Excerpt from Life in the Kingdom, book 1
https://stevehusting.com/doubtbusters/steves-books/
Pray Like This
Matthew 6:9a Pray like this
Notice that Jesus does not say “pray these words,” but “pray in this manner.” There’s nothing wrong with praying these words; we just don’t need to pray exactly these words. We don’t need a script. We don’t need a book of prayers. We may speak to God as naturally as we speak to one another. Jesus has opened the way. When He died on the cross, the veil in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. This means God opened the way into His presence through faith in Jesus. This is the true kingdom of God: we can talk directly to Him.
Now let’s see in what manner Jesus wants us to pray. In verses 9-10 Jesus starts the prayer with God and His will. I don’t know about you, but I usually start with me and what I want! When we pray in Jesus’ manner, however, we pray for God and His will first and our needs second.
Our Father
Matthew 6:9 Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
We don’t find “Father” used of God very much in the Old Testament. The Psalms uses it twice in reference to God being a Father to the fatherless. Isaiah calls him The Everlasting Father in 9:6, referring to Jesus, and he calls God “our Father” in 63:16 and 64:8. But when we come to the Gospel of John we find God referred to as “the Father” over a hundred times! The Gospel of John is unique in that it persistently portrays Jesus as the Son of the Father. Jesus loved to use this term when addressing God.
God has more than six hundred names in the Bible, showing us He is not a one-dimensional God. He needs six hundred names for us to see how fantastic He is. We can ponder one of God’s names before entering into prayer to see whom we are addressing. Doing this can shape the way we word our prayers.
Among all God’s names, though, the name “Father” is to be considered most precious to the believer, holy and not common. That’s because it best communicates the family relationship of a child to his or her Father, and that is dear to God.
“Father” is to help us see God as personal, a parent who takes great interest in us. He cares about our growth in character and wisdom, training us wisely that we may advance in these areas. God has us enter into His work to get our hands dirty and grow through hands-on experiences. He is interested in nurturing us into mature sons and daughters who will be able to oversee His property and eventually govern in places of honor. He is careful to discipline us when we go off track to teach us there are negative consequences for sinful behavior. He is our protector and provider, giving out of His abundant provision. These are all traits good father should aspire to be. All these themes run throughout the Bible. They help us understand what is happening to us and why God acts the way He does.
These themes reveal the breadth of God as a Father. With this revelation of our Father comes a better understanding of us as His children. We are to grow in wisdom. We are being trained to be mature men and women who can govern others. We will suffer for bad judgments and learn from them. We will be put to work so we and God can see whether we are faithful or not. We will learn His will for this world, then work alongside Him, and then learn even further. We will ask and receive, giving us greater faith that God will provide all we need in the context of His overall plan.
But Satan and his devils have been undermining the name “Father” for many generations. It has not been kept holy. Many children have become fatherless through war, drugs, and dishonorable intentions. Many fathers are cruel, uninterested, too busy, permissive, absent, or abusive, thus marring a title that should be held in the highest honor. As a result, the name is meaningless to many, and has given countless children a negative connotation because of their dealings with Dad.
Thus, we don’t treat God as a loving Father who deserves our devotion and respect; as a result, we miss out on the work a father does in a child’s life. A father should discipline his erring child, but we are confused when we do wrong and suffer consequences. Isn’t God supposed to be good? Yes He is, and as a good Father He will help us see the error of our ways. He won’t wink and say, “Boys will be boys.” We’ve probably missed the teachings in the New Testament about God training us up to be mature. God intends that we reign with Him, but it is not automatic. All the moral teachings we read are to strengthen our character toward making us fit to rule on thrones with Jesus. Will you be a foolish person when you stand before Him at the judgment, or wise? Fit to rule, or unfit? A good father has an end in view for his children.
“Father” is rather formal. But in the original language here, “Father” is actually informal, even intimate: like “Abba,” “Daddy,” “Papa,” “Dada,” and other simple forms that come from the mouth of a child. It’s a name we are to reverence, a name we trust to take care of us and not steer us wrong. As weak children, we look up to our heavenly dad and say like a child, “He is so wise, so big and strong. He will help when I am hurt or afraid.”
This name “Father” is one of the most wonderful gifts we have as saved people! Of more than six hundred-plus names, titles, and designations for God, Jesus chose this one above all to address Him. Without a right relationship to this Father, we will not approach the kingdom as we ought. Jesus said in Matthew 18:3, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Let’s prize this name above all and learn to be subject to the Father as His obedient children.
Your Kingdom Come
Matthew 6:10a Let your Kingdom come.
God wants us to desire that His kingly rule will be over all the universe. It is going to happen; Jesus will come again and take back this world for Himself. There are many prophecies on His Second Coming, and He wants His people looking forward to it. In Revelation 22:20, John says, “Even so, come Lord Jesus!” He’s looking for a people who long for the new world and His place as ruler over it.
Colossians 1:16 says, “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.” Jesus created these ranks of authorities to further His purposes. His authority is exercised through authorities on the heavenly and earthly levels. This explains why our arch-enemy would attack the order in our families, government, and businesses, even crippling our churches with its members expressing lack of recognition of church authority. (Can anyone say director-choir spats?)
Just like Jesus Christ’s name has been maligned as a curse word to denigrate His person, so spiritual enemies disrupt the systems of authority to further distort the authority of God. When we don’t recognize God’s authority, our relationship to Him as children in training to be sons and daughters who rule with Him is in jeopardy. For in the end, Christ is setting up a kingdom that will be exercised by people who faithfully represent His interests, who act under His authority. When the principles of authority are vague, our training will be, as well.
Jesus will come again, and He will remove all earthly powers and set up His own government composed of believers He has trained to be depended on to maintain the values of the kingdom, even when facing personal trials. These are the ones He can trust on a throne to rule firmly from His standards — despite opposition from outside and inside.
Romans 13:1-17 tells us to obey our government. When we secretly disobey, like when we deliberately go through a red light or report less income on our taxes than we should, we flout authority. If we are willing to do that, then chances are, we don’t observe a clear-cut authority structure in our homes either.
Casual observance of authority in the home might mirror our stance toward the authority of the Bible. We may submit to Christ’s authority, or question it. We may want to know His will for our lives, or just go our own ways. Judges 21:25 summed up the ancient Israelite’s lack of following God as “every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” This is the trend of lives that don’t acknowledge the authority of God.
Sin and rejection of God’s authority go hand in hand. When we follow sinful impulses without resistance, Jesus is not ruling on the throne of the heart. We cannot serve two masters. This prayer starts with the basic tenet that God’s proper place is ruler over all.
Your Will Be Done
Matthew 6:10b Let your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.
Jesus’ manner of prayer is about approaching God the right way, which begins with acknowledging who He is. Next when we pray we keep His interests in mind. What is His will? What does He stand for? People have said that prayer is to get God’s will done, not ours, and that thought probably comes from this verse.
Romans 12:1-2 tells us to surrender all to Him with ourselves being living sacrifices; then we’ll know what the will of God is. Of course, if I live for myself, I won’t really care for His will, and it won’t be apparent at the times I do want to know. But Proverbs tells us that when we cultivate the life of faith and wisdom, wisdom will call to us, and we will pay attention to and be blessed by the knowledge. The first few chapters of Proverbs repeat the idea that those who seek wisdom will find it, and those who don’t won’t hear it when it’s needed. When we surrender to God’s rule, we are already entering into His will, right?
James 4:3 tells us that prayers are not answered because we ask amiss; we ask in order to satisfy the flesh, not to fulfill God’s will. I have on my prayer list to understand John 14:13, “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” That sounds like a blank check, yet look at prayer’s purpose: to glorify the Father. These are the prayers Jesus will honor. Is it not God’s will to draw others to Jesus, that they may be saved?
Excerpt from Life in the Kingdom, book 1
https://stevehusting.com/doubtbusters/steves-books/
