Issue 1345 – Our Father – January 16, 2023
Our local assembly is going through a season of prayer and fasting. The teaching on Sunday revolved around the Lord’s model of prayer in Matthew 5.
On Mondays, our small community group gets together for a meal, prayer, and discussion of the previous day’s sermon. Last night, our text was,
Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come your will be doneon earth as it is in heaven.Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Matthew 6:9-13
It’s a passage that virtually all Christians and many non-believers know by heart. It is concurrently one of the most simple and most profound of passages in the New Testament.
It’s an easy passage to dismiss because of our familiarity with it. That’s ironic because it is both the central point of the Sermon on the Mount and a pivotal point in our Christian relationship.
There are months of teaching that could be drawn out of that little prayer with little effort. This morning, though, I want to touch on a simple but profound aspect briefly.
It is a prayer designed with community involvement in mind. That isn’t to say that it can’t be prayed solo. It serves that purpose as well.
What community am I speaking of? The Lord and His followers.
There are two primary pronouns used. “Your refers to the Lord and our to the body of believers. Lord and believers in community and community.
“Our Father,” not my Father.
“Our daily bread,” not mine.
“Our debts” and “our debtors,” not mine.
“Lead us” and “Deliver us,” not me.
Our prayers are designed for our individual needs and to reach out and touch the community of believers and the world around us. Yes, we are to pray for what we need; the Bible is explicit about that, but our prayers shouldn’t be limited to it.
If you are a born-again believer, you are adopted into the family of God; he is your father and our father.
We are on this journey together to do what God calls us to ensure His name is glorified and to pray for the kingdom, both temporal and eternal.
We never walk in the faith alone. We travel in community even when we are by ourselves. That, my friends, is an incredible blessing.
Rejoice that He calls us with Him on that journey.
Be blessed
Hallelu Yah / Praise God
Kevin
Gleanings From The Word
Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.
Soli Deo Gloria (For the Glory of God alone)
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All contents, “Gleanings From The Word” and “Experience an Extraordinary God in Ordinary Life,” are © 2001, 2024 K.F. “Kevin” Corbin, Gleanings From The Word.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is from the English Standard Version (ESV).
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