TEACH US TO PRAY

[Bully6319]

Greetings from Austria,

Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name,
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil:
[b]****For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever. Amen.****
(Matthew.6:9-13) - KJV[/b]

****NOTE:THIS ENDING OF THE PRAYER YOU WILL FIND ALREADY IN THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY CODE FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE 2.CENTURY;BUT WAS WITNESSED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT AT A LATER TIME!!!****

For some time I have been thinking and working on the Lords prayer;it`s deep meaning and the quality of substance found in it.
I think that this prayer is very much misunderstood and very much abused by many people out there.
Our Lord Jesus did not give us this prayer for repetition to pray over and over(like some so called "Christian Religions"do) but He wanted to show us that when we pray to our Heavenly Father we are to keep certain things in our hearts and minds.

This prayer which our Lord Jesus taught His Disciples and us has a much deeper meaning;these are not mere words spoken or empty phrases which one should pray to ease his or her conscience,but they should shake us and move us to the point of looking very deeply within our selfs;to think about our words,actions and thoughts;to think deeply and look deeply into our soul,our spiritual life and through God`s mercy,strength and grace;His help,are we to make changes where necessary.

In the Old like in the New Testament we do find the heart and deep meaning of our Lords teaching!

4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.(5.Mose6:4-5)

18 'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbour as yourself. I am the LORD.(Leviticus.19:18)

36 Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law? 37 Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.(Matthew.22:36-40)

1. I CAN NOT SAY "FATHER":
If I don`t live and experience it in my everyday life.

2. I CAN NOT SAY "OUR":
If I don`t leave space for others and their needs.

3. I CAN NOT SAY "IN HEAVEN":
If I am interested only in earthly things.

4. I CAN NOT SAY "HALLOWED BE THEY NAME":
If I,who carries His Name do not live or am Holy.

5. I CAN NOT SAY "YOUR KINGDOM COME":
If I am not willing to abandon my independence.

6. I CAN NOT SAY "YOUR WILL BE DONE":
If I endure His will only with crumbling and complaining.

7. I CAN NOT SAY "ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN":
If I am not willing,to be in His service here and now.

8. I CAN NOT SAY "GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD":
If I ignore the needs of others.

9. I CAN NOT SAY "AND FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS AS WE FORGIVE OUR DEBTORS":
If I hold a Grudge or Anger against someone.

10. I CAN NOT SAY "AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION":
If I am deliberately putting myself in a situation in which I surely will be tempted.

11. I CAN NOT SAY "DELIVER US FROM EVIL":
If I hold on to evil and don`t fight against it with the weapon of prayer.

12. I CAN NOT SAY "FOR THINE IS THE KINGDOM":
If I am not obedient to my highest King and am not a faithful servant of His.

13. I CAN NOT SAY "AND THE POWER":
If I am afraid what my neighbors will do or say.

14. I CAN NOT SAY "AND THE GLORY":
If I strive after my own glory.

15. I CAN NOT SAY "FOR EVER":
If I don`t believe it for today.

16. I CAN NOT SAY "AMEN"
If I can not claim;may it cost me,this is my prayer.

The price for Discipleship is high and only a few will find the narrow way and enter in to Gods Kingdom!
Jesus Christ Himself taught that:

13 Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.(Matthew.7:13-14)



These are just some thoughts that have been very helpful to me in my walk with the Lord Jesus.
It is my prayer that this will be helpful to other believers(maybe also non believers) as well!

If you have any input or opinions please post.

with Brotherly love peter

[elisheva]

Of all that the disciples could ask the Teacher to teach them, it was that He teach them to pray. Does He not teach us"..that men ought always to pray and not faint." I am convinced we cannot long follow Him without prayer. For without prayer, we will lose heart and drift away.

[Bully6319]

Does He not teach us"..that men ought always to pray and not faint." I am convinced we cannot long follow Him without prayer. For without prayer, we will lose heart and drift away.

Greetings,

Absolutely,no question about it!

Our life`s should be marked by continuous and constant communication with our Lord Jesus Christ;empowered by His Holy Spirit who lives within us.
Fixed times of Prayer are a necessity and: "..that men ought always to pray and not faint." definitely means more then just fixed times of Prayer.

Our Life`s in itself should be a Prayer and Offering to God.What we say;do;ask;think;everything not withholding anything!
If we are not in constant communion with Him then we cannot know what His will is in every circumstance and situation.

A healthy Relationship between two People can only happen if we want to know the other person;spending time with Him or Her.

Intimacy is the Key! It is the same with our Lord Jesus;do we really want to know Him and His will? If yes we have to spend time with Him;listen to Him and He to us;spend time in His Word because He is the living Word; revealed to us through His written Word. And of course obeying Him.

Prayer is simply: TALKING TO HIM:not only in Words,but in our thoughts,actions,in our hearts,making Him the most important person in our life`s!!!

Thank`s for your input

with Brotherly Love,Peter

[elisheva]

When standing before the mountain that burned with fire, covered in thick clouds, darkness and gloom, it was Moses, though he was exceeding fearful with trembling, who obeyed. As he pressed thru in obedience, what he found was a Great God and Savior with whom he spent the next forty days and only came back down at His Command. I am inclined to believe, after having come into His Presence, Moses had no desire to ever leave Him. As much as he yearned for the 'promised land', he prayed the Lord not send them if His Presence did not go with them.

We find the same Great God and Savior on the other side of His Command to pray. When we obey in faith, we will partake of the same "exceeding Great Reward" as do all those who seek Him with all their heart. We will find ourselves never wanting to go back down. Our only desire will be to forever abide in His Love - Him holding us in His Arms unto His Bosom, never letting us go.

Is this not also His Desire? For He seeks those who will worship(kiss, bow down, do homage)Him in Spirit('for thru Him we both have our access in One Spirit to the Father.') and Truth('thy Word is Truth.').

"Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God". Again, we have access, but we must exercise this access - "praying at all times in the Spirit".