God’s Constitution, Pt 22: Prayer (c)

Matthew 6:5-15                     5“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9“This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11Give us today our daily bread. 12And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.’  14For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Proverbs 30:8-9                     8Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches but give me only my daily bread.  9Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.

Many Americans are said to be only one paycheck away from bankruptcy and that in general we are not nearly as secure as we think we are.  This situation was quite common in the 1st Century as the average Joe awoke each day not knowing if he would have food to eat.  The point in this part of the Lord’s Prayer is that ultimately we are all completely dependent upon God’s provision and protection for our survival.  As we have said, it is OK to ask for our needs to be met as long as we have remembered to praise and extol the Lord God first.  It is not, however, OK to pray for our ‘greeds’!

Notice this part of the prayer asks for help in three basic human areas:  Provision for our daily sustenance, forgiveness of sins made against others and sins received from others, and protection from our enemy’s attacks.  All three of these needs are ‘two-way streets’ by which I mean we have action to take in each of them.  Although ultimately our provision comes from God, that in no way should imply that we don’t have responsibility to work to earn a living.  It does mean that in spite of our best efforts, God is actually in control.  And it also implies that throughout our day we should be in constant communion with God.  Here is the real meat of these verses.  I think many of us would agree that life based solely on acquisition, a life centered only on food, is insufficient.  More is needed.  The world would argue with this, but we who have a connection with the King of the Universe know that relationship with Him and protection from the attacks of Satan are necessary to the fullness of being.

So, we pray for our sustenance, but we also say, “I need help with my tendency to hurt others, and I am extremely vulnerable to injury from Satan.”  But probably the most important part of this prayer is the middle: “forgive us our debts…”  ‘Debts’ here does not mean money but does refer to transgressions we have made against others.  And here’s the trouble with transgressions, or sins if you prefer:  They cause divisions between God’s children.  If you look globally there are roughly 45,000 denominations of Christianity and every one of them began with someone griping about something another one did or didn’t do.  People have left churches, so they didn’t have to be around someone who stayed.  Division is one of the most powerful weapons Satan has.

And yet all division can be healed with just the meaningful utterance of two words: “I repent”, or “I’m sorry.”  These are hard words to say because our pride and sense of wellness gets caught up in the offense placed upon us or the one we put on others.  So has someone hurt you?  Do they owe you money?  Have they committed some egregious offense against you?  Think about your life for a second:  I’m sure you realize that every single sin you have ever committed in the entirety of your life was wiped away the moment you accepted Christ as your Savior.  How does the hurt feelings from the smart-alec remark made at you compare to Christ’ forgiveness of your sin?

But even this consideration is not the complete story.  When we hold offense against another, it’s not that other person who is hurt: it’s us.  It is our blood pressure which is elevated; it’s our tension which is increased.  We’ll talk about forgiveness more completely in the next posting, but for the time being consider this:  Unforgiveness poisons and the one it poisons is us.

And then the third part of this prayer regarding human need is protection.  We are reminded that attempting to live our lives outside of God’s protection is foolhardy.  Struggles come to everyone and how one responds to them is an indication of the degree of their love of God.

12Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him….14each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. (James 1:12, 14-15)

James says the ultimate result of sin is the death of our love for God.  With each unrepented sin we become a little more jaded, a little more distant from Him, a little less intimate with Him, a little more vulnerable.  I don’t think anyone wants that, but we give in to the sinful desires of our flesh, don’t we?  The key is to be in constant refreshing prayer of the style, not necessarily the exact format, of the Lord’s Prayer.  The other day the senior pastor of our church asked me to lead a prayer time he was scheduled for.  I didn’t want to do it; I was in a horrible mood and the last thing I wanted to do was pray.  The solution?  I praised and exalted God.  I have discovered over the years that the blessings of love and contentment come from His presence.  So I praised and exalted.  Then the other prayers came; the group joined in; hearts were softened, hurts were healed.

Any time one engages in intimate prayer, blessings come.  If one thinks prayer is not for me, or is uncomfortable in praying, or is hesitant about it, that person is missing out.  Please don’t let that be you.