A Devotion - The Lord's Prayer
We have been reading a book on The Lord’s Prayer. It has been a useful exercise, for it unpacked these few lines into a 204 page book. Let us read the Lord’s Prayer together from Matthew, after which I want to share a few thoughts I gleaned from my learning’s, relevant to worship, and today’s breaking of bread service.
9 Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
14 "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15 "But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
(Matthew 6:)
I want to quickly look how the verse: As we forgive our debtors fits with this worship service. Here we need to take into account the very clear message in 1 Corinthians 11:27 & 28 - Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. The verse is clear: we must forgive those that sin against us. This is why the Lord’s Prayer has the post script of verses 14 and 15. However, the action is not going up to someone and telling them how you have forgiven them because they sinned against you. No! What this means is you forgive them for what you have done to them. Because most of our hurts are because we get offended, and many times the offender will not even know. This is talking of the forgiveness as Christ has forgiven us. Without a word to us, without recrimination, without making us feel guilty (that is our own conscience talking), without expecting perfection in return, His Grace is free and for the taking. It is this example that we need practice if we want to enjoy full 100% communion with our God. It is what God wants more than anything else, because He forgave us without exception.
This is a time of worship, and once we have confessed, we can have full communion with our Father. The first line of the prayer tells us that we are to worship our Father in heaven. It places God where God should be placed in our thinking, way above us, in a perfect place: His place - heaven. It then tells us that in prayer, as with worship, God comes first. Our Father in heaven, Hallowed by Your name. To assist in this thought, we may read Isaiah 55:8 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," says the LORD. 9 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts." We are here to worship a God that we will never fathom, will never plumb the depths of His character, but we are to honour him – treat His name as holy – hallowed. Again, we can use Scripture to explain this to us. Nehemiah 9:5 says - "Stand up and bless the LORD your God Forever and ever! "Blessed be Your glorious name, Which is exalted above all blessing and praise!
When we pray we bring ourselves to God, to His place, and we make His name Holy. Why do I bring this to a worship service? I think that we need to come to Him with a clean heart, freshly confessed. As Peter wrote: "…add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self–control, to self–control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1 – 8). And worship can only come through that knowledge. As we sing the following hymn, firmly set in the gospel, let us pray and ask Our Father in heaven to cleanse us, and allow us to bring the fruits of our lips to glorify Him.
Hymn 139 Wounded for me.
Wounded for me, wounded for me,
There on the cross He was wounded for me;
Gone my transgressions, and now I am free,
All because Jesus was wounded for me.
Dying for me, dying for me,
There on the cross He was dying for me;
Now in His death my redemption I see,
All because Jesus was dying for me.
Risen for me, risen for me,
Up from the grave He has risen for me;
Now evermore from death’s sting I am free,
All because Jesus has risen for me.
Living for me, living for me,
Up in the skies He is living for me;
Daily He’s pleading and praying for me,
All because Jesus is living for me.
Coming for me, coming for me,
One day to earth He is coming for me;
Then with what joy His dear face I shall see,
O how I praise Him—He’s coming for me!
William G. Ovens (first verse) and Gladys W. Roberts (verses 2-5).
Offering Hymn 239 I’ve found a friend.
I’ve found a Friend, O such a friend! He loved me ere I knew Him;
He drew me with the cords of love, and thus He bound me to Him;
And round my heart still closely twine those ties which naught can sever,
For I am His, and He is mine, forever and forever.
I’ve found a Friend, O such a friend! He bled, He died to save me;
And not alone the gift of life, but His own Self He gave me!
Naught that I have mine own I call, I’ll hold it for the Giver,
My heart, my strength, my life, my all are His, and His forever.
I’ve found a Friend, O such a friend! All pow’r to Him is given,
To guard me on my onward course, and bring me safe to heaven.
The eternal glories gleam afar, to nerve my faint endeavor;
So now to watch, to work, to war, and then to rest forever.
I’ve found a Friend, O such a friend! So kind and true and tender,
So wise a Counselor and Guide, so mighty a Defender!
From Him who loves me now so well what power my soul can sever?
Shall life or death, shall earth or hell? No! I am His forever.
James G Small
