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nd when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the
hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in
the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto
you, They have their reward. 6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter
into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is
in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 7 But
when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think
that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8 Be not ye
therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of,
before ye ask him. 9 After this manner therefore pray ye: (Matt 6:5-9)
Our Father
This is a corporate prayer
because it does not begin My Father, but Our Father. He is our progenitor and
Creator. This is like a letter addressed to our Father. What is His address?
Who art in Heaven
That is His address.
Hallowed be thy Name. The Salutation - Your name is Holy and we
should reverence you and not ourselves.
BODY OF ADDRESS (Petition):
Thy Kingdom come, thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. We
should hope for the soon appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ and , even if He
delays His coming, we should work that His Will be done here on earth as well
as in Heaven.
Give us this day, our daily bread. We should ask of Him no more
than our necessity for the day. As He told us: "Take therefore no thought
for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought of itself. Sufficient unto
the day is the evil thereof." Matthew 6:34. The modern approach in worship
would have us believe that we can demand from God all things and that He is
obligated to provide. BIG ERROR! He is Sovereign and will provide according to
HIS Will - not ours!
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Each and every
day we should seek forgiveness for our sins of commission and omission. But if
we expect OUR sins to be forgiven, we must forgive offenses committed against
us. "For if
ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive
your trespasses." Gospel of St. Matthew 6:14 &15.
How many of us are seeking forgiveness
without result because we forgive not others?
And lead us not into temptation....We are all alike subject to the
woos of the world, we are tempted of the evil one daily in our lives. But if we
follow in the steps of Jesus, He will lead us away from the paths of
temptation.
But deliver us from evil...When we do encounter evil, please, dear
Lord, deliver us from its grasp. When we do fall into the depths of the sea of
sin, kindly reach your nail-scarred hand down to grasp our failing arm of flesh
and lift us from our despair and ruin.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.
It is your kingdom, not ours. You are the Sovereign Ruler, not we. We often
attempt to usurp your power when we are puffed up with pride. We boast of our
gifts (and think they are our own goodness), we praise men of great fame more
than the Heavenly Power, we worship oftentimes to attract attention more to
ourselves rather than in giving all glory to God to whom it belongs. We fail of
humility and piety. Our worship should be directed toward the Glory of God
alone and none to man or creature.
BENEDICTION:
And the simple Amen at the closing benediction is
appropriate...so be it, dear Lord. Our simple supplication is not phony or
long-winded, but succinct and humble in its appeal to the Power on High.
To me, this is the essence of the
Lord's Prayer.
