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The disciples asked Jesus to teach them
to pray. His answer to their request and
to our desire to learn more about prayer is found
in Matthew 6:6-13.
I believe these
verses not only teach us
how to pray, but also show us what
kind of attitude should reign in our
heart as we pray. Our
heavenly Father looks at the intent of
the heart when we come before Him to
worship, to give thanks, and to make our requests known,
and most definitely He knows what
attitudes live within each of us.
The Holy Spirit
speaks to my heart:
ATTITUDE OF LOVE AND RESPECT (vs.9)
In Christ we are children of God,
therefore, we can be intimate with God
as our Father.
We may tell Him all our needs, concerns,
fears, etc., but we are to
approach our Father with love and
reverence. We are to
recognize that He is holy and pure; yet,
He is our
Father who is ever ready to help us.
We honor God's name as we obey
Him and choose to live according to His
laws, statutes,
and commands. To honor His name is to
honor Him in our life
and with our life:
What do our ears listen to and our
mouths say?
What do we allow our eyes see or our
hands to do?
Where do our feet take us in our habits
and daily routines? How do we treat
others?
To honor God is to love Him
with all of the heart, mind, and soul.
It is to lovingly hold
Him in such high esteem, that we do
nothing that would hurt His
gracious and good heart. Honoring Him is
not just being
polite and assuming any kind of
attitude. But
it is having an attitude of respect for
Him,
placing complete faith in Him, and loving Him
first and for-most. We are to
maintain this
attitude continuously. We must remember
that He is God as well as our Father. We are
to worship Him in love, from love, and
out of love. Respect
Him because He is God.
"Our Father which art
in heaven, Hallowed by they name."
ATTITUDE OF SUBMISSION AND OBEDIENCE
(vs. 10)
Now, in the present, we are to submit to
His right to rule over us and his will
for our life. We are to pray for
what God has
willed for the world to be fulfilled on earth, as it is
in heaven.
We are to pray that
the earth will be made more like heaven
as we (God's children) observe His will and
then do it.
"Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth, as it is in
heaven."
ATTITUDE OF DEPENDENCE AND TRUST (vs. 11)
We are to come trusting that our Father
will meet our physical needs. We are to
trust Him to meet
our spiritual needs. We are to trust
that our mental and emotional
needs will be met.
We must believe that
He is able to do, that He does help us,
and that He will work on our behalf.
We are to put our complete faith and
total confidence is His ability
to perform all acts of goodness and
kindness in our lives, to supply all that
we need, and to provide for all that is
needed for
His will to be accomplished in our life.
God not only fills
our stomach but He also fills the hungry
spirit ("poor in heart") with spiritual
food. This sweet tasting manna from
heaven fills the most impoverished soul
and causes it to soar as if on wings of
eagles.
"Give us this day our
daily bread."
ATTITUDE OF FORGIVENESS AND MERCY (vs.
12)
Our Father has shown us mercy and has freely forgiven us through Christ our
Lord. We are to be
joyful that we are forgiven and be ever
so eager and ready to forgive those who
have wronged or hurt us.
We are to maintain an attitude that we
have received mercy
(forgiven of our sins); and we are to
hold an attitude of
showing the same mercy toward others.
"And forgive us
our debts as we forgive our debtors."
ATTITUDE THAT OUR GOD IS SOVEREIGN
(vs.13)
All things belong to our Lord.
He is power.
He is glory. He is Supreme God. He can
deliver us from all evil, from any
circumstance or event, and that He does
lead us into paths of righteousness
because of who He is. God will
accomplish His salvation in us as well
as protect, deliver, and fight for us.
In God's hand there
is power and might to help us and those
we intercede for!
"And lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power,
and the glory,
forever. Amen."
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