'redemption for mankind'. It is this that calls and saves the elect in Christ before the foundation of the world to praise the glory of God's grace (Ephesians 1:3-14).
In John 6:39, Jesus said, "To do the will of him who sent me, this is the will of him who sent me, that I will not lose any of those who have given me, but will raise him up on the last day."
In John 6:40 it says, “For my Father’s will is that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. This is also reflected in Jesus' final prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane (John 17).
He prayed that God's plan in heaven before the foundation of the world would be realized on earth. In other words, it is the work of the salvation of sinners.
The fourth petition concerns the daily bread we need.
In the text 6:11, it says [Give us this day our daily bread...]. From now on, it is a prayer about people. The daily bread in this text that the Lord taught us means the material supply of the body that is needed every day.
This prayer tells us that ① God cares not only for our soul but also for our body, and ② man is a dependent creature that can only survive according to God’s provision.
The prayer for seeking 'daily bread' here is by no means a small request. It includes everything you need for a day for the survival of your body. All necessities of life are included, such as air, time, housing environment, education, and activity. This means a constant supply from birth to death.
Not only me personally, I said 'to us'. If so, you can really imagine how enormous the content of this prayer really is. Charter, not global?
That is why Proverbs 30:8-9 says, “Give me neither poverty nor riches, but feed me with the bread I need; or if I am full and do not know God, lest the LORD be someone, or I am poor and steal, and profane the name of my God. I am afraid of doing it.]
The fifth petition is a prayer for forgiveness.
In verse 12, it says, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us…”.
There should be no misunderstandings in the text. I should not assume that I have the merit of being forgiven of my sins. It's never about asking God to forgive my sins because I've forgiven my brother, who is a human, for the sins he did against me.
This means that, in order, you first receive forgiveness in Christ (original sin, self-crime), and then forgive your brother's errors by following the Lord's commandment to forgive.
The essence of our forgiveness lies in our faith in the blood of Jesus (Romans 8:1-2, 5:1, Romans 1:16-17). And he was commanded to forgive his brother seventy times seven times (Matthew 18:21-35). It means complete forgiveness, immediate forgiveness, eternal forgiveness. It means central forgiveness. And furthermore, it is forgiveness that asks for blessings. This is the principle of canceling a small debt that a brother owes me after I have forgiven a lot of debt. Therefore, it is said, “So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless you forgive each of you your brother centrally” (Matthew 18:35).
The problem is forgiveness for brother's negligence. It is a prayer that we all need God's forgiveness and man's forgiveness. This means that we must understand and forget our brothers' faults in the name of the Lord, and go ahead and love and bless them. The eldest brother, who had kept and remembered the sin of his younger brother, who was the prodigal son who returned, became the new prodigal son in the family (Luke 15:25-32).
The sixth petition is to pray for protection and victory in the challenge of Yunshu.
In verse 13 of the text, it says, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
This text presupposes ① the weakness of God's children. It presupposes that we are sanctified sinners in Christ. ② And it presupposes that human beings are the weak who cannot overcome the trials and challenges of evil by their own strength. He said that God's salvation, protection, and love were needed from various types of tangible and intangible trials and challenges of evil. This is looking for a supply of spiritual strength compared to the supply of physical protection we were looking for for our daily bread. In this way, we are in need of God's help in spirit and body.
Ⅲ. The concluding prayer is a chant.
In verse 13 of the text, it says, “Thy are the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.” Only God's own reign (the kingdom) wanted to last forever. Only God's own authority wanted to last forever. He wanted only the glory of God Himself to last forever.
Dear saints!
The concluding part of the Lord's Prayer continues in the past and in the present. This prayer will remain in effect until the eternal Second Coming.
The Lord continues the globalization movement through the prayer he taught us. Since he taught us this prayer, Christians on earth continue to pray this prayer in the long flow of 2000 years, despite all kinds of trials and sufferings of death.
It transcends race, skin, color, transcends language, transcends rivers of customs and history, transcends various forms of heterogeneous culture, transcends all spatial regions, transcends all spatial boundaries, regardless of time, place, work, and life, whether a Christian In any case, they have formed a homogeneous community in the world while praying and living this Lord's Prayer.
Christians in all ages and in all places alike pray to our heavenly Father for the glory of his name, his reign and his will. We are praying for the daily bread we need, forgiveness of sins, protection against temptations and challenges of evil, and victory.
The Lord is living at the right hand of the throne of God and is answering the prayer that the Church of All Nations on earth has taught you. The angel who received the golden censer commanded by God in Revelation 8:1-5 is carrying our Lord's Prayer in the golden censer in front of the throne of God.
And now the Lord Himself is praying for us on that throne. Romans 8:34 says, “Who will condemn? It is Christ Jesus who died, as well as who rose from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.”
Hebrews 7:24-25 says, "Because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood does not change; therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, for he always lives to intercede for them." .
This is the scene where the incense already contained in the golden incense burner (Jesus' prayer) is combined with the prayers of the saints to reach God (Rev 8:4).
Then the prayer movement that the Lord taught us!
Isn't this just another Jesus globalization movement?