Living by the Lord’s Prayer

July 28, 2013


GOSPEL LESSON: Luke 11:1–13 [The Lord’s instruction on prayer]
Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” And he said to them, “When you pray, say:
“Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.”

LORD’S PRAYER (congregation, in unison)
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

What guides a Christian in their daily life? Is it the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, the Ten Commandments, Love? Yes, of course, all of these. But today, I want to look at the Lord’s Prayer as power and guidance in our lives.

The Ten Commandments have three uses, according to the Catechism Book: curb, mirror and guide; to control society, to show us our sins, and to give suggestions as how to live a God-pleasing life. But the Ten Commandments in themselves give us no power to keep them. The Fifth Commandment says “Do not kill,” but it gives no power to us to protect the lives of other people. We are left on our own. And that is why we constantly break the Ten Commandments. And so the Holy Spirit has to guide us Christians in another way.

Are we guided by Love? Yes, we are. But we have to be careful. So many things these days are done in the name of love. “If we love each other, then it must be okay.” “If we love each other, then you must let us fulfill our love in the way we want to.” In the name of love, abortion and euthanasia are freely practiced. In the name of love for your country war and murder and acts of terror and greed and invasion are justified. We Christians look to the love of God to know what true love is. John 3:16. The healing miracles of Jesus. The death and resurrection of Jesus. The Good Samaritan. The Good Shepherd. Love one another. Love your enemy.


Personally, I find guidance and strength for my Christian life in the words of the Lord’s Prayer. I want to share my thoughts, some of what is going though my mind and heart as I pray the Lord’s Prayer.

“Our Father, who art in heaven.” Many of our prayers begin with words like “Almighty God.” This is good because it reminds us that God can do anything, he can hear and grant my requests. But at the same time, the words “God Almighty” seem to put God way up in heaven beyond my reach, whereas the word “Father” makes God very personal. God can put a personal touch to my requests. As a loving father, he knows what is best for me. God is my father, his Son who is Jesus Christ is my brother and friend. In Baptism I am baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. [Just like Dakota was baptized this morning.] And so I know with confidence that God hears my prayers and wants to take care of me. Not only me, but for all the other people for whom we pray when we say “Our Father.”

“Hallowed by thy name.” The word “hallow” means to make holy. It reminds me of the liturgical hymn that we sing during Communion. “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts.” When I say the words “hallowed by thy name,” usually my thoughts and feelings are like, “Hallelujah, Praise the Lord, Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord, Hosanna!” But I also know that God’s name is like his reputation. So I pray that nothing in my life or behavior would bring shame to the family name, rather that my life and behavior would proclaim the fame of the Holy Name! It is a prayer for me, this church, and for all Christendom, that there be no scandals or false doctrine that make the people of the world mistrust and hate the church and the Lord of the church.

“Thy Kingdom come.” This is a prayer about evangelism. That the mission of the church would spread the Kingdom of God throughout the word. We pray that God would bless the work of our church. That he would be the King and Ruler of my heart and life. That he would come into the hearts of certain people I know that they too might live in his Kingdom. And it is also a prayer that Christ would return in all his Kingly Power at the End of the World. It is a statement of faith in the Nicene Creed that he will “come again to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.” And when I look at the condition of the world, I see the war and poverty and oppression and disease and disasters and sadness, I pray that God would hasten that Last Day. Or that God would come now in power to put things right in this world through his reign.

“Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Of course God our Almighty Father can do whatever he wants to do on earth and in heaven. I pray that I would know what the will of God is, what God wants me to do in my life. Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done” Luke 22:42. Following the will of God led Jesus to the cross. There he died to forgive the sin of the world, the sin of all those who do not do the will of God. That prayer of Jesus led Jesus to his sacrifice, what sacrifice would this prayer lead me to? Perhaps there should always be a bit of fear and trembling in our prayers (Phil.2:12).

“Give us this day our daily bread.” In the Small Catechism, Martin Luther reminds us “daily bread” means everything we need each day to keep alive. Luther lists about 22 things, like “food, drink, clothing…..devout spouse, devote children, good government, good weather, self control, good friends and the like.” And as we pray we think about those things that we personally need today. A new car, good grades, and as a pastor, I pray that I would be given inspiration for a good sermon. Often times I find my self changing the words slightly: “Thank you, Father, for giving me my daily bread.” And let’s not forget, it is “OUR” daily bread. We pray for the needs and health and happiness of our family, our friends, our nation, and this morning our church.

“And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” This is a dangerous prayer. It means that since I as a sinner have not completely forgiven other people, that God need not forgive me completely either. Ouch! And so, as Luther suggests, in my mind I change the words like this, “Father, as your Son died on the cross to forgive me all my sins, give me the grace to forgive others who do bad things to me and the grace to do good to them.” “And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” This also means mutual forgiveness within the congregation or family who pray the Lord’s Prayer together.

“And lead us not into temptation.” We are surrounded by temptations to sin. We pray that we might be strong in the face of temptations lest we sin. But even better, we pray that we are not led into temptation, that is, we pray that we will not have to face temptation and tests of our faith. Because I am weak, I will probably fail the test, so I pray that there will be no test at all.

“But deliver us from evil.” I have always thought it strange that this phrase begins with the word “but.” I guess Jesus knew that when temptations come we fall into the temptation and sin. And so we pray that when we fall into the temptation that no evil comes. Even when sinning, we pray that we might be protected from evil. Luther listed a number of these evils: false belief, despair, shame, vice, evil of body and soul, possessions and reputation, and the devil and hell. We thank our heavenly Father for delivering us this far from great evil, and finally when our last hour comes, that we have a blessed end and graciously be taken from this valley of sorrow to our Father in Heaven. That is, it is a prayer of confidence that when we die we will go to heaven.

“For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.” This is a doxology of praise. It is also the confidence and joy we have that God can and will answer our prayer. It is because he has the eternal glorious powerful kingdom.

Amen! Amen! Yes, yes, it shall be so! Not just the end of our prayer, but the beginning of daily walk with our heavenly Father.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church


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