“Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”” Luke 11:1 NLT https://bible.com/bible/116/luk.11.1.NLT
The disciples realized the impact of prayer when Jesus prayed. They realized how it unlocked power and enabled Grace. They realized it brought a divine connection and they needed to tap into that and hence they came to Jesus and asked Him to teach them to pray.
“Jesus said, “This is how you should pray: “Father, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon.” Luke 11:2 NLT https://bible.com/bible/116/luk.11.2.NLT
Jesus came with an instructive prayer. The prayer acknowledged God in Heaven meaning a divine deity that was not physically connected to us but could be reached spiritually and prayer is the spiritual connection. So Jesus was indicating the need for a spiritual connection to be able to function as the body of Christ.
May your name be kept Holy – Jesus determined the condition to approach God – holiness
May your Kingdom come – there is a coming Kingdom and we must never lose sight of that. Our daily lives and our prayers should be awake to the coming Kingdom.
Our speech should remember the coming kingdom. Our deeds should be about the coming Kingdom.
“Give us each day the food we need,” Luke 11:3 NLT https://bible.com/bible/116/luk.11.3.NLT
This is an acknowledgement that our survival is better in God’s hands. god has a better measure and understanding of our needs and when we sub,it to His measure we shall be ably supplied. (Remember manna!)
“and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation. ” Luke 11:4 NLT https://bible.com/bible/116/luk.11.4.NLT
This is the first conditional line…. We seek forgiveness on condition that we give forgiveness. This implies that when we do not forgive, there is no forgiveness for us. Forgiveness becomes a simultaneous equation: When you solve X you find Y!
“Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven! “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt. “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt. “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full. “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”” Matthew 18:21-35 NLT https://bible.com/bible/116/mat.18.21-35.NLT
We cannot imprison others for that which we seek amnesty from God for…. The prison of un-forgiveness automatically locks you up too. Un-forgiveness locks your prayers because you cannot pray like the Lord said, you have to stop when you reach the part that says as we forgive those who trespass against us.
The prison torture can only stop when the debt is paid – when forgiveness is granted.
Teach us to pray Lord!
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