Pray like this: give us what we need

Recap:

Jesus gives us two bad example of how to pray:

Wanting to be seen by other (hypocrisy).

Praying empty phrases over and over again.

As for how we should pray, we have covered several different aspect:

Our Father: We are only to be praying to the Father. Humbling submitting to His authority and rulership. This allows us to bask in His security, warmth, intimacy and care. For He is a good, good Father.

Hallowed: The God we serve is a holy and righteous God. We need to treat Him with the highest honor and to set Him apart from all others, for there is none like Him.

Your kingdom come: there is a twofold sense of kingdom. First, in a broad sense the kingdom of God is the rule of an eternal, sovereign God over all things. and secondly, the more narrow sense is the kingdom of God is a spiritual rule over the hearts and lives of those who willingly submit to God’s authority. Here in this particular passage we are talking about the second. Those who acknowledge the lordship of Christ and gladly surrender to God’s rule in their hearts are part of the kingdom of God.

Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven: Our world doesn’t need our opinions it needs God’s saving power through the accomplished work of Jesus Christ.

Introduction:

[[Homework]]

Isaiah 41:10 ESV

10 fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:13 ESV

13 For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”

Job 12:7–10 ESV

7 “But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; 8 or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. 9 Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? 10 In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.

1 Corinthians 1:3–4 ESV

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus,

Matthew 6:25–34 ESV

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Matthew 10:26–33 ESV

26 “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

v 11) Give us this day our daily bread

Why does this personal prayer come second?

Only after putting God’s interests first, are we permitted to present our own needs.

Why does God’s interests come first?

This petition acknowledges our dependence on God for daily food.

Ultimately the right kind of prayer will freely bring its own needs to God. This will include needs for daily provision, forgiveness, and strength in the face of temptation.

Is this portion of the prayer physical or spiritual, or both?

When Jesus spoke of bread, He meant real bread, as in the sense of daily provisions. Early Christian theologians allegorized this, because they couldn’t imagine Jesus speaking about an everyday thing like bread in such a majestic prayer like this. So they thought bread referred to communion, the Lord’s Supper. Some have thought it speaks of the Word of God as our daily bread of life.

Calvin rightly said of such interpretations which fail to see God’s interest in everyday things, “This is exceedingly absurd.” God does care about everyday things, and we should pray about them.

I say this not to discourage an allegorized interpretation. But to ground our interpretation on what is actually being spoken of here first and not to miss a glorious truth about God and Jesus, that they are interested in our every day lives.

Prayer is for our needs, not our greeds. it is for one day at a time, reflecting the precarious lifestyle of many first-century workers who were paid one day at a time and for whom a few days’ illness could spell tragedy.