kayte
Jul 28th 2004, 04:38 PM
Chapter Five
We've reached the 'what' part of the prayer question and the enormity of the subject is once again overwhelming. Instead of asking what we are to pray about, perhaps it makes more sense to first ask, "Is there anything we are not to pray about?"
Indeed, there are things that we do not need pray about. God has given us many clear instructions in His word, leaving no question as to His will.
Is there a need to ask Him if we can cheat on our income taxes? No. Do justly and be blameless.
Is there a need to ask Him if we can live with a person outside of marriage? No. His word is clear, flee from all sexual immorality.
Do not ask His blessing on your sin or selfishness.
Do we need to pray about helping others in need? No. If you have what someone else needs, give freely, just as your Father in heaven gives to you.
In this world there are givers and there are takers. In heaven we share all things in common.
Matthew 6:10
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
The closer we are to Him, the better we know Him, the less important we become to ourselves and the more important others become. As we grow in Him, our hearts begin to respond as His does, and we find we less often need to pray about these things.
Matthew 6:11
Give us this day our daily bread.
Bread. Hearty, nourishing, life sustaining bread.
Notice that it doesn't say, "Give us this day our daily filet mignon".
Bread. The simplicity of life. Not the insatiable lust for earthly treasures.
Are you impressed by wealth? Do you covet expensive things? Is the majority of your life, your focus on accumulating 'stuff'?
I have heard many self-proclaimed teachers declare that God wants all His children to prosper, saying that it is despicable for a child of the King to be poor. (In some of these teachers’ minds 'poor' is middle class' income).
They teach people to lay hold of the promises of God and walk in faith that wealth is theirs. To prove to God that they 'believe' they're told to send in a love gift to the teacher’s ministry, then watch God open the windows of heaven and pour out a hundred-fold blessing… so much money you won't know what to do with it all.
Bleck. This is false teaching, pure and simple. It is nothing more than men tickling the ears of our greedy hearts and fleecing the sheep in the process. Beware!
Jesus told us to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread." He warned us not to lay up treasures for ourselves on earth, but in heaven. For where our treasure is, there our hearts will be also. Matt. 6:19-21
Most of us have no physical need that drives us to ask for daily bread. We have seldom, if ever, wondered where our next meal was coming from. So why is this given as part of Jesus' example? Why are we told to pray for it?
For one thing, it reminds me that I am not self-sufficient, that everything in my life, my very existence, is reliant on my Father. That He cares for me.
It reminds me what has true value and that He is the Bread of Life, provided for me, given for me so that I can have life.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Bread. One of the most basic needs we have- something that we generally take for granted. God in His tender mercy is concerned and involved in every aspect of our lives, down to the simplest provision of bread.
There should be no area of our lives that we view as separate from God, areas where we retain control, allowing Him only limited access. There should be no places where we let our thoughts lead us down avenues that convince us God is only concerned with what we do on Sundays, or ones where His involvement is only about the 'spiritual' things in life and the rest are up to us.
On the other hand we must not think that we can 'by faith' sit back, be lazy and expect God to drop manna from heaven. Faith isn't an adjective; it's a verb.
When I first came to the Lord, I went through a time of questioning Him. If He really does care, why do people die of starvation and malnutrition? Why are there children that go to bed hungry? Why do people suffer want?
As I stood there with my hands on my hips, so to speak, accusing God of falseness… like a blast of cold wind the answer chilled my heart. God had provided them with bread. It was in the same 'basket' as mine. But I had eaten my fill and then shoved the excess into my own freezer.
Give us this day our daily bread… and Lord show us who the rest of the loaves in the basket belong to.
Through a series of events a friend of ours came face to face with this particular prayer. Daily bread became the theme of his life.
Randy was a wealthy man in a high paying job. The day his young wife walked out on him, his life was shattered. Everything he had worked so hard for, spent his life for, was suddenly worse than useless… it was appalling to him.
He wandered around in his beautiful home for a few months, seeking God as he never had before.
Then it struck him. Jesus spoke. "Sell all that you have and come follow Me."
Randy put his house on the market and it sold immediately. (A minor miracle!) He sold his extravagant car and bought a used car that would serve him well and carry more people.
Then he did the unthinkable. He bought a house in the worst part of the city, in what's referred to as the 'war zone'.
Randy walked the streets of his new neighborhood, befriending the people. He opened the doors of his little house and welcomed them in for meals.
He gathered up extra beds and blankets and gave homeless men shelter under his roof.
He gutted the kitchen and put in industrial ovens and workspace. He taught them how to cook. He drove them to stores and helped them sell what they had made. Bread.
He took them to church on Sundays and held Bible studies in his little living room. He fed them and clothed them and introduced them to God.
Randy not only spent all his money on them, he spent himself. He was an imitation of Christ, and he loved them.
Approximately three years after this incredible journey began Randy received a phone call. His mother was deathly ill- come quickly. Money was raised, an airline ticket was bought and he was on his way back east.
Arriving at the airport he grabbed a taxi and headed for the hospital. En route to the hospital Randy began feeling ill, so ill that the taxi driver delivered him to the emergency room.
Randy died of a brain aneurysm four days later, just down the hall from his mother's room. Family that he hadn't seen in years surrounded him.
Before he died, Randy was able to make peace with his dad and tell him one last time about the love of the Son of God.
Give us this day our daily bread, and Lord, today we'll be feeding fifteen.
#
Am I saying that we should do what Randy did? No… that is what God called Randy to do. Our job is not to imitate Randy but to follow Jesus. To be an 'imitation of Christ. '
When you pray, 'Give us this day our daily bread,' remember that you are praying 'us and our,' not 'me and mine.'
#
Father, thank You for caring about our most basic needs, and thank You for stretching us, for causing us to look beyond ourselves as we study Your word and seek to follow You. Forgive us for our greed and selfish ambition. Cleanse and change our hearts. Change our lives.
Lord, help us to imitate Jesus. To live our lives with open hands and hearts, to spend our selves in holy service.
Give us this day our daily bread.
In Jesus name
Amen
#
Study questions
1) Make a list, in order of their importance, of the things you desire. Examples:
a) bigger house
b) To know God better
c) A spouse/a changed spouse
d) More money
e) Kids
f) A new sofa
g) Opportunity to serve… etc.
2) Do you stand on guard against false teachings that tickle your ears?
3) List two or three false teachings you have come across. How did you come to know they were false?
4) Do you have areas in your heart or life that you keep separate from God? If so, why do you keep them separate?
5) Is your faith an adjective or a verb? Explain.
copyright 2002 tkc
We've reached the 'what' part of the prayer question and the enormity of the subject is once again overwhelming. Instead of asking what we are to pray about, perhaps it makes more sense to first ask, "Is there anything we are not to pray about?"
Indeed, there are things that we do not need pray about. God has given us many clear instructions in His word, leaving no question as to His will.
Is there a need to ask Him if we can cheat on our income taxes? No. Do justly and be blameless.
Is there a need to ask Him if we can live with a person outside of marriage? No. His word is clear, flee from all sexual immorality.
Do not ask His blessing on your sin or selfishness.
Do we need to pray about helping others in need? No. If you have what someone else needs, give freely, just as your Father in heaven gives to you.
In this world there are givers and there are takers. In heaven we share all things in common.
Matthew 6:10
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
The closer we are to Him, the better we know Him, the less important we become to ourselves and the more important others become. As we grow in Him, our hearts begin to respond as His does, and we find we less often need to pray about these things.
Matthew 6:11
Give us this day our daily bread.
Bread. Hearty, nourishing, life sustaining bread.
Notice that it doesn't say, "Give us this day our daily filet mignon".
Bread. The simplicity of life. Not the insatiable lust for earthly treasures.
Are you impressed by wealth? Do you covet expensive things? Is the majority of your life, your focus on accumulating 'stuff'?
I have heard many self-proclaimed teachers declare that God wants all His children to prosper, saying that it is despicable for a child of the King to be poor. (In some of these teachers’ minds 'poor' is middle class' income).
They teach people to lay hold of the promises of God and walk in faith that wealth is theirs. To prove to God that they 'believe' they're told to send in a love gift to the teacher’s ministry, then watch God open the windows of heaven and pour out a hundred-fold blessing… so much money you won't know what to do with it all.
Bleck. This is false teaching, pure and simple. It is nothing more than men tickling the ears of our greedy hearts and fleecing the sheep in the process. Beware!
Jesus told us to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread." He warned us not to lay up treasures for ourselves on earth, but in heaven. For where our treasure is, there our hearts will be also. Matt. 6:19-21
Most of us have no physical need that drives us to ask for daily bread. We have seldom, if ever, wondered where our next meal was coming from. So why is this given as part of Jesus' example? Why are we told to pray for it?
For one thing, it reminds me that I am not self-sufficient, that everything in my life, my very existence, is reliant on my Father. That He cares for me.
It reminds me what has true value and that He is the Bread of Life, provided for me, given for me so that I can have life.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Bread. One of the most basic needs we have- something that we generally take for granted. God in His tender mercy is concerned and involved in every aspect of our lives, down to the simplest provision of bread.
There should be no area of our lives that we view as separate from God, areas where we retain control, allowing Him only limited access. There should be no places where we let our thoughts lead us down avenues that convince us God is only concerned with what we do on Sundays, or ones where His involvement is only about the 'spiritual' things in life and the rest are up to us.
On the other hand we must not think that we can 'by faith' sit back, be lazy and expect God to drop manna from heaven. Faith isn't an adjective; it's a verb.
When I first came to the Lord, I went through a time of questioning Him. If He really does care, why do people die of starvation and malnutrition? Why are there children that go to bed hungry? Why do people suffer want?
As I stood there with my hands on my hips, so to speak, accusing God of falseness… like a blast of cold wind the answer chilled my heart. God had provided them with bread. It was in the same 'basket' as mine. But I had eaten my fill and then shoved the excess into my own freezer.
Give us this day our daily bread… and Lord show us who the rest of the loaves in the basket belong to.
Through a series of events a friend of ours came face to face with this particular prayer. Daily bread became the theme of his life.
Randy was a wealthy man in a high paying job. The day his young wife walked out on him, his life was shattered. Everything he had worked so hard for, spent his life for, was suddenly worse than useless… it was appalling to him.
He wandered around in his beautiful home for a few months, seeking God as he never had before.
Then it struck him. Jesus spoke. "Sell all that you have and come follow Me."
Randy put his house on the market and it sold immediately. (A minor miracle!) He sold his extravagant car and bought a used car that would serve him well and carry more people.
Then he did the unthinkable. He bought a house in the worst part of the city, in what's referred to as the 'war zone'.
Randy walked the streets of his new neighborhood, befriending the people. He opened the doors of his little house and welcomed them in for meals.
He gathered up extra beds and blankets and gave homeless men shelter under his roof.
He gutted the kitchen and put in industrial ovens and workspace. He taught them how to cook. He drove them to stores and helped them sell what they had made. Bread.
He took them to church on Sundays and held Bible studies in his little living room. He fed them and clothed them and introduced them to God.
Randy not only spent all his money on them, he spent himself. He was an imitation of Christ, and he loved them.
Approximately three years after this incredible journey began Randy received a phone call. His mother was deathly ill- come quickly. Money was raised, an airline ticket was bought and he was on his way back east.
Arriving at the airport he grabbed a taxi and headed for the hospital. En route to the hospital Randy began feeling ill, so ill that the taxi driver delivered him to the emergency room.
Randy died of a brain aneurysm four days later, just down the hall from his mother's room. Family that he hadn't seen in years surrounded him.
Before he died, Randy was able to make peace with his dad and tell him one last time about the love of the Son of God.
Give us this day our daily bread, and Lord, today we'll be feeding fifteen.
#
Am I saying that we should do what Randy did? No… that is what God called Randy to do. Our job is not to imitate Randy but to follow Jesus. To be an 'imitation of Christ. '
When you pray, 'Give us this day our daily bread,' remember that you are praying 'us and our,' not 'me and mine.'
#
Father, thank You for caring about our most basic needs, and thank You for stretching us, for causing us to look beyond ourselves as we study Your word and seek to follow You. Forgive us for our greed and selfish ambition. Cleanse and change our hearts. Change our lives.
Lord, help us to imitate Jesus. To live our lives with open hands and hearts, to spend our selves in holy service.
Give us this day our daily bread.
In Jesus name
Amen
#
Study questions
1) Make a list, in order of their importance, of the things you desire. Examples:
a) bigger house
b) To know God better
c) A spouse/a changed spouse
d) More money
e) Kids
f) A new sofa
g) Opportunity to serve… etc.
2) Do you stand on guard against false teachings that tickle your ears?
3) List two or three false teachings you have come across. How did you come to know they were false?
4) Do you have areas in your heart or life that you keep separate from God? If so, why do you keep them separate?
5) Is your faith an adjective or a verb? Explain.
copyright 2002 tkc