Thursday, September 29, 2011 05:41:33 PM
Today was a rainy and horrible sort of day, a day borrowed from winter. I managed to get all I needed to get done and I was able to order a new bed, since mine is falling apart. I will be sleeping with my head at the foot of the be because this end is a bit more stable.
this afternoon I was talking to my little cousin Georgia on Facebook. I am going to stay with my cousin Nicole, who is Georgia's Mumn, next weekend. I always enjoy visiting them.
Well that's about all I have for today and I'm getting tired anyway. Tonight I will be trying a sleeping aid i got fro the health food shop, I can't remember what's in the tablets but I hope they will help me.
god bless you all.
Wednesday, October 05, 2011 04:40:09 AM
I was just reading from a devotional book called "our daily bread" that someone sent us in braille. I felt inspired when I read about a Mum who took 5 minutes each morning before her kids went off to school, to pray for each of them by name. Other kids in the neighbourhood joined the prayer circle when they happened to be around. What an inspiration! Sometimes it's the little things that make so much difference!
I want to share 2 quotes that were quoted in that article:
The issue isn't how much time
We spend with God in prayer,
But seeking him throughout each day
And knowing that he's there [Sper]
Prayer is an acknowledgement of our need for god [Unknown]
I was challenged by that first quote. I have 2 prayer and bible study sessions a day and I try to start each hour with meditating on a bible verse for a minute or two, [I'm not boasting I'm just explaining something, we each have our own ways of approaching time with God,] but I was challenged about seeking him through the day and knowing that he's there, not just in my prayer times and things. We don't' just give God part of our day, we need to give him all of it. We can acknowledge god while talking with friends or doing shopping or making something to eat or whatever we're doing, and if we find that we can't acknowledge god in something that we're doing then maybe we need to think about whether we should be doing that thing.
O Abba father, thank you that you are always with me at any time of the day or night, whenever I call to you, you're always there and each one of us when we pray gets your full attention. How awesome you are, dearest Lord. Your love for us is far greater than we could ever comprehend with our little mortal minds. I praise you Lord for who you are. You are my holy, loving, heavenly father and you gave your son Jesus to die for us because that was the only way to save us. Thank you Lord, I wish there were better words to express my gratitude but sometimes the simple words are best and I know you understand how I feel. Thank you Abba Father. Amen.
[note: Abba is a Hebrew word meaning daddy, it's a word a small child would use to speak to their dad. The bible says:
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!"
{romans 8:15}]
04:59:47 AM
I just wanted to say a great big thank you to all those who read these scribblings of mine. i may not always say it but I really appreciate anyone who takes the time to read these posts. God has been speaking to me about letting people know how much I appreciate them and about showing my gratitude more openly. I am often blessed by things that people do, even little things, but I don't tell them often enough how I feel. May God bless you all!
Thursday, October 13, 2011 04:05:15 AM
Hi readers:
I was looking through a list of journalling prompts for things to write about since I'm in a mood for writing this morning and i might as well make use of it, lol. The prompt I found is:
what bible verse spoke to me today?
Here's the bible verse:
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the
Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
[Galatians 2:20]
Thoughts:
As Christians we are new creations. We can't live for god and live in our own way at the same time, we have to choose which way we will go. We often face the choice, "Will I do what I want to do or will I do this god's way?"
I am encouraged in times like that by remembering that Jesus experienced the same temptations and challenges we face. I'm sure there were times when he wished he didn't have to go through with the Father's plan that sent Jesus to the cross to die for us. The difference is, Jesus always chose to go God's way. His prayer was "not my will but your will be done". When we are faced with the choice of going our way or god's way we can talk to Jesus about it and ask his help to make the right decision and hold to it no matter what.
Thanks for reading and may god bless you!
4:24:58
Hi again readers:
I told myself I wouldn't write about any other journalling prompts unless one really stuck out at me and grabbed my attention and guess what ?
I found a quote in my list that i didn't realise I had copied. I really like it. Here it is:
• “What in your life is calling you? When all the noise is silenced, the meetings adjourned, the lists laid aside, and the wild iris blooms by itself in
the dark forest, what still pulls on your soul? In the silence between your heartbeats hides a summons, do you hear it? Name it, if you must, or leave
it forever nameless, but why pretend it is not there?” - The Terma Collective
the thing that calls to me is music, specifically singing. I love it. I've always been passionate about singing. I dreamed of being an opera singer but that never came to fruition. I feel drawn to my keyboard to sing a few times a day. Mostly what I sing is Christian praise and worship music but I sometimes sing other things, like the classical songs I learned when I was blessed enough to have a teacher.
I'm glad that sis and I have got back into singing at church, I really missed that. We also go to Garden court and sing and play piano there, although the piano there is woefully out of tune. We sometimes sing at the International Christian community website, they have a music event on Wednesday morning my time. I long to get back into singing at nursing homes, I loved doing that so much but there were reasons we couldn't continue to do it.
Well I think that will probably be my last entry for now, unless i find something else to comment on. I'm listening to a lovely worship song now called we all bow down. I like it.
Ok see you all later and thanks for reading.
4:39:07
you can tell I'm in the mood for writing today can't you?
• If you had to evacuate your home because of a natural disaster, what three things would you take with you?
We were in a situation similar to this once, the drama was that we had a tree in front of the house we lived in that looked about ready to fall. the foundations of that house weren't very strong and we thought the place would collapse. There was a very strong wind that day so the emergency services people couldn't come and cut the tree down. We packed up in one heck of a hurry and I thought about the things I wouldn't want to leave without. i packed the bouquet of material flowers I carried when I was bridesmaid at my best friends' wedding, the candlesticks a dear friend in America sent me, some of my jewelry, a few clothes and things like that. Later we came back for the computer.
At that time there were bush fires in the surrounding areas but we weren't affected so people were being evacuated to our town. We were given a room in a hotel that was miles from the bathroom, well miles is an exaggeration but it felt that way. There was also a dust storm that night. It was not the most enjoyable night we ever spent.
Well if today there was a natural disaster and I could only take 3 things my handbag would be one of them because there's a fair bit of stuff in there, including my bible courier, which is a little black box with a memory card that has 2 versions of the bible that are read through a speech synthesizer, as well as my cane and miniguide and a few other odds and ends. If I could i would take my computer and also my piano keyboard. I would also want to take the candlesticks and perhaps a few of the little ornaments my Grandmother gave me before she died. yes, I know that's more than three things, but o well never mind.
Thanks for reading.
Friday, October 14, 2011 03:44:49
Dear readers:
Well i don't know what happened to the earlier entry I put in here it seems to have vanished. O well i know where else I posted it so i can get it back. I wrote that I was feeling very depressed, weak and vulnerable, and needed God's help.
Just a little while ago I went to my piano keyboard and sang some songs of worship to God. Just before I did that, I opened my bible as I always do an read some verses from the book of psalms which is my favourite book of the bible. here are the verses I came across this morning:
I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all that you have done;
I ponder the work of your hands.
I stretch out my hands to you;
my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.
Selah
Answer me quickly, O LORD!
My spirit fails!
Hide not your face from me,
lest I be like those who go down to the pit.
Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,
for in you I trust.
Make me know the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul.
Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD!
I have fled to you for refuge!
Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God!
Let your good Spirit lead me
on level ground!
For your name's sake, O LORD, preserve my life!
In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!
[Psalm 143:5-11]
wow! those verses perfectly fitted my situation. I read them aloud as a prayer to God. It's amazing how God knows what we need, and blesses us with evidences that he knows what we are experiencing and is with us in our trouble. god is sooooo good!
Tuesday, October 18, 2011 8:09:11 PM
I've been unwell today with gastric problems but I'm feeling a bit better now. I'm just sitting here listening to music and chatting online. I'm about to post this to my blog.
I just heard that Gilad shalit has been returned to Israel. I'm so glad about that, he was a prisoner with Hamas for 5 years it must be an amazing relief for him to be back in his homeland. God is good.
Well that's all I have to say for now so I'm going to post this. Should any of you wish to talk to me on twitter my id is
heartsong4jc
www.twitter.com/heartsong4jc
god bless you all!
Tuesday, 18 October 2011
prayer2 - the Lord's Prayer
Pray then like this:
"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
[Matt 6:9-13]
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."
I want to talk to you today about using the beautiful prayer known as the Lord's prayer as a prayer guide. It is nice and meaningful to pray that prayer through, we often do it in Church services and it's often the first prayer taught to new believers. however Jesus gave us not only a prayer to pray but a guide for our prayers. We are going to go through this prayer bit by bit and i will share what I have learned about using this prayer as a guide.
Firstly though, notice what the bible says in Luke 11:1
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."
I think we can all benefit from learning more about prayer, it's such a vital part of our Christian life and yet it is one that so many believers including me struggle with at times. We looked at prayer in a previous message but there is so much more to say about it.
now let's look at the Lord's prayer phrase by phrase:
1.
"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
[Matt 6:9b]
God is our heavenly father. The bible says:
God destined us to be his adopted children through Jesus Christ because of his love. This was according to his goodwill and plan
[Ephesians 1:5 CEB]
and this:
Like a parent feels compassion for their children- that’s how the LORD feels compassion for those who honor him.
[Psalm 103:13 CEB]
notice the verse in Ephesians says:
God destined us to be his adopted children through Jesus Christ....
we are not natural born children of God, we are not god as Jesus is, but we are adopted into the family of god. An adopted child doesn't have the same birth parents as a child of the family would have, but an adopted child is legally part of the family.
When we became Christians we became part of the family of god. That's why the Lord's prayer starts with "Our father" not "My father". It reminds us that we are united with every Christian everywhere in the world and all those who have gone to Heaven before us, in one family with God as the head and Jesus as our holy big brother.
Hallowed is an old fashioned word meaning "holy". Other translations put it in different ways such as:
May your holy name be honored;
[GNT]
Reveal who you are.
[MSG]
may your name be kept holy.
[NLT]
uphold the holiness of your name.
[CEB]
may your name be honoured;
[Phillips]
God's name is holy, and that will always be true. The fact is, though, that people judge god by what they see in us. That's a very sobering thought. If they see us lying or using profanity they will think less of god and so in that way his name is not hallowed. his name refers to his character. We want to live in such a way that people won't have a lower opinion of god because of us.
Suggested prayer points:
* thank the Lord that Jesus died for you
* thank God that you are now a part of god's family, if you are a Christian.
* Pray that the way you live will bring glory to God and not bring dishonour to his holy name.
2. Your kingdom come, [Matt 6:10a]
Jesus is the King and one day he will return to set up his kingdom here on earth but for now he is in heaven, ruling over the heavens and ruling over our lives. One of the reasons he came to earth was to speak about the kingdom of heaven:
From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Matthew 4:17
We are subjects of the kingdom of heaven if we have surrendered our lives to Christ and accepted him as our Lord and Saviour. He rules over us from heaven through his holy Spirit who lives in each of us.
When we pray "your kingdom come" we are praying for the day when King Jesus will return in all his glory and will set up his kingdom on earth for 1000 years. after that time, when Jesus has defeated Satan once and for all, ,there will be a new heaven and a new earth where god and Jesus will reign from the New Jerusalem.
We are also praying for God's help to live here and now as subjects of the kingdom should live, that we might follow the King's rules for our life and do the work god has given us to do. for example, Jesus tells us this:
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
this is the most important work that we as Christians can do: sharing god's truths with the people he brings into our lives.
Suggested prayer points:
* Pray for your unsaved family and friends to come to know Jesus.
* ask god if there is some way you can help your unsaved friends and family to come to know Jesus.
* Pray for missionaries and evangelists, who are busy about the work Jesus gave us to do.
3. your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. [Matthew 6:10b]
god has a perfect plan for the universe and for our lives, a plan he knew of before the world was formed. He wants us to walk in that will. god is our loving heavenly father so his will is always best for us even though it may not always seem to be so.
God reveals this will to us in various ways such as:
* when we study the bible
* through the advice of Christian friends we trust, especially those who are mature and can advise us well.
* when we examine our circumstances and see if god is opening a door for us to go through or if the door we think we want to go through is shut.
* through the still small voice of the Holy Spirit, who speaks to our hearts and tells us what god wants us to do.
Can you think of other ways god speaks to us?
When God tells us what he wants us to do he also gives us the grace and strength to do it. Sometimes, though, he will tell us to do something that
*. we really don't want to do. the choice then is between doing our will and doing god's will. Sometimes it can be really hard to say no to what we want, and we can battle with ourselves about whether we should do what we want or what we know is right.
We also pray for god's will to be done not only in our lives but on earth. We can pray for situations like war, famine, natural disasters and corrupt political leaders, because in every situation god has a perfect will and we know that his way is far better than ours. The trouble is that most of the people in the world are not children of god, most of them haven't asked Jesus to be their Lord and Saviour and even those of us who are Christians often choose to do what we know is wrong. There is also the enemy, satan, who temporarily rules over this world. he wants to do as much damage as possible, keep as many people as possible from getting saved and tries to work against God's perfect plan for this world.
We can still pray "your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven" because God can take the worst possible situations and bring some good out of them.
In Heaven god's will is always perfectly carried out, and the time will come when this will be true of the earth as well.
Suggested prayer points:
All we have to do is listen to the news to find plenty of bad situations we can pray about.
* pray that God will bring something good out of the bad situations that are happening.
* pray that you will know what God's will is for your life.
* Pray for the strength to choose god's will over your own in situations where you find it hard to obey.
4. Give us this day our daily bread, Matthew 6:11A]
In this petition we are asking god for the things that we need. He already knows what our needs are but he wants us to talk to him about them. Notice that it doesn't say "give us our daily cake" but "our daily bread." God will give us the things he knows we need to have, not necessarily the things we want to have. God will say no if what we are asking for is not good for us. He may sometimes choose to give us what we want to have but not always. He may also give us the answer "wait", because he knows that what we ask for is not best for us at this time and also he wants to teach us to pray without giving up, even if we have to wait years for what we have prayed about. Abraham prayed for a child for years and years and when he was 100 God gave Isaac to Abraham and his wife, when they were far past the age of childbearing.
god wants us to talk to him about every situation of our lives, bring to him every need no matter how trivial, and then trust him with the outcome. He is our heavenly father and he desires to have a relationship with us, isn't that a great thought?
we can also use this time to pray about the needs that our loved ones have, [our friends and family members], for our Church groups and for any needs we are aware of in the community or even our country.
Suggested Prayer Points:
* talk to God about the things you need.
* talk to god about the things your loved ones need
* Talk to god about any needs you know about in your town or even your country.
* If God says no, pray for the strength and wisdom to accept it.
* If god says "Wait" then pray for the patience you will need as you wait.
* if God has answered your prayers then thank him.
5. and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. [v12a]
and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. [Luke 11:4]
we are asking God to forgive our sins. We all sin every day, sometimes because we choose to and sometimes just because it is part of our nature. Whatever the cause of our sin, we need to confess it to god, taking full responsibility for our actions and asking his forgiveness, ... but there is a proviso: we have to be willing to forgive those who have sinned against us. We have to forgive those who have hurt us, those who lied to us, those who spoke unkind things about us behind our backs, and anything else that anyone might have done to us. The bible says:
“If you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you don't forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your
sins.
[Matthew 6:14-15]
Sometimes it can be hard to forgive. maybe there is someone who hurt you badly in the past and you can't even imagine forgiving that person. That's when you need to ask god to help you forgive them. maybe you also need to see your pastor or find a Christian counsellor in your area. I have a person in my life I'm finding it hard to forgive but I'm trusting the Lord and I'm talking to him about the issues and I'm sure he will help me to really forgive them and put it behind me.
Remember that those whom we have hurt and treated harshly will have to forgive us too. It can be hard to forgive but God blesses us when we sincerely make an effort to do it and he will help us.
suggested prayer points:
pray for the willingness to forgive those who have hurt us.
Pray for the ability to forgive fully.
Thank god that he has forgiven all your sins.
6. And lead us not into temptation, v12a]
Every human being experiences temptation, even Jesus went through seasons of temptation but he never sinned.
god isn't the one who leads us into temptation. We are tempted either by our own desires, and/or by the enemy. God can and will help us when we are tempted, however. The bible says:
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation
he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
1 Corinthians 10:13
when we experience temptation we can ask God for help and he will always show us a way to go that we will not fall into the temptation. Sometimes though, we don't want to avoid the temptation and there is a war in our hearts between what we know we should do and what we may want to do even if we know it's not good for us. we need to choose to do god's will even though it's hard, because what God tells us to do is really for our best even if we can't see it at the time. We need to cry out to God for help and for strength to do what we know he wants us to do.
Suggested prayer points:
pray for guidance about avoiding situations where we know we will be tempted.
pray for the strength we need to say no to sin even though our flesh is fighting against us.
7. but deliver us from evil. [v13b]
another translation says it like this:
but deliver us from the evil one. [v13b]
That's what this is all about. We know the evil one has plans and schemes against us. We want to avoid those schemes as much as possible. To do this we need god's help. As a blind person, there are times when I need to rely on someone to help me find my way, if I am in a place I don't know or if I'm walking in a place that is familiar to me but there are obstacles in the way. then I need to trust the person who is helping me, and go where they lead.
If we want to avoid the pitfalls and obstacles the enemy puts in our path we need to trust god and follow where he leads us, even if we don't understand or if we don't know the path he is leading us on .
Suggested prayer points:
pray that God will help us to be aware of the enemy's schemes against us.
Pray that God will keep us out of the traps the enemy sets for us.
Pray for your loved ones that the enemy's schemes in their lives will not stand.
To finish off this prayer we have to go to the KJV because this part is not always included in all the versions of the word:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
[Matt 6:13c KJV]
the word "thine" is an old-fashioned way of saying "Yours".
In this final part of the Lord's prayer, known as the doxology, we are acknowledging god as king, as the all-powerful one and as the only one worthy to receive glory.
this doxology can be compared to the praises Solomon gave to God when the first temple was consecrated:
11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours.
Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all. 12 Both riches and honour come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power
and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. 13 And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.
Many believe that this part of the prayer was included at a later time and wasn't part of what Jesus taught his followers. It's a great way to finish praying though, to offer praise to god for who he is and to remember he is the all-powerful, glorious king of kings.
The word Amen comes from a Hebrew root word meaning truly or surely. The word for faith, emunah, comes from this same word. When we say amen we are expressing our agreement with what has been prayed.
I hope you have found our study of the Lord's prayer helpful. May the Holy spirit lead and direct you as you pray this prayer and use it as a prayer guide.
Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you that you have given us a prayer to pray and also to use as a guide for our praying. help us to learn to pray as you have taught. Help us to be honest and sincere, talking to you freely about every aspect of our lives. Thank you lord god that you always hear us when we pray. Amen.
"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
[Matt 6:9-13]
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."
I want to talk to you today about using the beautiful prayer known as the Lord's prayer as a prayer guide. It is nice and meaningful to pray that prayer through, we often do it in Church services and it's often the first prayer taught to new believers. however Jesus gave us not only a prayer to pray but a guide for our prayers. We are going to go through this prayer bit by bit and i will share what I have learned about using this prayer as a guide.
Firstly though, notice what the bible says in Luke 11:1
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."
I think we can all benefit from learning more about prayer, it's such a vital part of our Christian life and yet it is one that so many believers including me struggle with at times. We looked at prayer in a previous message but there is so much more to say about it.
now let's look at the Lord's prayer phrase by phrase:
1.
"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
[Matt 6:9b]
God is our heavenly father. The bible says:
God destined us to be his adopted children through Jesus Christ because of his love. This was according to his goodwill and plan
[Ephesians 1:5 CEB]
and this:
Like a parent feels compassion for their children- that’s how the LORD feels compassion for those who honor him.
[Psalm 103:13 CEB]
notice the verse in Ephesians says:
God destined us to be his adopted children through Jesus Christ....
we are not natural born children of God, we are not god as Jesus is, but we are adopted into the family of god. An adopted child doesn't have the same birth parents as a child of the family would have, but an adopted child is legally part of the family.
When we became Christians we became part of the family of god. That's why the Lord's prayer starts with "Our father" not "My father". It reminds us that we are united with every Christian everywhere in the world and all those who have gone to Heaven before us, in one family with God as the head and Jesus as our holy big brother.
Hallowed is an old fashioned word meaning "holy". Other translations put it in different ways such as:
May your holy name be honored;
[GNT]
Reveal who you are.
[MSG]
may your name be kept holy.
[NLT]
uphold the holiness of your name.
[CEB]
may your name be honoured;
[Phillips]
God's name is holy, and that will always be true. The fact is, though, that people judge god by what they see in us. That's a very sobering thought. If they see us lying or using profanity they will think less of god and so in that way his name is not hallowed. his name refers to his character. We want to live in such a way that people won't have a lower opinion of god because of us.
Suggested prayer points:
* thank the Lord that Jesus died for you
* thank God that you are now a part of god's family, if you are a Christian.
* Pray that the way you live will bring glory to God and not bring dishonour to his holy name.
2. Your kingdom come, [Matt 6:10a]
Jesus is the King and one day he will return to set up his kingdom here on earth but for now he is in heaven, ruling over the heavens and ruling over our lives. One of the reasons he came to earth was to speak about the kingdom of heaven:
From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Matthew 4:17
We are subjects of the kingdom of heaven if we have surrendered our lives to Christ and accepted him as our Lord and Saviour. He rules over us from heaven through his holy Spirit who lives in each of us.
When we pray "your kingdom come" we are praying for the day when King Jesus will return in all his glory and will set up his kingdom on earth for 1000 years. after that time, when Jesus has defeated Satan once and for all, ,there will be a new heaven and a new earth where god and Jesus will reign from the New Jerusalem.
We are also praying for God's help to live here and now as subjects of the kingdom should live, that we might follow the King's rules for our life and do the work god has given us to do. for example, Jesus tells us this:
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
this is the most important work that we as Christians can do: sharing god's truths with the people he brings into our lives.
Suggested prayer points:
* Pray for your unsaved family and friends to come to know Jesus.
* ask god if there is some way you can help your unsaved friends and family to come to know Jesus.
* Pray for missionaries and evangelists, who are busy about the work Jesus gave us to do.
3. your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. [Matthew 6:10b]
god has a perfect plan for the universe and for our lives, a plan he knew of before the world was formed. He wants us to walk in that will. god is our loving heavenly father so his will is always best for us even though it may not always seem to be so.
God reveals this will to us in various ways such as:
* when we study the bible
* through the advice of Christian friends we trust, especially those who are mature and can advise us well.
* when we examine our circumstances and see if god is opening a door for us to go through or if the door we think we want to go through is shut.
* through the still small voice of the Holy Spirit, who speaks to our hearts and tells us what god wants us to do.
Can you think of other ways god speaks to us?
When God tells us what he wants us to do he also gives us the grace and strength to do it. Sometimes, though, he will tell us to do something that
*. we really don't want to do. the choice then is between doing our will and doing god's will. Sometimes it can be really hard to say no to what we want, and we can battle with ourselves about whether we should do what we want or what we know is right.
We also pray for god's will to be done not only in our lives but on earth. We can pray for situations like war, famine, natural disasters and corrupt political leaders, because in every situation god has a perfect will and we know that his way is far better than ours. The trouble is that most of the people in the world are not children of god, most of them haven't asked Jesus to be their Lord and Saviour and even those of us who are Christians often choose to do what we know is wrong. There is also the enemy, satan, who temporarily rules over this world. he wants to do as much damage as possible, keep as many people as possible from getting saved and tries to work against God's perfect plan for this world.
We can still pray "your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven" because God can take the worst possible situations and bring some good out of them.
In Heaven god's will is always perfectly carried out, and the time will come when this will be true of the earth as well.
Suggested prayer points:
All we have to do is listen to the news to find plenty of bad situations we can pray about.
* pray that God will bring something good out of the bad situations that are happening.
* pray that you will know what God's will is for your life.
* Pray for the strength to choose god's will over your own in situations where you find it hard to obey.
4. Give us this day our daily bread, Matthew 6:11A]
In this petition we are asking god for the things that we need. He already knows what our needs are but he wants us to talk to him about them. Notice that it doesn't say "give us our daily cake" but "our daily bread." God will give us the things he knows we need to have, not necessarily the things we want to have. God will say no if what we are asking for is not good for us. He may sometimes choose to give us what we want to have but not always. He may also give us the answer "wait", because he knows that what we ask for is not best for us at this time and also he wants to teach us to pray without giving up, even if we have to wait years for what we have prayed about. Abraham prayed for a child for years and years and when he was 100 God gave Isaac to Abraham and his wife, when they were far past the age of childbearing.
god wants us to talk to him about every situation of our lives, bring to him every need no matter how trivial, and then trust him with the outcome. He is our heavenly father and he desires to have a relationship with us, isn't that a great thought?
we can also use this time to pray about the needs that our loved ones have, [our friends and family members], for our Church groups and for any needs we are aware of in the community or even our country.
Suggested Prayer Points:
* talk to God about the things you need.
* talk to god about the things your loved ones need
* Talk to god about any needs you know about in your town or even your country.
* If God says no, pray for the strength and wisdom to accept it.
* If god says "Wait" then pray for the patience you will need as you wait.
* if God has answered your prayers then thank him.
5. and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. [v12a]
and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. [Luke 11:4]
we are asking God to forgive our sins. We all sin every day, sometimes because we choose to and sometimes just because it is part of our nature. Whatever the cause of our sin, we need to confess it to god, taking full responsibility for our actions and asking his forgiveness, ... but there is a proviso: we have to be willing to forgive those who have sinned against us. We have to forgive those who have hurt us, those who lied to us, those who spoke unkind things about us behind our backs, and anything else that anyone might have done to us. The bible says:
“If you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you don't forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your
sins.
[Matthew 6:14-15]
Sometimes it can be hard to forgive. maybe there is someone who hurt you badly in the past and you can't even imagine forgiving that person. That's when you need to ask god to help you forgive them. maybe you also need to see your pastor or find a Christian counsellor in your area. I have a person in my life I'm finding it hard to forgive but I'm trusting the Lord and I'm talking to him about the issues and I'm sure he will help me to really forgive them and put it behind me.
Remember that those whom we have hurt and treated harshly will have to forgive us too. It can be hard to forgive but God blesses us when we sincerely make an effort to do it and he will help us.
suggested prayer points:
pray for the willingness to forgive those who have hurt us.
Pray for the ability to forgive fully.
Thank god that he has forgiven all your sins.
6. And lead us not into temptation, v12a]
Every human being experiences temptation, even Jesus went through seasons of temptation but he never sinned.
god isn't the one who leads us into temptation. We are tempted either by our own desires, and/or by the enemy. God can and will help us when we are tempted, however. The bible says:
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation
he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
1 Corinthians 10:13
when we experience temptation we can ask God for help and he will always show us a way to go that we will not fall into the temptation. Sometimes though, we don't want to avoid the temptation and there is a war in our hearts between what we know we should do and what we may want to do even if we know it's not good for us. we need to choose to do god's will even though it's hard, because what God tells us to do is really for our best even if we can't see it at the time. We need to cry out to God for help and for strength to do what we know he wants us to do.
Suggested prayer points:
pray for guidance about avoiding situations where we know we will be tempted.
pray for the strength we need to say no to sin even though our flesh is fighting against us.
7. but deliver us from evil. [v13b]
another translation says it like this:
but deliver us from the evil one. [v13b]
That's what this is all about. We know the evil one has plans and schemes against us. We want to avoid those schemes as much as possible. To do this we need god's help. As a blind person, there are times when I need to rely on someone to help me find my way, if I am in a place I don't know or if I'm walking in a place that is familiar to me but there are obstacles in the way. then I need to trust the person who is helping me, and go where they lead.
If we want to avoid the pitfalls and obstacles the enemy puts in our path we need to trust god and follow where he leads us, even if we don't understand or if we don't know the path he is leading us on .
Suggested prayer points:
pray that God will help us to be aware of the enemy's schemes against us.
Pray that God will keep us out of the traps the enemy sets for us.
Pray for your loved ones that the enemy's schemes in their lives will not stand.
To finish off this prayer we have to go to the KJV because this part is not always included in all the versions of the word:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
[Matt 6:13c KJV]
the word "thine" is an old-fashioned way of saying "Yours".
In this final part of the Lord's prayer, known as the doxology, we are acknowledging god as king, as the all-powerful one and as the only one worthy to receive glory.
this doxology can be compared to the praises Solomon gave to God when the first temple was consecrated:
11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours.
Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all. 12 Both riches and honour come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power
and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. 13 And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.
Many believe that this part of the prayer was included at a later time and wasn't part of what Jesus taught his followers. It's a great way to finish praying though, to offer praise to god for who he is and to remember he is the all-powerful, glorious king of kings.
The word Amen comes from a Hebrew root word meaning truly or surely. The word for faith, emunah, comes from this same word. When we say amen we are expressing our agreement with what has been prayed.
I hope you have found our study of the Lord's prayer helpful. May the Holy spirit lead and direct you as you pray this prayer and use it as a prayer guide.
Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you that you have given us a prayer to pray and also to use as a guide for our praying. help us to learn to pray as you have taught. Help us to be honest and sincere, talking to you freely about every aspect of our lives. Thank you lord god that you always hear us when we pray. Amen.
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