The Pattern of prayer
Sometimes when we say something in worship perhaps we do not stop and think what we are actually saying and when we do we wonder what on earth do we mean by that?
Even though we might have been saying the same things over and over again we do not really think about what we are actually saying.
For example we have a lead in statement to invite us to say the Lord’s Prayer at the Eucharist: ‘As our saviour Jesus Christ has taught us we are bold to say’
Bold to say!?
And the question is quite simple- what right do we have to be bold in the face of Almighty God to say this prayer?
What arrogance to think that I can approach Almighty God in this way and that He will even listen to us let alone answer our prayer. Surely a far better introduction to this prayer would be:
‘In the words which Jesus taught us to pray we say meekly kneeling on our knees: Our Father…
But NO - we are bold to say, Our Father- but why are we able to be so bold?
Ironically the answer again comes from the Eucharist, from one of the sentences said at the Offertory, from the book of Hebrew’s:
‘Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need’ Hew. 4:16
Approaching boldly into the presence of God and why can we do this?
Again the answer is in Hebrew’s verse 14: ‘Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us with confidence draw near .. ‘
Jesus has given us the right to enter into the presence of God the Father, enter with boldness and what better right have we than to do it with the very prayer that He Himself taught us… Our Father…
The 2nd issue with respect to the Lord’s Prayer is the way in which we use it as it is far more than just a simple short prayer – its full of meaning!
For example are we to regard the Lord’s prayer as a form of prayer, as we do in using it as written day by day; OR as a pattern of prayer itself so as to help us as a guide for our daily prayers.
In St Luke’s gospel Jesus told His disciples and indeed us: ‘When you pray, say.. Our Father…’ (Luke 11:2)
But in Matthew’s gospel it is offered as a pattern for all prayer, ‘This is how you should pray… Our Father… ‘ (Matt 6:9)
Hence the answer is quite simple, we can use the prayer in which ever way we feel as appropriate – a form of prayer in its own right and hence its prominence in our services OR as a pattern of prayer to form a structure and from this I believe we have a lot to learn.
It is inevitable and right that we should use the Lord’s prayer as a form of prayer for it comes from Jesus Himself – A prayer which He Himself used, so it must surely be good enough for us!
It is a prayer which has His stamp of approval, His authenticity and is ideal for His followers to use.
It is a prayer which is common to ALL Christian people and therefore crosses the denominational divide forming a uniting factor among the different churches.
It is a form of prayer which expresses the mind of Christ and is therefore one prayer which we can offer with confidence, with boldness in His Name.
Nevertheless, the use of any form of prayer has its dangers, particularly the danger of simply repeating the words without giving them a moments thought, not realising what we are actually saying, and even ignoring the meaning and implications of what we are saying!
‘Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven’
Do we really understand what we are saying in this simple statement or even realise the implications behind this really NOT so simple a statement.
The words are on our lips but are they in our hearts?
And true prayer can only come from the heart!
It is all the more needful for us to be on our guard against this especially in this the most important of prayers.
When Jesus gave this prayer to His disciples He also told them, ‘When you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do’
The Lord’s prayer has to be said reverently from the heart as if for the first time.
It would be obviously helpful if we were to say the prayer more slowly than we normally do in public worship; to think about the words as we repeat them and to have a clear understanding of what they mean and the implications of what we are saying.
There are words and phrases as I’ve already pointed out which require some thought and explanation and that’s clearly the role of the teaching aspect of any service when an address is given.
When we have a clear understanding and know what in effect we are saying the prayer becomes alive, becomes more intelligible and therefore more realistic and relevant to our daily needs.
We must try and put ourselves, in a sense into the prayer so that it becomes part of us so that as we say it we can apply it to our own lives and circumstances.
It becomes a living prayer from our hearts.
So what is generally known as everyones prayer now becomes our own personal prayer to our Heavenly Father, from our heart to His divine heart with our own personal touch.
So that when we say this wonderful prayer, the prayer which Jesus taught us to say we pray that prayer in the way that He meant it to be used.
‘When you pray, say… Our Father… ‘
But we must also remember that the Lord’s prayer is the pattern of all prayer – it is a guideline that we can use to structure our own personal prayer to God the Father.
It offers for us a guide as to how to pray and this is very important and for the majority of us we do not realise this very important aspect of the Lord’s prayer.
The spirit of prayer matters far more than the language of prayer, it matters more than the method we employ, or the time and place we chose or the posture we adopt.
The spirit of prayer is enshrined in the Lord’s prayer and if we only spend a little time and thought in using the Lord’s prayer as our guide we can learn a lot about true prayer.
We can use each statement as a meditation or a structure for an intercession, for example:
• We come to God in a humble spirit as a child of God addressing Him as our Father since we are His children by adoption and Grace.
o We thank the Father for the gift of Your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ who brought about this unique relationship with Almighty God
o We pray for family life in our homes, in society, in our country and in the world. For parents that they may show the love of God through their actions and the love they have for their children.
o We pray for children in broken homes that they may find the love they deserve as a child of God
o We pray for God’s family the Church that we may grow in fellowship, in unity and love with one another.
? Our Father
o ..
• We come in a humble spirit, bowing before Him as the High and Holy One who inhabits eternity
o We thank You Father for the example of Your Son, for those who have shown us the example of the Christian life and for Your WORD in Scripture
o We thank You for the beauty of the world in which we live, for the wonder of Nature and Your undoubted Presence in our daily lives
o We pray that we may be obedient to Your will and that men and women will use the resources of the world with respect and not at the expense of others
? Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name
o ..
• We come in an obedient spirit, submitting ourselves to His kingly rule and ready to serve His Will here on earth
o We thank You Father for the pleasure of being in Your presence
o We pray that as we leave this place of worship we may never leave Your presence
o We pray for our society that it may seek to do Your will and realise that only You can offer those things which really matter
o We pray for Your peace in our troubled world that war may cease and Your love reigns in all our hearts
? Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done
o ..
• We come in a dependent spirit, looking to Him to care for all our daily bodily needs
o We thank You Father for the relative prosperity and comfort we enjoy, for those things we have to make our lives bearable
o We pray for those who are not so fortunate as ourselves, those who are hungry and homeless, those who are heavily in debt and unemployed, those who are spiritually and physically diseased
? Give us this day our daily bread
o ..
• We come in a penitent spirit, acknowledging our many sins and seeking His forgiveness, even as we have forgiven others
o We thanks You Father for Jesus who died that we might be forgiven, who died that we might be good in Your sight
o We pray for all those who offend and break Your laws, for those who do not love their neighbour as much as themselves
? Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us
o ..
• We come in a trustful spirit, resting our weakness on His strength and asking Him to guard us from sinning and to rescue us from evil
o We thank You Father for the gift of the Holy Spirit, the source of our inspiration our joy and comforter
o Inspire us all that we may be Your instrument here on earth and that we may lead men and women away from evil and into righteousness
? Lead us not into temptation
? Deliver us from evil
o ..
By simply breaking down each statement in turn and thinking about them, it soon becomes clear that we cannot be content merely with saying the Lord’s prayer – indeed we need to live the Lord’s prayer.
The wonderful thing about scripture is that statements like these found in the Lord’s prayer can be turned into questions about the way we live and work and play, my favourite is St. Paul’s hymn of Love (1Cor. 13: 1-7), for example using verse 4:
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud ...
Turning this into a personal question, we have:
• Am I patient and kind – do I love my neighbour as myself?
• Do I envy what others have?
• Do I boast?
• Am I proud?
In the same way we can use the Lord’s prayer in a similar way and make it more rewarding and search our souls to become better Christians.
Using the prayer in this way makes big demands on God and even more on ourselves but this is a great and marvellous challenge for us which will inspire us on our journey to LIFE.
M.W.Gass has such an example in the book: ‘Moments with the book – MwtB’:
• I cannot say OUR, if I live in a watertight spiritual compartment and think only of myself
• I cannot say FATHER, if I do not demonstrate the relationship in my daily life
• I cannot say WHO ART IN HEAVEN, if I do not bow down in reverence before the Almighty
• I cannot say HALLOWED BE THY NAME, if I, who am called by His Name, an not holy
• I cannot say THY KINGDOM COME, if I am not doing all in my power to hasten its coming
• I cannot say THY WILL BE DONE, if I am questioning, resentful of or disobedient to His Will for me
• I cannot say GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD, if I am lazy and not prepared to earn my daily living
• I cannot say FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US, if I harbour a grudge against anyone
• I cannot say LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, if I deliberately place myself in a position where I am likely to be tempted
• I cannot say DELIVER US FROM EVIL, if I am not prepared to fight it in the spiritual realm with the weapon of prayer
• I cannot say AMEN, if I do not also add ‘Cost what it may’
For to say the Lord’s prayer honestly will cost us everything.
