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It does seem odd, given the apostle Paul's exhortation in 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 to "pray without ceasing" and to "give thanks in all circumstances," that the Lord's Prayer does not include instru...
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I am a Messianic Jew. I believe Rabbi Jesus abbreviated a traditional Jewish prayer. It included words of thanksgiving. Here it is in its entirety: "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed and separated from the unholy to the holy be Thine Name. Let Thy kingdom come and reign over us. Let Thy will and the remembrance of Thy glory be done on earth below, as it is done in heaven above. Give us today, and we thank You for our need for our bodies: our daily bread. Give us tomorrow, and we thank You for our need for our souls: our heavenly manna. Forgive our many debts and our many sins, as we remit and forgive our debtors and their debts and their sins against us. Lead us not away from giving into the power of temptation, sin, or iniquities. But instead preserve us, and then, deliver us from evil. For Thine alone is the kingdom, King of the universe. Blessed then is the Name of thy power. And all the glory of Your kingdom be eternal and forever. A-M-N* * Adonai Melech Ne'eman - God, our Faithful King
Christ, while living on earth, taught Israel how to pray during the times they would await the return of Christ, their promised earthly kingdom to come, and the future forgiveness of their sins by God when Christ returns at their "times of refreshing at the presence of the Lord" (Matt 6:9-15, Acts 1:6-7, Acts 3:19). However, Christ ascended in glory told our apostle Paul that believers today, who are filling up the church, the body of Christ (not Israel), do not know what to pray for as we ought (Rom 8:26). We are, however, to give thanks to God always (Eph 5:20) for what we have already been gifted by His grace through our faith alone in Him. This includes but is not limited to: - God's forgiveness of all of our past, present, and future sins through Christ's shed blood (Eph 1:7, Col 1:14). - A new life in Christ (2 Cor 5:17, Rom 6:4). - All spiritual blessings in heavenly places (Eph 1:3). - God's completed perfect Word (1 Cor 13:10, 2 Tim 2:15). - The imputed righteousness of God Himself (2 Cor 5:21, Rom 10:10). - Adoption by God and joint-heir-ship with Christ of all things (Rom 8:15-17, Rom 8:32, Eph 1:11, 1 Cor 3:21-22). - Spiritual peace (Rom 5:1). - God's Inseparable love and eternal security (Eph 2:8-9, 1 Cor 15:1-4, Eph 1:12-14, Rom 8:35-39). We are so fortunate to be living during the times of God's outpouring of grace (Eph 3:2), to whom God's forgiveness of sin occurred at the cross, and His free unmerited gift of salvation is receivable today by anyone who will simply believe this good news (Eph 1:13, Eph 2:8-9). 1 Cor 15:1-4 "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:"
In context we read from Matthew 6:5 not verse 9. Jesus was making clear to his followers how to pray, not like the hypocritical Jewish people who stand on street corners, wanting others to see they were praying. In verse 6 He then tells those who follow him, ‘But YOU, when YOU pray, go into YOUR room, and when YOU have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.’ He is not saying we must always go into a private room, he is not saying we must always go to a secret place, he is not saying we must always go to the closet and close the door when we pray, no no. He was turning the hypercritical actions of those he sees doing such things on its head. He is saying, using the example of what was just witnessed, when you come to God do so with no distractions; seek God’s recognition, not recognition from the world, and He will reward you. Do not be like those he mentions in verse 6 and 7. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. Verse 8. Then Jesus tells us how we should pray, giving us a model prayer we call The Lord’s Prayer. If we question this prayer, we are questioning Jesus’ words to us. We are in effect putting our thoughts before Jesus' words. He is The Word, He is the Truth, He is the only way to the Father. As little children, Matthew 18:3, we should listen to Jesus and accept what he says. He is God. 1 John 5:20. 9 [Stage 1: We are to look to ‘our’ Father, we are to look to the highest heaven, we are to focus on His abode. Jesus always points us to our Father in Heaven.] Our Father in heaven, [Stage 2: We are to accept, God alone is Holy, Rev 15:4, and we are to Hallow his Holy Name.] Hallowed be Your name. 10 [Stage 3: Emmanuel, God with us. Isaiah 7:14] Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. [Not just in Heaven but also, how can this be? On earth ‘as it is in heaven’. Through the heart of every, born again soul, John 3:3,5, 1 John 5:20, John 15:1-8, through the heart of every spiritual stone, of which the ekklesia, the true church is built. 1 Peter 2:5] 11 [Stage 4: Coming to God in prayer, as Jesus taught us, looking to God, accepting His Holiness, Hallowing His Name, we are then ready to ask for our ‘daily needs’] Give us this day our daily bread. [Our daily bread is sufficient of the essentials we ‘need’ for the next 24 hours. Food, drink, water, clothes, a roof over our heads, The Word.] 12 [Stage 5: If anything, we could think, why do we not seek forgiveness before asking for our daily needs but by Jesus' example, which we accept without question. It doesn’t matter what order we ask, what matters is we ask our Father who is in Heaven for the things Jesus mentions.] And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. [Remembering Matthew 6:14-15] 13 [The final part, Stage 6, is as important as the rest and should be accepted as Jesus tells us. Some, however, do question the first half of the following, the Catholic Church for one. The warning, I believe, is that if we question Jesus' statement, we are questioning God; we are in effect saying we know better than God. That is very dangerous. Jesus tells us things for our own benefit. We may not understand the reason, we are to accept them as given us.] And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. [Luke 22:21] Our heart rejoices as we give thanks to God our Father in Heaven, as we accept His Holiness and practice righteousness, as we pray in Faith, as we ask for our needs knowing God will provide them, as we seek forgiveness knowing we are forgiven. Thanks be to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in Jesus' Holy and most precious Name, Amen. Hebrews 11:6: But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
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