Today's paragraph topic is: (The Lord's Prayer).
Certain topics in the scriptures are so popular that they do not need explanation. Today's topic is one. We learn it from infancy. We repeat it throughout our lives. We know it without thinking about the words. It is a part of our culture. It was once in our schools. It is repeated at public events and is accepted as part of the American tradition, almost. Today, we find that the American way allows for other religious beliefs and therefore prevents this prayer from being expressed as freely today.
Christ tells us in this sermon, to not multiply words as the gentiles do. It is not necessary to be wordy to get God's attention, therefore we should only speak what is in our hearts. He tells us that God already knows what we need. This may not be what we want, but he already knows what we need. We may be selfish in our wants and differ from what God wants to give us. We may seek other thing that may not be good for us but they provide satisfy our passions and supply our desires. We may think that it is important to say a great deal, in many words, that God will provide for us the things that we want, but God knows already what we need.
Christ gives us exact instructions on how to pray. He says, when you pray, pray thus: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. These are the instructions that Christ gives to us as to how we should pray. We should first acknowledge that God is our father and that there is a place called heaven where God dwells. We should acknowledge that his name is sacred and honored, hallowed be thy name. We should next recognize that God has a kingdom and ask that it will manifest itself on earth. With the coming of the kingdom, we should also pray that his will be done on earth as it is done in heaven. Man has free will to do as he pleases. But we exercise that freedom, as Christians, by espousing that God's will be done on earth. We pray that we do his will and that others do the same also.
We then ask for our sustenance, our bread, to provide for our bodies, and we ask daily for this provision. We plead with God to forgive us our debts. We ask that he not hold our debts against us. We in turn pledge to forgive others their debts as they have transgressed against us. We ask God to deliver us from the evil of this world and to assure us that we are not led into any temptation that would separate us from his love. These are the instructions that Christ gives to us as to how we should pray to our heavenly Father. Christ further stipulates the importance of forgiveness. For if we forgive others their offenses then we express our sameness with God, acknowledging that we are his children and we have the capacity for mercy and forgiveness the same as he does. We are not prideful children. We are not vengeful children. We are humble sons and daughters of God, and this is our reason for prayer. Thank you father for teaching us how to pray.
Certain topics in the scriptures are so popular that they do not need explanation. Today's topic is one. We learn it from infancy. We repeat it throughout our lives. We know it without thinking about the words. It is a part of our culture. It was once in our schools. It is repeated at public events and is accepted as part of the American tradition, almost. Today, we find that the American way allows for other religious beliefs and therefore prevents this prayer from being expressed as freely today.
Christ tells us in this sermon, to not multiply words as the gentiles do. It is not necessary to be wordy to get God's attention, therefore we should only speak what is in our hearts. He tells us that God already knows what we need. This may not be what we want, but he already knows what we need. We may be selfish in our wants and differ from what God wants to give us. We may seek other thing that may not be good for us but they provide satisfy our passions and supply our desires. We may think that it is important to say a great deal, in many words, that God will provide for us the things that we want, but God knows already what we need.
Christ gives us exact instructions on how to pray. He says, when you pray, pray thus: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. These are the instructions that Christ gives to us as to how we should pray. We should first acknowledge that God is our father and that there is a place called heaven where God dwells. We should acknowledge that his name is sacred and honored, hallowed be thy name. We should next recognize that God has a kingdom and ask that it will manifest itself on earth. With the coming of the kingdom, we should also pray that his will be done on earth as it is done in heaven. Man has free will to do as he pleases. But we exercise that freedom, as Christians, by espousing that God's will be done on earth. We pray that we do his will and that others do the same also.
We then ask for our sustenance, our bread, to provide for our bodies, and we ask daily for this provision. We plead with God to forgive us our debts. We ask that he not hold our debts against us. We in turn pledge to forgive others their debts as they have transgressed against us. We ask God to deliver us from the evil of this world and to assure us that we are not led into any temptation that would separate us from his love. These are the instructions that Christ gives to us as to how we should pray to our heavenly Father. Christ further stipulates the importance of forgiveness. For if we forgive others their offenses then we express our sameness with God, acknowledging that we are his children and we have the capacity for mercy and forgiveness the same as he does. We are not prideful children. We are not vengeful children. We are humble sons and daughters of God, and this is our reason for prayer. Thank you father for teaching us how to pray.
