Matthew 6: 9-13
The “LORD’s prayer” is known by many, and many recite it every day, especially when they are in trouble. Many people “pray” this in a robotic way, a series of words in repetition, many “pray” this without really thinking, “What am I saying really?” Yeshua wanted his disciples to do more than “pray” the words, but to “think and meditate on what the words are saying; That is why, when Yeshua's disciples asked him to teach them to pray, he gave them this model.
OUR FATHER…only believers can call God “Father”; it is a special relationship. To a lost person, God is their creator and will be their judge in the future; to a born-again believer, there is a “father-son/daughter” relationship….We are his children, his family members. Some state, "There is the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of mankind." There are biological brothers and sisters, and spiritual brothers and sisters. We are spiritual brothers and sisters if we have our Heavenly Father as our "Father," and that is only possible through Yeshua/Jesus, accepting Him as our LORD and Savior. As the Creator God, He created all of mankind. ALL mankind will be judged. God can be our Strict Judge, who will judge by the BOOK! or... The advocate who has declared us free from sin, through Yeshua! I prefer a Heavenly Father who loves me, rather than a strict judge with no mercy.
IN HEAVEN…He lives in the heavens (plural) in Hebrew; it is always plural “HaShamayim.” He is in the New Jerusalem, in outer Space, in our atmosphere, in our backyard, in our front yard, in our living room, and living inside of us. He is everywhere, beyond space and time. He is the past (Haya), the present (Hoveh), and the future (Yiyah) No wonder his most sacred name contains the letters YHVH. Each word contains one or both of those letters. His name tells us: I AM of the past, present, and future, the God of eternal existence. His reign is in the Heavens and beyond.
KADOSH BE YOUR NAME. His name “YHVH” is HOLY, and being Holy, His name should be spoken with reverence, whether we call him Yod Hey Vav Hey, or Adonai, or HaShem, or Adonai-Yeshua, our comportment as believers should reflect the holiness of HIS name. We represent HIS HOLY NAME both by word and deed.
YOUR KINGDOM COME. His kingdom is already here! His kingdom is his activity on earth. His activity began with creation. There will be a political Kingdom that WILL COME down to earth in the future, and we will all be part of it. The New Jerusalem, with 12 gates, the city of gold and decorated with jewels is being adorned and fit for HIS bride to be. We are that bride, who, in the future, will inherit His Kingdom.
YOUR WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN… We should always ask for and expect His PERFECT will for our lives. There is his “permissive will” and his “perfect will.” We want to be in his “perfect will” as He wants the best for us all the time. We tend to be sporadic, do things on impulse, and then complain to God when things go wrong. Yet God steps in and kind of corrects things. He allows us free will to choose. Yet there is a perfect will from God for all of us. How many of us have entered that, I wonder. Maybe in Heaven, He just might say," Son, this is what I had for you, yet you chose to do your own thing."
GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD… We ask for our daily needs to be met, and when we are in his will, our needs will be met, and many times, our wants as well. HOWEVER, be careful for what we ask for, since sometimes “He will give us what we want, but we won’t want what we get! If you catch the drift! Sometimes, when we don’t ask for much, he gives us that, and much more, and sometimes, he gives us just a “little at a time” to keep us humble. Our "daily bread" is what we need to live day by day. Bread was a staple thousands of years ago, and it still is. Paul the Apostle was satisfied in abundance or in scarcity. We should have the same mindset. With keys to drive a car, or just bus fare, in an apartment, or in a house, but you see, nothing is really ours, everything belongs to HIM! Everything is on loan.
FORGIVE US OUR SINS AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO SIN AGAINST US. How can our Heavenly Father forgive us if we hold grudges against others who have offended us? Sometimes, forgiveness is hard, but our Father commands it, and only through the Holy Spirit can we do it. Hosea forgave Gomer, his harlot wife, just like YHVH forgives us. Are we harboring resentment towards others? If so, get right with God by getting right with that person or persons.
LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION BUT DELIVER US FROM THE EVIL ONE. But wasn’t Yeshua tempted? Yes, and he called upon the Father for strength. When temptations come our way, and they will, we should ask that we not succumb to the temptation and pray for an escape route. The enemy preys on our weaknesses, our eyes, our mind, our ears; however, if we have our sight on Yeshua, our mind tuned to HIM, and our ears to hear His WORD, we will overcome temptation.
FOR THINE IS THE KINGDOM, THE POWER, AND THE GLORY FOR EVER AND EVER....AMEN. This is a declaration that God/YHVH is the ruler and owner of all that we see, and what we don't see. He controls all power, the power in the universe as well as political power, and He gives power to whom He wishes to give power to. To Him is all glory, which is a stumbling block for many, even in ministry, who want to see their names on buildings and in lights. Let us be humble and let HIM be exalted, lest we want to be exalted and end up humbled. Forever and ever is a long time. Time on this Earth is like a grain of sand on the beaches of eternity. AMEN...(So be it) It comes from the Hebrew "Emunah," which means "faith. So we say, "By faith I believe."
