Pray This Way
Matthew 6:9
How do we know what to ask God without causing him to become indignant with us? We shall answer this question by analyzing the above prayer, but first we shall talk a little about what we shouldn't ask for.
Where do all the fights and quarrels among you come from? They come from your desires for pleasure, which are constantly fighting within you. 2 You want things, but you cannot have them, so you are ready to kill; you strongly desire things, but you cannot get them, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have what you want because you do not ask God for it. 3 And when you ask, you do not receive it, because your motives are bad; you ask for things to use for your own pleasures.James 4:1-3 GNB
If we are asking for anything having to do with our earthly selfish covetous needs then we can forget about it.
Now let us break the above prayer up into its specific parts and talk a little about each part.
"‘Our Father in the heaven, let your name be sanctified.
We are to address the Almighty God YHWH as "Our Father in the heavens", not my Father, for he is the Father of all creation, and he is in heaven not on earth. We are to ask that his name be sanctified. His name has not been honored and is greatly disrespected by many today. People see his marvelous works and some pay no heed and others attribute them to random chance (evolution). They mistreat the very ones made in his image (their neighbors), and they do not even say thanks for anything they have. Their self-assuming brags are that they themselves earned everything they have and no one else had anything to do with it. Then there's the ones who call themselves Christians but behave worse than the heathens of the Nations. Now Satan, which means resister, is the original one who slandered YHWH God, when, as a serpent he deceived the first woman by implying that God lied about the punishment of death. Satan is also referred to as a devil which means “slander” and we see below that he slanders God.
Now the snake was the most cunning animal that the LORD God had made. The snake asked the woman, "Did God really tell you not to eat fruit from any tree in the garden?" 2 "We may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden," the woman answered, 3 "except the tree in the middle of it. God told us not to eat the fruit of that tree or even touch it; if we do, we will die." 4 The snake replied, "That's not true; you will not die. 5 God said that because he knows that when you eat it, you will be like God and know what is good and what is bad."Genesis 3:1-5 GNB
Now when we ask that his name be cleansed we are talking about his reputation with which his name is associated.
We must beg the Father for his kingdom to come, which shall first be ruled by his son the Messiah. That Messiah is his Son Jesus the Nazarene. When Jesus rules there will be one righteous government over the entire world, and there will be no confusion as to what is right and wrong.
At the time of those rulers the God of heaven will establish a kingdom that will never end. It will never be conquered, but will completely destroy all those empires and then last forever.Daniel 2:44 GNB
Messiah's kingdom will eventually lead to our Father YHWH's direct rule over that Kingdom, and so we are to especially pray for Father's direct rule to come, as it will.
Col 1:19-20
For it was by God's own decision that the Son has in himself the full nature of God. 20 Through the Son, then, God decided to bring the whole universe back to himself. God made peace through his Son's blood on the cross and so brought back to himself all things, both on earth and in heaven.1Co 15:27-28
For the scripture says, "God put all things under his feet." It is clear, of course, that the words "all things" do not include God himself, who puts all things under Christ. 28 But when all things have been placed under Christ's rule, then he himself, the Son, will place himself under God, who placed all things under him; and God will rule completely over all.Rev 21:3
I heard a loud voice speaking from the throne: "Now God's home is with people! He will live with them, and they shall be his people. God himself will be with them, and he will be their God.
Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth.
God has a plan and a purpose for everything that happens, so it is important that in prayer, we acknowledge his will be done. If what we ask for is to be granted us, it will be in line with God's plan is for all mankind. So for example when we ask for his kingdom to come soon, although we want it to come as soon as possible, and we want to be part of that kingdom, there are others who may not have been born yet, who should be part of that kingdom as well, and that takes time. Thus we acknowledge for his will to be done, in his time. Moreover we are to ask that our Father's will take place upon the earth in the same way it is taking place in heaven. This implies that his will is taking place now on the earth, just not as it is in heaven, and it implies that Satan is doing what God wills him to do, and not what Satan wills.
When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid. 9 He went back into the palace and asked Jesus, "Where do you come from?" But Jesus did not answer. 10 Pilate said to him, "You will not speak to me? Remember, I have the authority to set you free and also to have you crucified." 11 Jesus answered, "You have authority over me only because it was given to you by God. So the man who handed me over to you is guilty of a worse sin."John 19:8-11 GNB
Daniel 4:34-37 GNB "When the seven years had passed," said the king, "I looked up at the sky, and my sanity returned. I praised the Supreme God and gave honor and glory to the one who lives forever. "He will rule forever, and his kingdom will last for all time. 35 He looks on the people of the earth as nothing; angels in heaven and people on earth are under his control. No one can oppose his will or question what he does. 36 "When my sanity returned, my honor, my majesty, and the glory of my kingdom were given back to me. My officials and my noblemen welcomed me, and I was given back my royal power with even greater honor than before. 37 "And now, I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, honor, and glorify the King of Heaven. Everything he does is right and just, and he can humble anyone who acts proudly."
Ephesians 1:3-11 GNB Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! For in our union with Christ he has blessed us by giving us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly world. 4 Even before the world was made, God had already chosen us to be his through our union with Christ, so that we would be holy and without fault before him. Because of his love 5 God had already decided that through Jesus Christ he would make us his children---this was his pleasure and purpose. 6 Let us praise God for his glorious grace, for the free gift he gave us in his dear Son! 7 For by the blood of Christ we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven. How great is the grace of God, 8 which he gave to us in such large measure! In all his wisdom and insight 9 God did what he had purposed, and made known to us the secret plan he had already decided to complete by means of Christ. 10 This plan, which God will complete when the time is right, is to bring all creation together, everything in heaven and on earth, with Christ as head. 11 All things are done according to God's plan and decision; and God chose us to be his own people in union with Christ because of his own purpose, based on what he had decided from the very beginning.
Keep in mind (and I shall prove this statement with Scriptures) that our Father God of Heaven and He alone knows everything that will happen, in the present, future, and past, and in fact directs it to happen just as he plans it to. Everyone else is limited to some degree, depending on the Father's plan, and God the Son is not excluded from that limitation. Wicked people are therefore wicked because our Father made them to be so, and good people are good because our Father made them to be so. This then is where the concept of grace comes in, for it is by grace that anyone is privileged to be obedient to the Father, through the Son, and we cannot claim to have earned it. This concept is a very difficult concept to comprehend, but it is an important concept to grasp, in order to understand God's word properly. Now, the next logical inference that most will make, is thus or something like it: "If the Father of Heaven is responsible for making wicked people sin for his own purpose, then all are really innocent of sin, both the wicked and the good and the Father is to blame for creating those who are only meant to go to an eternal torment". One analogy, to help ease the discomfort this may cause, is that if one were to write a book with both villains and heroes, in the end, the actors chosen for a particular role really have no say in who they portray, it depends on who the director decides fits each role, does it not? And doesn't the writer of that story have the right to write that story how he sees fit? In the same way we are actors in a story written and directed by our Heavenly Father, only in this story we are only given a fuzzy outline of how that story will go via the Word, we are not given our particular part in this story. We do not know our own future unless it is actually told us through one of our Father's messengers. So then, what about free will, if it is true that our Father has directed our every step, then aren't we really only mere puppets? Well yes that's true, but since we do not know our future, this not knowing gives us an imaginary free will. If we, as actors in a play, do not know what our future is, and we have what we perceive as a free will, then it is to our advantage to use that imaginary free will to seek out the kinds of behaviors pleasing to God, and then to practice them as best we can. There are many believers who have judged themselves as saved, but in reality only a select few are privileged with this luxury, such as of course Jesus the Son, St. Peter, St. John, St. James brother of John, Enoch, and others. St. Paul was not certain of his judgment of saved or not saved until he was very close to death. This not knowing then places a fire of fear under our bums, and should prod us into action, actions of obedience to God's requirements, found in the Bible. Most people who consider themselves as already saved, tend to be inactive, or just wicked to the core.
Scriptures that prove Jesus does not know everything:
"No one knows, however, when that day and hour will come---neither the angels in heaven nor the Son; the Father alone knows.Matthew 24:36 GNB
Luke 8:44-48 GNB
She came up in the crowd behind Jesus and touched the edge of his cloak, and her bleeding stopped at once. 45 Jesus asked, "Who touched me?" Everyone denied it, and Peter said, "Master, the people are all around you and crowding in on you." 46 But Jesus said, "Someone touched me, for I knew it when power went out of me." 47 The woman saw that she had been found out, so she came trembling and threw herself at Jesus' feet. There in front of everybody, she told him why she had touched him and how she had been healed at once. 48 Jesus said to her, "My daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace."Scriptures that prove the Father knows all (also found above in Ephesians 1:3-11):
So then, everything depends, not on what we humans want or do, but only on God's mercy. 17 For the scripture says to the king of Egypt, "I made you king in order to use you to show my power and to spread my fame over the whole world." 18 So then, God has mercy on anyone he wishes, and he makes stubborn anyone he wishes. 19 But one of you will say to me, "If this is so, how can God find fault with anyone? Who can resist God's will?" 20 But who are you, my friend, to talk back to God? A clay pot does not ask the man who made it, "Why did you make me like this?" 21 After all, the man who makes the pots has the right to use the clay as he wishes, and to make two pots from the same lump of clay, one for special occasions and the other for ordinary use. 22 And the same is true of what God has done. He wanted to show his anger and to make his power known. But he was very patient in enduring those who were the objects of his anger, who were doomed to destruction. 23 And he also wanted to reveal his abundant glory, which was poured out on us who are the objects of his mercy, those of us whom he has prepared to receive his glory.Romans 9:16-23 GNB
Scriptures that prove we do not know our future:
3 Now, I am not at all concerned about being judged by you or by any human standard; I don't even pass judgment on myself. 4 My conscience is clear, but that does not prove that I am really innocent. The Lord is the one who passes judgment on me. 5 So you should not pass judgment on anyone before the right time comes. Final judgment must wait until the Lord comes; he will bring to light the dark secrets and expose the hidden purposes of people's minds. And then all will receive from God the praise they deserve.1 Corinthians 4:3-5 GNB
Proverbs 25:6-7 GNB
When you stand before the king, don't try to impress him and pretend to be important. 7 It is better to be asked to take a higher position than to be told to give your place to someone more important.Proverbs 27:1-2 GNB
Never boast about tomorrow. You don't know what will happen between now and then. 2 Let other people praise you---even strangers; never do it yourself.Ecclesiastes 3:11-12 GNB
11 He has set the right time for everything. He has given us a desire to know the future, but never gives us the satisfaction of fully understanding what he does. 12 So I realized that all we can do is be happy and do the best we can while we are still alive.Ecclesiastes 8:16-17 GNB
16 Whenever I tried to become wise and learn what goes on in the world, I realized that you could stay awake night and day 17 and never be able to understand what God is doing. However hard you try, you will never find out. The wise may claim to know, but they don't.Ecclesiastes 9:11-12 GNB
11 I realized another thing, that in this world fast runners do not always win the races, and the brave do not always win the battles. The wise do not always earn a living, intelligent people do not always get rich, and capable people do not always rise to high positions. Bad luck happens to everyone. 12 You never know when your time is coming. Like birds suddenly caught in a trap, like fish caught in a net, we are trapped at some evil moment when we least expect it.James 4:12-17 GNB
God is the only lawgiver and judge. He alone can save and destroy. Who do you think you are, to judge someone else? 13 Now listen to me, you that say, "Today or tomorrow we will travel to a certain city, where we will stay a year and go into business and make a lot of money." 14 You don't even know what your life tomorrow will be! You are like a puff of smoke, which appears for a moment and then disappears. 15 What you should say is this: "If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that." 16 But now you are proud, and you boast; all such boasting is wrong. 17 So then, if we do not do the good we know we should do, we are guilty of sin.Scriptures that show we do have some role we can play in our own salvation, our own imaginary free will.
Matthew 7:24-27 KJV Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
Matthew 12:33 KJV
Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.1 Timothy 4:16 KJV
Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.2 Timothy 2:15 KJV
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.2 Timothy 2:19-21 KJV
Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. 20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. 21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.Jude 1:23 KJVA
And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.Deuteronomy 30:10-20 KJVA
10 If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul. 11 For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? 13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? 14 But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it. 15 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; 16 In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. 17 But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; 18 I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it. 19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: 20 That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.Sirach 15:12-20 KJVA
Say not thou, He hath caused me to err: for he hath no need of the sinful man. 13 The Lord hateth all abomination; and they that fear God love it not. 14 He himself made man from the beginning, and left him in the hand of his counsel; 15 If thou wilt, to keep the commandments, and to perform acceptable faithfulness. 16 He hath set fire and water before thee: stretch forth thy hand unto whether thou wilt. 17 Before man is life and death; and whether him liketh shall be given him. 18 For the wisdom of the Lord is great, and he is mighty in power, and beholdeth all things: 19 And his eyes are upon them that fear him, and he knoweth every work of man. 20 He hath commanded no man to do wickedly, neither hath he given any man licence to sin.
Give us today our needed bread;
It says "Give us today" which implies that this prayer should be done daily. We are showing our Father that we know he is the one that provides for our daily needs. Notice that it says "bread"; we can view this literally or symbolically. Literally we are asking for our necessary daily food, no more and no less. Symbolically, we are asking for our necessary daily bread of life, which is God's Word. We must therefore read his word daily.
I ask you, God, to let me have two things before I die: 8 keep me from lying, and let me be neither rich nor poor. So give me only as much food as I need. 9 If I have more, I might say that I do not need you. But if I am poor, I might steal and bring disgrace on my God.Proverbs 30:7-9 GNB
John 6:31-35 GNB
Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, just as the scripture says, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.' " 32 "I am telling you the truth," Jesus said. "What Moses gave you was not the bread from heaven; it is my Father who gives you the real bread from heaven. 33 For the bread that God gives is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." 34 "Sir," they asked him, "give us this bread always." 35 "I am the bread of life," Jesus told them. "Those who come to me will never be hungry; those who believe in me will never be thirsty.Matthew 4:2-4 GNB
After spending forty days and nights without food, Jesus was hungry. 3 Then the Devil came to him and said, "If you are God's Son, order these stones to turn into bread." 4 But Jesus answered, "The scripture says, 'Human beings cannot live on bread alone, but need every word that God speaks.' "
and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
We ask that our Father forgive us in the same way we forgive our debtors. Thus if our brother or sister has sinned against us or has behaved wickedly toward us, then we are asking our Father to do to us what we did to them in return. If we sought vengeance, then his wrath will remain on us. If we sought peace then we shall receive peace from Father.
If you are sensible, you will control your temper. When someone wrongs you, it is a great virtue to ignore it.Proverbs 19:11 GNB
Romans 12:19-21 KJVA
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. 20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. 21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.To any men reading this, have you seen or looked at any women with a lustful desire lately? If so you have committed adultery in your heart@. Are you therefore passing judgment on someone else for some trivial offence. Remember adultery is punishable by everlasting fire. The writing Jesus did on the ground in the verse below were likely the ten commandments, which reminded the men who were about to stone the woman, that they too, were not without sin.
John 8:3-11 GNB The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees brought in a woman who had been caught committing adultery, and they made her stand before them all. 4 "Teacher," they said to Jesus, "this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. 5 In our Law Moses commanded that such a woman must be stoned to death. Now, what do you say?" 6 They said this to trap Jesus, so that they could accuse him. But he bent over and wrote on the ground with his finger. 7 As they stood there asking him questions, he straightened up and said to them, "Whichever one of you has committed no sin may throw the first stone at her." 8 Then he bent over again and wrote on the ground. 9 When they heard this, they all left, one by one, the older ones first. Jesus was left alone, with the woman still standing there. 10 He straightened up and said to her, "Where are they? Is there no one left to condemn you?" 11 "No one, sir," she answered. "Well, then," Jesus said, "I do not condemn you either. Go, but do not sin again."]
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’
Finally we ask our Father to deliver us from trials, that is, our own corrupt flesh which is ruled by Satan, but we should also remember that the kingdom belongs to God, and never sin by taking glory for ourselves, for all glory truly belongs to the Father and Son.
Happy are those who remain faithful under trials, because when they succeed in passing such a test, they will receive as their reward the life which God has promised to those who love him. 13 If we are tempted by such trials, we must not say, "This temptation comes from God." For God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But we are tempted when we are drawn away and trapped by our own evil desires. 15 Then our evil desires conceive and give birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.James 1:12-15 GNB
James 4:7-10 GNB
So then, submit yourselves to God. Resist the Devil, and he will run away from you. 8 Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners! Purify your hearts, you hypocrites! 9 Be sorrowful, cry, and weep; change your laughter into crying, your joy into gloom! 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.