Teach Us, Lord, to Pray The Lord’s Prayer

Introduction
If we’re honest, most of us would admit that we need help in the area of prayer. Thankfully we’re not alone. One of Jesus’ disciples, after watching him pray, asked, “Lord, teach us to pray”(Luke 11:1).

Jesus responded with the prayer that came to be known as “The Lord’s Prayer.” He provided us with this pattern of prayer to teach us what our prayers should include. Praying through the Lord’s Prayer is an excellent way to improve the content of your prayers and your communion with God. It’s also an excellent way to learn to pray with others. Notice that there’s no ‘I,’ ‘me,’ or ‘my’ in the prayer!

As you approach the first station, ask God to teach you to pray and to draw near to you.

Station 1 - Our Father

Jesus taught us to begin our prayers ‘our Father,’ because it shows us that we are not praying to earn God’s favor. We already have his favor because of what Christ did for us in his life, death, and resurrection.

Here are some specific ways to pray:

1. Praise God for the fact that he loved us, his people from every tongue, tribe, people and nation, and gave his Son to die in our place.

...but God shows his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)
2. Praise God that he raised Christ from the dead, and through Jesus’ resurrection, he has birthed us into his family.

He gave us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3)
3. Praise God that one day all of his people, from every corner of the globe, will see Christ face to face and enter into glory forever.

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared, but we know that when he appears, we will be like him, because we will see him as he is (1 John 3:2)


Station 2 - in heaven

Jesus taught us to approach God not only as our Father, but our Father who is in heaven. He did this to remind us that God not only loves us dearly, but is holy. That is to say, he is separate from all of his creation, not only in his moral perfection, but also in his being. He alone is God over all, from whom, through whom, and for whom are all things.

Here are some specific ways to pray:

1. Praise God for the fact that he has created all things, and that all things exist by his will.

Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, since you created all things... (Revelation 4:11)
2. Praise God for the fact that everything that happens is according to his will and ultimately, for him.

...from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be glory forever! Amen. (Romans 11:36)
3. Praise God for his holiness: he alone is God and worthy of praise!

...you alone, whose name is Yahweh, are the Most High over all the earth. (Psalm 83:18)


Station 3 - Sanctify Your name!

The first request Jesus taught us to make of the Father is that he set his name apart from every other name, or in other words, that he glorify himself. Some have said that this request is the controlling request for all prayer - that God would help us to pray for the things that would honor him. This is part of what it means to pray ‘in Jesus’ name’ - namely, to pray for the things that would honor Jesus.

In this request, we admit our inability to glorify God as he deserves, and ask him to glorify himself in our prayers and in the world.

Here are some specific ways to pray:

1. Pray that the requests that you are about to make would be honoring to God.

O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. (Psalm 51:15)
If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit (John 15:7)
Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son (John 14:13)

1. Pray that God would be worshipped by every tongue, tribe, people and nation.

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! (Psalm 67:3)
2. Pray that God would remove idolatry and lusts from the earth and replace those longings with a desire for him.

God said, “I am Yahweh! That is my name! I will not share my glory with anyone else, or the praise due me with idols!” (Isaiah 42:8)


Station 4 - May your kingdom come

When Jesus taught us to pray for the Kingdom of God to come, he was teaching us to pray two things, because the Kingdom of God is coming in two stages.

First, the Kingdom of God comes when the Gospel is preached and the Holy Spirit makes it effective by bringing a sinner to a love of Jesus. “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col 1:13-14)

Second, the Kingdom of God will come when Jesus returns to this world and sets the world to rights, bringing justice to the world. “Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘the Kingdom of this world has become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever!’” (Rev 11:15)

So, in this request, we are asking both for the advance of the Gospel in the world and expressing our desire for Jesus to return to gather us to himself.

Here are some specific ways to pray:

1. Pray for boldness, love and opportunities for yourself and others you know to tell the Gospel to unbelievers. (Acts 4:31)
2. Pray for missionaries that you know of, for their closeness to God and boldness in speaking the Gospel. (Colossians 4:3-4)
3. Pray that God would grant repentance unto eternal life to people you know and to people to whom missionaries are evangelizing. (1 Timothy 2:1)
4. Pray that God would raise up missionaries and send them to places and ethnic groups among whom Christ is not being proclaimed. (Matthew 9:37-38)
5. Pray that the Lord would come quickly. (Revelation 22:20)


Station 5 - May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven

Jesus taught us to pray that the Father would have his will done on this earth. God’s will, in the Gospel of Matthew, means obedience to Jesus’ commands. So when we pray ‘may your will be done,’ we’re admitting our inability to obey God while also acknowledging God’s ability to cause us to obey his laws.

And not only are we praying for ourselves, but all disciples of Christ among every ethnic group throughout the world.

Consider some of the ways our Lord described the ethics of his Kingdom, and pray for help in obeying his commandments, not only for yourself, but for all God’s children.

Here are some of the commandments our Lord gave his Church. Pray that God would grant us all help in obeying them.

1. Rejoice in the midst of persecution, because our reward is in heaven (Matt 5:12)
2. Emulate Christ’s character in the world so that people will come to know and worship him (Matt 5:16)
3. Don’t be angry with fellow-Christian; rather, make sure that there is harmony and love in Christian relationships (Matt 5:22-24)
4. Don’t long for someone who’s not your spouse; rather, take drastic action to escape temptation and sin (Matt 5:28-29)
5. Always keep your word, since every word we speak is spoken in the presence of God (Matt 5:37)
6. Love, be kind to, and pray for the ones who hurt you (Matt 5:44-48)
7. Do righteous deeds for the glory of God - not to receive glory from people (Matt 6:1-6)
8. Set your longings and work on treasures in heaven, not for things on earth (Matt 6:19-24)
9. Don’t be anxious; rather, trust our loving and sovereign God (Matt 6:25-34)
10. Don’t be condemning towards other believers; rather, focus on repenting of your own sins and lovingly help them do the same (Matt 7:1-5)
11. Value the glory of the Gospel more than even people (Matt 7:6)
12. Ask God for the good things pertaining to his Kingdom (Matt 7:7-11)
13. Consider how we’d like to be treated, and then treat others that way (Matt 7:12)
14. Watch out for false teachers. Their lives and doctrine do not accord with Jesus’ teaching (Matt 7:15)


Station 6 - Give us this day our daily bread

When Jesus taught us to ask the Father for our daily bread, he spoke against two tendencies we have. Those two tendencies are, first, the belief that we are independent and capable of supporting ourselves, and second, the belief that our focus should be our distant, earthly future.

The fact is this: we depend on God’s holy pleasure for our continued existence, even in this very moment. Much more, we depend on his good pleasure for our doing his will and sanctifying his name.

Here are some steps to follow in praying this request:

1. Take a minute to think about what you need to live in this world for God’s glory.
2. Admit your complete dependence on God, and ask him to provide to you what you need.
3. Take a moment to thank God for the things he’s given you in the last day.
4. Take a moment to think about the needs of others in Christ’s global Church, including even emotional needs.
5. Pray that God would give his people what they need to serve him well.


Station 7 - Forgive us our debts

Our actions, every day, come infinitely short of what we owe to God. When we pray ‘forgive us our debts,’ we admit that God is worthy of glory, and we have not honored him as he deserves. We also confess that he can and will give us entry into his Kingdom despite our lawlessness, based on Jesus’ obedience to God, not ours.

Here are some steps to follow in asking God for forgiveness:

1. Think about the past day and what God deserved from your efforts, emotions, and time this past day.
2. Confess the ways that you have fallen short in word, deed, and affection.
3. Ask God to forgive you for your breaking of his commandments - for him to treat you with kindness rather than discipline. Ask him to do the same for all of his people worldwide.
4. Thank God for providing forgiveness through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for us.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us, in Christ, with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places... In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses...” (Ephesians 1:3, 7)


Station 8 - as we also have forgiven our debtors

Christ values love as the supreme trait of those who would claim to be his disciples. We cannot legitimately ask God to treat us with mercy rather than justice when we desire others to be punished for hurting us. Such desires betray an underlying belief that we are more worthy of blessing than God himself.

So this is worth asking: are you holding something against a brother or sister in Christ? Are you treating someone in a such a way so as to, in a sense, punish them, rather than treating them as someone Christ loves and died for?

If you are, you cannot seriously ask God to treat all the disciples of Christ with love and kindness - after all, you’d be asking God to forgive sins that you’re wanting to punish people for!

Is there someone with whom you need to be reconciled?

Here are some steps to follow towards reconciliation, as well as some items for which to pray:

1. Ask God for forgiveness for your anger.
2. Make a decision to reconcile with the other person. Today. Decide what time you will contact them.
3. Ask God to treat that other person with grace.
4. Ask God to cause his Church to be known in the world as a group of people who love each other.
Jesus prayed this for us: “that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me”(John 17:21).
5. Ask God to give us the strength to love those who persecute us for our obedience to Christ.


Station 9 - And lead us not into temptation

If we are to sanctify God’s name in our lives, we must avoid things in this world that would take our attention from him and divert our affections away from him. Jesus taught us in this request, though, that God is in control of not only our souls and desires but also our circumstances.

Take a moment to consider the things that divert your affections from Christ. Here are a few helpful questions to ask yourself (from Tim Keller):

1. What are you most afraid of?
2. What do you run to for comfort?
3. What do you complain about?
4. What makes you most angry?
5. What makes you happiest?
6. How do you define yourself to people?
7. What do you talk about most?
8. What do you give up other things for?
9. Whose approval do you seek, other than Christ’s?
10. What do you want to control or master?
11. What comfort do you treasure the most?

These questions do a great job uncovering the things in our lives that compete with God for our affections. Ask God to lead you away from these things and give you the power to flee them.

Your idols are probably not unique to you, but are good things that the people of God worldwide need to flee as well. Take a few moments praying for others, that God would guide them away from temptation as well.


Station 10 - but deliver us from the evil one.

This final request has traditionally been translated ‘deliver us from evil’; however, most commentators agree that a better translation is ‘deliver us from the evil one,’ namely, the devil.

The devil’s goal has always been fairly simple: he desires the condemnation of souls, the suffering of God’s people, and the perversion of the truth which saves. Our Lord said of the devil, “He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44)

Satan attacks the people of God now with persecution and false doctrines. He keeps the world blinded from salvation with idolatry and rebellious worldviews.

Jesus is teaching us to pray for the deliverance of the Church here. We do desire that unbelievers receive Christ and join his Church, but what we are mainly praying for in this request is for the power to withstand persecution and for the wisdom to discern false beliefs that do not accord with God’s word.

So, pray these things for not only yourself, but for all of Christ’s Church:

1. Pray for the power to testify to Christ without wavering, despite persecution.
“Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being ready to give an answer for the hope that is within you, yet do it with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:14-15)
2. Thank God that he will vindicate his persecuted people.
“And they have conquered him (the devil) by the blood of the lamb and their witnessing message, because they loved not their lives even unto death” (Revelation 12:11)
3. Pray that God would set his Church apart with the truth of the Scriptures and give us the power to discern false teaching.
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in the latter times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.” (1 Timothy 4:1)


“In Jesus’ name” means that Jesus’ work in dying and rising has secured our entry into God’s throne room to make requests of him. It also means that we are making our requests for the glory of Christ.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

The God of All Comfort

In 2 Corinthians 1, Paul called God the 'God of all comfort,' and repeatedly draws attention to the fact that God loves to comfort his children.  He loves to give them reprieve from suffering.  He loves to grant them joy. 

As a result, I've regularly prayed for the joy and comfort of people who are going through difficult circumstances.  I think that's wise and good and would stand by it. 

I do, however, want to make some observations about the comfort that God gives:

1)  It is in the midst of suffering, not as a replacement for it. 
2)  It is in the midst of community, and given through speaking with each other about Christ. 
3)  Our suffering is to imitate Christ's sufferings if we expect to share in comfort.  That means that it must either be the result of living like Christ on earth OR the result of living on earth in expectation that Christ will fix the world at the last day. 
4)  God often pushes us to be desperate, even of life itself, to give us comfort.  Desparation and comfort are not mutually exclusive in our experience, and desperation can get pretty bad - but it is a surgical tool in the hand of the God who desires our comfort.  
5)  Our comfort is ultimately rooted in the fact that God has raised Christ from the dead and will raise us as well.  Seeking mere existential comfort without historical rootedness is sub-Christian. 

That's not an exhaustive study of the chapter, but I think it's telling that the purpose of comfort is not to rid us of suffering - but to show us, in history, and through godly conversation, how it has been dealt with and will be dealt with. 

So, enough with the platitudes and seeking to drive at comfort and security without suffering before Jesus comes back.  The comfort God gives, even now, in the midst of desparation, through the message about Christ, is better. 

And he loves to grant it to his children. 

Reasons the Temple in Ezekiel 40-48 Must be the Heavenly Temple, not an Earthly One

If passages in the Old Testament prophetic books are sometimes unclear, confusing, and shocking, then Ezekiel 40-48 might sit at the pinnacle of those passages.  In this vision, Ezekiel sees a future temple. 

Now, in a cursory reading, (or if one has been brought up with dispensational underpinnings), one might see this vision as a future, physical-structural temple which will be built in Israel during a future millenium. 

Greg Beale, in "The Temple and the Church's Mission," argues that Ezekiel 40-48 is a vision concerning God's end-times temple, which is descending from heaven, filling the earth, and will be fulfilled in the return of Christ and re-creation of the world into a heavenly temple. 

In other words, he argues that this vision is about God's heavenly temple descending to earth.  This happened ultimately in Christ's incarnation, in the Church's proclamation of the Gospel and spreading, and in Christ's return to glorify this world. 

The following is a summary of his argument that this temple must be spiritual and other-worldly - not structural. 

1)  The vision takes place from a 'high mountain' (40:1-2), but there are no high mountains in Jerusalem.

2)  This high mountain is extraordinary in size, being big enough to contain the whole city.  Mountains in such visions exist to picture the idea of heaven descending to earth.

3)  The phraseology at the beginning of Ezekiel 40 only occurs in chapters 1 and 8, in which Ezekiel gets visions of the heavenly temple.  (These assure Israel that God is still reigning and present, though the earthly temple has been destroyed.)

4)  Chapter 11 speaks of the heavenly temple descending to earth.

5)  The spiritual temple in chapter 11 descends on a mountain.

6)  At the end of chapter 11, the promise of an eschatological temple is the promise of the New Covenant - the presence of Christ with all believers.

7)  Ezekiel 37's promised temple is not structural, but spiritual, and pertains to the same period of the end as ch's 40-48.  Given similar imagery, it is probable that these are the same temple.

8)  The beginning and end of the vision describes the temple as a city (40:2, 48:35).

9)  The measurements of Ezekiel's temple are approximately the measurements of the 2nd-temple Jerusalem era city, not temple.

10) The land, not just the temple, received glory (43:2).

11) The trickle of water from the temple becomes a river and heals even the Dead Sea (47).

12) The water is reminiscent of Eden, which was supposed to expand to fill the earth.  There is a direct reference to Eden in ch. 31.

13) Ch. 28 tells us that Eden was on the 'holy mountain.'

14) The city being perfectly square points to symbolic vision.

15) The territorial allotments having geographical lines running perfectly straight completely ignores geography, and points to symbolic vision.

16) The only recorded dimensions are horizontal - there are no vertical distances recorded; hence, symbolism.

17) The water that flows from the temple deepens as it moves away from the temple.  If there were tributaries feeding into this stream they would pollute the water of life.  Thus, this must be symbolic.

18) Revelation 11 interprets the Ezekiel vision as about the Church, and as about how the life of the Church imitates Christ's earthly ministry. 

19) Sacrifices in the OT are fulfilled in the sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifices of the Church in imitation of Christ.  Hebrews prohibits any sort of 'memorial' sacrifices, as even Scofield admitted. 

20) Ezekiel uses the word 'kipper' (to make atonement) with regard to the sacrifices in his vision. 

21) Jesus, in John 4, is recorded as saying that the Holy Spirit is building a spiritual temple from which living water will flow - seemingly in fulfillment of Ezekiel's vision. 

22) Revelation 21 fulfills Ezekiel's vision of an eternal temple. 

23) Most of the temple furniture, including the ark (which Jeremiah said would not be in the eschatological temple), is missing. 

24) Furniture is missing from all three sections of the temple.  If the temple represents the cosmos, then this points to a radical change in the cosmos - not just the temple. 

25) In particular, the veil and the ark are missing.  This probably is an indicator that God's presence is breaking out into the whole cosmos. 

26) We must interpret this symbolic passage in light of what clear, fulfillment passages in the NT say about the temple. 

27) The lampstand has become 'trees for healing' (ch. 47)

28) The sea is replaced by a river flowing out to the whole world. 

29) As a rule, visions of heavenly temples in Scripture (and extracanonical literature) have no furniture except a throne.