Luke 11:1-4

Luke 11:1-4 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’”

Luke 11:1-4 And it came about that he was in prayer in a certain place, and when he came to an end, one of his disciples said to him, Lord, will you give us teaching about prayer, as John did to his disciples? And he said to them, When you say your prayers, say, Father, may your name be kept holy and your kingdom come. Give us every day bread for our needs. May we have forgiveness for our sins, as we make free all those who are in debt to us. And let us not be put to the test.

The Lord's prayer is a simple, short prayer of faith, a prayer that recognizes the authority of God. His prayer is sometimes a prayer we don't want to say, for we want much more out of life. We don't want bread alone; we want a house too and all of the amenities of life. We don't want Jesus saying to us, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven roosting-places; but the Son of man has not where he may lay his head (Matthew 8:20). When we sign up to follow him, we find it difficult to accept the small print at the bottom of the contract, to read that this world is not our home and we should not love anything in it. I struggle with that part of the contract. I like to read the larger print on salvation and joy. I linger on the lines where Jesus says, I will do whatever you ask in my name (John 14:13), and I underline several times the verses on eternal life and my inheritance in heaven. But the aspect of soldiering forward--following God regardless of the circumstances, being a servant to all, and expecting nothing from this world--is a little hard to take.

Now the part in the prayer on forgiving people so we might be forgiven by God sometimes seems even more difficult than being satisfied with what we have. We tend to forgive who we want, which actually establishes our kingdom here rather than God's kingdom. People who have been hurt greatly often find it hard to forgive, but unconditional forgiveness is a directive from God. Some people refuse to forgive God for happenings in their lives, blaming him and holding bitterness towards him for the horrible experiences they have endured. Some lash out, even wishing they had never been born. But God asks all of us to forgive, if not in our hearts, with our mouths, by obedience alone in faith. When we forgive in this way, we must ask the Holy Spirit to make it real in our spirits. This act of faith is similar to how we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior: we confessed faith in him with our mouths, and then we trusted God to make our salvation real in our hearts. Both forgiving others and accepting Jesus are steps of faith. Harsh memories might still trouble us, but they dim as we accept God's forgiveness and forgive others for their sins against us.

Has our faith been put to the test? Sometimes. We may have a chronic illness or other circumstances beyond our control or perhaps our lives as not at all smooth with trouble inhabiting our households. Jesus understood the difficulties of life that most of us would face. As He taught his disciples the Lord's prayer, He knew each of them would be put to the test in the immediate future. He also knew they would all abandon him at the cross, fleeing for their lives, even Peter, the brave-heart. He knew after his departure, many of them would lose their lives and all of them would face persecution. What then is Jesus truly saying as he prays, let us not be put to the test? He asks us not to allow the vicissitudes of life to overwhelm us and to pray that God will hold us permanently in his arms.

The brevity of this prayer amazes me, but I have come to realize the Lord's Prayer epitomizes a FAITH PRAYER. This prayer emphatically acknowledges God's control, that He knows who we are, understands our needs, and will keep us; yet He demands certain faith steps from us. Sometimes as I listen to our prayers, we sound like the wailing of the lost, desperately flailing about in our attempts to reach God. We try to make God come to our aid, not even believing He is listening to us or that He is in control of our lives, trying to convince him with our many words that He should intervene for us. In contrast, The Lord's Prayer is direct and simple: holy are you, we place our concerns in your hands, let your will be done as it is in heaven, help us to forgive as you forgive, and keep us forever. WHAT A PRAYER OF FAITH THAT IS! By faith, trusting that God is in control, let us all say, Amen!