WOW! What an amazing. thought provoking book – an eye opener. The Lord’s Prayer – no prayer is better known – or misunderstood – than the prayer Jesus taught His disciples. The Sermon on the Mount.
The Lord’s Prayer
by Dr. R. T. Kendall
Chosen
March 2010
We all know the Lord’s Prayer – can recite it from memory. Learned the prayer as a youngster – even recited it in school and in church. This was all before someone decided that it is not fashionable to recite the prayer in school or church. It is a prayer we all know, but do we understand its meaning and do we pray the prayer from the heart or just recite the words?
R.T. Kendall’s book breaks down each line of the prayer and tells us what Jesus was conveying to His disciples when He taught them to pray. The Lord’s Prayer is verbally inspired by the Holy Spirit and therefore perfectly worded. It is good to pray the Lord’s Prayer in private and in public, but we must pray the prayer from the heart and truly mean the words we are saying. We should return the prayer to school and churches, – it is never out of fashion to praise and worship God – our Heavenly Father.
When we pray the Lord’s Prayer we must first acknowledge who God is – we must give him praise and glory – He is God almighty!
OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN
God is our father – mine – yours . He is every one’s father – the believer and the nonbeliever – and He resides in heaven. Our Father invites intimacy with God – and in heaven points to His supreme majesty.
HALLOWED BE THY NAME
This is the first petition of the Lord’s Prayer – a petition that God will be put in his rightful place by our worship – to seek God’s face. When we pray from our heart demonstrates we are truly in our place when we approach God. We acknowledge that God is supreme – there is no other name above God’s – His name is to be exalted above all other gods – He is Yahweh – He is the Great I Am.
YOUR KINGDOM COME
Second petition: We are asking God to actualize – let us experience – what Jesus has been talking about up to then in the Sermon on the Mount. The Kingdom of God takes place in our heart. The Kingdom of God is simply the realm of God’s domain.
YOUR WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN
Third petition: We pray for God’s will – not our will. God has a will of His own and he wants us to participate in it. Read the Bible if you want to know the will of God. There is no rebellion in heaven – everyone is doing God’s will. When we pray the above we are acknowledging God – focusing on God – giving Him praise and glory.
GIVE US TODAY OUR DAILY BREAD
Fourth petition: We now change from your to us our our – me. This suggest we are part of a wider body of believers – a part of God’s family. our daily bread is anything we require to survive in the world – food, clothing, housing, finances, etc. We are petitioning God to provide all our physical, natural needs. We are acknowledging our daily dependence on God our Father.
FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS, AS WE ALSO HAVE FORGIVEN OUR DEBTORS
Fifth petition: This is a plea and a declaration. We are asking God to forgive our sins and we are declaring that we will forgive those who have sinned against us. This is is so easy to say, but so hard to do. This is the most important part of the Lord’s Prayer. If we forgive those that sin against us – then our Heavenly Father will forgive us. This is not a prayer for salvation – nor a sinner’s prayer. The Lord’s prayer is a believer’s prayer – a covenant with God (an agreement).
AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION
Sixth petition: The unnecessary pitfall – our spiritual state. This is the petition most difficult to understand. God does not tempt us – we are tempted by our own desires. We will be tempted, but we should not act on these temptations. Temptation is what God allows to test us, and yet it comes completely from within. We pray that we will not fall into a situation greater than we are able to cope with.
BUT DELIVER US FROM THE EVIL ONE
Final petition: Daily deliverance – daily plea to be spared an unnecessary pitfall. We are acknowledging that evil is present – we face it every day. We must pray for daily deliverance until the day comes when we are finally delivered by witnessing Satan’s total and final defeat. Satan is the reason for evil. He is the father of all liars – he has come to kill, steal and destroy. He is the explanation for all our troubles.
FOR YOURS IS THE KINGDOM AND THE POWER AND THE GLORY FOREVER. AMEN
There is some doubt whether this final phase at the end of the Lord’s Prayer was in the original Greek New Testament – and for that matter in Jesus’ teaching (He spoke in Aramaic). It is thought that some in the church chose and added this benediction to close the prayer and the words were incorporated in later manuscripts. The words are absolutely true even if Jesus did not say them. The origin of this praise goes back to King David when he praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly.
- The Kingdom – God is our true King
- The Power – refers to the Holy Spirit
- The Glory – do not forget to give God the credit for what He does – for what he has done.
The above is what I gleamed from reading the book – the Lord’s Prayer. Yes I know the words to the prayer, but do I really understand the prayer? The answer is definitely a big NO! It did give me a better insight to the prayer and possibly Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. When I pray the prayer, I will endeavor to pray it from my heart and not just recite the words. I also encourage everyone to add this prayer to their daily devotional and to pray the prayer in church and school. We might have to fight to get it reinstated in church and school – but our success will be pleasing to God.
Buy a copy for your self and one for a friend. Read it multiple times – you will not only find a new model for prayer, but will experience a revolutionary way to draw closer to your heavenly Father. The prayer will transform you.
R. T. Kendall has made the Lord’s Prayer reachable, touchable and doable. That is the genius of this book, for the Lord’s Prayer must be done, not simply recited. Highly recommend.
Mary Asher, the Golden Reviewer, is a founding book blogger for BookGateway.com and has generously provided this review. She describes herself as “An 80 year old avid reader reviews the newest in Christian fiction and non-fiction with a sprinkle of the secular on top.”.
This book was provided by the publisher as a review copy.