The Word This Week
Luke 11:1…
Jesus evidenced a regular prayer life.
If Jesus prayed, shouldn’t we?
This apparently was the sense His disciples had as they continued to be made aware of Jesus’ prayer life. It created a desire in themselves to learn of how this communication with the Father could take place.
They asked Jesus to teach them, and of course there could be no greater teacher than Jesus pertaining to prayer.
As part of their encouragement for Jesus to teach them how to pray, they included a part of John’s ministry we had not heard before. John also taught his disciples to pray. (This lets us know John’s ministry was also a teaching ministry as well as a ministry of a baptism of repentance.)
Jesus, without hesitation began to teach them. “When you pray…”
This informs us He expected they would pray, and His instruction goes beyond them to us today.
Notice immediately how brief this instruction of prayer is. Notice also how comprehensive it is.
We have been instructed by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount not to speak to our Father with vain repetitions. From this we can know this example of how to pray is a form of prayer - a template - rather than the exact words we are to speak to our Father in heaven.
At the same time we can realize there is no harm, and it is not inappropriate to pray these exact words – as long as they are connected to our hearts as we pray – and therefore NOT vain repetitions.
All of us can think of all the times this model prayer HAS BEEN employed AS a vain repetition, and even employed in the Roman church as a form of recitation in order to “accomplish” right-standing with our Father following the confession of sin to a priest.
That misuse of this form of prayer is widespread but should not be construed as the fault of the prayer, or to deny the effectiveness of heartfelt Spirit-led employment of these exact words as a prayer to God.
The opening words, “Our Father,” if employed rightly rather than BY vain repetition should prompt in everyone this question about their lives: Is God truly MY Father – or am I just going through religious motions?
Pastor Bill
Jesus evidenced a regular prayer life.
If Jesus prayed, shouldn’t we?
This apparently was the sense His disciples had as they continued to be made aware of Jesus’ prayer life. It created a desire in themselves to learn of how this communication with the Father could take place.
They asked Jesus to teach them, and of course there could be no greater teacher than Jesus pertaining to prayer.
As part of their encouragement for Jesus to teach them how to pray, they included a part of John’s ministry we had not heard before. John also taught his disciples to pray. (This lets us know John’s ministry was also a teaching ministry as well as a ministry of a baptism of repentance.)
Jesus, without hesitation began to teach them. “When you pray…”
This informs us He expected they would pray, and His instruction goes beyond them to us today.
Notice immediately how brief this instruction of prayer is. Notice also how comprehensive it is.
We have been instructed by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount not to speak to our Father with vain repetitions. From this we can know this example of how to pray is a form of prayer - a template - rather than the exact words we are to speak to our Father in heaven.
At the same time we can realize there is no harm, and it is not inappropriate to pray these exact words – as long as they are connected to our hearts as we pray – and therefore NOT vain repetitions.
All of us can think of all the times this model prayer HAS BEEN employed AS a vain repetition, and even employed in the Roman church as a form of recitation in order to “accomplish” right-standing with our Father following the confession of sin to a priest.
That misuse of this form of prayer is widespread but should not be construed as the fault of the prayer, or to deny the effectiveness of heartfelt Spirit-led employment of these exact words as a prayer to God.
The opening words, “Our Father,” if employed rightly rather than BY vain repetition should prompt in everyone this question about their lives: Is God truly MY Father – or am I just going through religious motions?
Pastor Bill