The Gospel of the Kingdom - Matthew - Praying - Part 6

 

Text: Matthew 6:9a – In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

So, today we continue our brief study on the 9 aspects of prayer as given by Jesus to His Disciples. We looked at the first six so far – faith, worship, expectation, submission, petition, and confession, and today we will see the last three – compassion, dependence, and acknowledgment.

Compassion – (6:12b) “As we forgive our debtors.” This is so important that Jesus reemphasizes this in verses 14 and 15. Yet, we are so quick to ignore the depth of this teaching.

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Does not mean our salvation is dependent on this? No, that would be a works salvation. So what does He mean? The word translated as trespasses in the Greek is paraptooma, and it means a stumbling aside or false step, a lapse or deviation from the truth. This word is only used in Matthew. What He is saying is that our fellowship with the Father is based upon our fellowship with others. We cannot truly understand and accept the compassion and forgiveness of God if we do not provide it for those with whom we have dealings. Do you ever wonder if God has forgiven you for all you have done? Maybe it is because you refuse to forgive others for what they have done.

Next, Jesus takes us to dependence – (6:13a) “And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.” Temptation -the trial of man's fidelity, integrity, virtue, constancy. We all face temptations on a regular basis. Jesus faced temptation, yet He never gave into them. Here, Jesus helps us see that we are not capable of withstanding temptation in our own fleshly power. He encourages us to pray to be delivered, to be rescued. From whom? By whom? Rescue us from the Evil One. The word is used in the nominative case here in Mt. 6:13. When used this way, it usually denotes a title in the Greek. Hence Christ is saying, deliver us from "The Evil", and is probably referring to Satan.  God never tempts us with evil (James 1:13).

Finally, He encourages us to conclude our prayers with acknowledgment – (6:13b) “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.^”  Again, the Kingdom is the territory subject to the rule of a king. We are acknowledging He is the King, the Messiah. We are also acknowledging that the power (Greek  dýnamis meaning strength power, ability), the glory (Greek

dóxa meaning the splendor, majesty, exalted state) all belong to God. It is not our power – it is God’s. It is not for our glory – it is all for God. And He concludes it by saying, Amen meaning “so it is, so be it, may it be fulfilled.”

We must include the aspects of adoration, submission, petition, repentance, and praise to God in our prayers. Today, check your prayer life. Are we following the model that Jesus has given to us?