Today’s Bible Study, Authored by Arthur
Cincotti. 03/05/2023
Listen to our Bible
Study Discussion at: Prayer & The Lord’s Prayer Podcast
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Prayer
“Can two walk together
unless they are agreed? Amos 3:3
Prayer is a conversation with
God. Conversation is the vehicle by which we come to know someone, including
God.
Let’s look at the “model”
prayer, in Mat. 6:9-13, and then branch off from there. Prayer was not
intended to be a wrote activity..
9. “In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.”
Immediately we engage two
subjects from last weeks study; sonship, and God’s sovereignty.
We discussed, last week, that
being children of God is not a foreign concept, even to first cen. Jews, but we
added that our sonship is by adoption, and the vehicle for that adoption
is the new birth.
Jn. 3:3 and I Pet.
1:22,23
Last week we also considered
God’s sovereignty. Rev. 19:16, “And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name
written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” God is sovereign because He is
holy, and in Rev. 4:8, “The four living creatures…do not rest day or
night, saying: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty…”
10. “Your kingdom come
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.”
This is a tough one. In brief
I would call this an alignment with God’s will, and His kingdom dynamics in the
hear and now. Jesus said, twice in Mat’s gospel, “the kingdom of heaven is
at hand.”
Mt. 4:17 and 10:7
11. “Give us this day our daily bread.”
Mt. 6:25, “Is not life more than food…”
God is obviously involved and
engaged in our physical needs.
Mt. 6:32,33, “Your heavenly Father knows that you need all
these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all
these things shall be added to you.”
But also, Jesus invites us to
feast upon Himself. Jn. 6:35, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall
never hunger, and he who believes in My shall never thirst.”
12. “And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.”
Forgiveness is a paramount
aspect of God’s character. As we are called and drawn to be more like Christ,
forgiveness will flow readily from us. And yet forgiveness is a complicated
subject, because where there is no repentance, how can forgiveness be manifest?
13a. “And do not lead us into temptation.”
Js. 1:13,14, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted
by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.
But each one is tempted when he is drawn away be his own desires and enticed.”
13b. “But deliver us from the evil one.”
I Th. 3:5 “For this reason, when I could no longer endure it, I
sent to know you faith, least by some means the tempter had tempted you, and
our labor might be in vain.”
We still lie under the sway
of the enemy, but we are given an instruction: “Therefore submit to God.
Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Js. 4:7
13c. “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the
glory forever. Amen.
A proclamation referring back
to vrs. 10
This is a beautiful pattern
for prayer, but if prayer were as easy as five of these and three “Hail Mary’s”
and you’re done, then where would the intimacy be???
As our relationship with God
flourishes, and grows in maturity and intimacy, so does our prayer life!!!
A powerful dynamic, in
prayer, is to pray God’s word back to
Him. This is not so much to remind
feeble old Grandpa what He said, but that we would know His promises and come
into alignment with them.
In this practice lies the power
of proclamation as a weapon in prayer; extending our faith, and calling “those
things which do not exist as though they did” Rom. 4:17
These are the privileges of sonship that we looked at
last week:
authority, access, intimacy, and inheritance.
In this regard, Paul compels
us to “pray without ceasing” I Th. 5:17
A constant dialogue with “Our
Father who art in heaven” is available to us because He said, “I will never
leave you nor forsake you.” Heb. 13:5
(Deut. 31:6)
This constant prayer,
however, does not constitute an excuse not to steal away for special, solitary
time with Him, Mt. 6:6; or for corporate prayer with other believers, Mt. 18:19
The power of agreement was
manifest in the upper room (Acts. 2) when the hundred and twenty found
themselves, “in one accord”.
Finally, prayer doesn’t
represent a method of twisting God’s arm or informing Him what’s going on, or
even listening for instruction, but the most intimate place of prayer is simply
enjoying His presence.
“In Your presence is
fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures
forevermore.” Ps. 16:11
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Encouragement for the Path of
Christian Discipleship
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