PRAYING THE LORD'S PRAYER

If we recite a prayer with no thought we will never get answers. Let's look at someone who got answers to copy how they did it.

David always gave thanks in prayer. It is a great way to start.

After giving thanks we begin the great prayer.

Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name.

Matthew Henry says that the phrase “Hallowed be thy Name” means that we Praise Jesus. We can pause at this point and praise Jesus for how He fills people and makes their lives better, or praise Him for what He did at the cross.

We have “All we need” with Jesus. When we pray sincerely, we start to understand that truth.

As we begin this great prayer our thoughts should be: How can we praise Him? What can we praise Him for?

This prayer is great and powerful. I will continue with this tomorrow.

 

The prayer continues: Thy will be done. On earth, as it is in Heaven.

Mathew Henry said: “let God’s will be done; let it introduce a heaven upon earth.”

In 2021 language: We can have a great life if we do what God wants us to do, and if we work hard to stop doing what is harming us. When we go to war with short term sinful pleasure, we start marching through the gates of long term heavenly type joy.

And give us this day our daily bread.

“We ask for our daily bread; which teaches us not to take thought for the morrow (Matt. 6:34), but constantly to depend upon divine Providence, as those that live from hand to mouth, Mathew Henry.”

For me, instead of trusting God, I trusted myself and always tried to get more, more, more. More money, more pleasure, more stuff. This leads to frustration, depression and darkness. In my sad condition I always turned to P.

How do we follow Jesus when He says that money is the root of all evil? The answer is to just look at Paul from the Bible. He worked hard until he had “enough” money and then he spent a large amount of time helping people and spreading the Gospel.

A year ago I began praying this prayer: Father, take away this spirit of greed and help me to care about souls.” It was eye opening. My money frustrations had led to porn hundreds if not thousands of times. Today I am trying to do what God wants me to do. Today I am not frustrated. Today I am depending on God for my daily bread and for my joy.

 

The prayer continues: Forgive us our sins.

It is good to ask forgiveness, but what is forgiveness that includes repentance?

Powerful repentance is confession, saying we sorry, making a plan, and getting to work. How much time should we spend daily researching quitting P information or programs? Should we start a Google docs or a Word docs file and fill it up with great tips?

I have read the book “What the Bible says about addiction” several times. Now I know what the Bible says about my habit and have acquired more skills on how to quit. The more I know, the better I can attack precisely. When I repent and add a plan, power is added to my prayers.

 

The prayer continues: And lead us not into temptation.

What leads us: Money, success, TV? What should lead us? The Bible should.

We get into temptation when we think too much about what our flesh wants. We start to find real joy when we think the Bible way.

Read the Bible daily. The more you read, study, memorize, the more you will be led in the right direction. #2 If you drive a lot, buy the New Testament on CD. #3 Audio Bibles online are great.

But deliver us from evil.

When we know the Bible, the Holy Spirit will nudge us when temptation is coming. Then, when He sees you fighting to overcome the temptation, He will deliver you from it (if you let Him).

Another thing that leads us are our thoughts. Philippians 4 says: Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Consider memorizing this verse. Then recite it several times per day. This will help you get into the habit of thinking about right things.

I bet we would all be amazed at how many problems would be solved if we obeyed the commandment to think on these things.

 

The great prayer continues: “For thine is the kingdom.”

Satan wants our complete focus on our kingdom. Our money, our stuff, our success, our types of pleasures. But God wants a complete focus on His kingdom. In fact, Jesus told his disciples to go spread the gospel. What did they need for their journey? "Take nothing for the journey--no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic.”

God always provides for the people who will do something for Him.

Today, focus on His kingdom. Pray: “Father, help me to focus on treasures in heaven.”

What is keeping you from that focus? Write out your own prayer of the top two things that are keeping your eyes on “your” kingdom. For example: If you spend excessively, and love to buy things. Just write out a simple prayer: “Father, take away my focus on things, and show me how to have treasures in heaven.”

Always pray about whether your issue is a short-term problem, or whether it is turning into a longer-term sin habit. If it has become a big problem, go to war with the issue that is keeping you trapped. Continuing our example: Pray 7 times per day. “Father, take away my spirit of covetousness, and fill me with Your Spirit.”

Then, look up Bible verses on covetousness. Study, meditate, and then pray over those verses. Read a few of them every day all year.

Open Bible has Bible verses for almost any issue you have. Go to war with any issue that keeps you from focusing on the fact that it is His kingdom.

Lastly, keeping our eyes on our kingdom leads to frustration and often leads back to addiction. Praying and meditating on this great prayer often will show you the keys to a better life.

 

The Lord's prayer says “Hallowed be thy name.” Hallowed means greatly to be revered. A deep respect for His name and for His bible. I not only think that the Bible is true, I think that many verses have the power to change us. That we serve a great and mighty God, who is holy, just, and awesome.

That His Son is a shining light, ready to shine through us to light up a dark world. That His Holy Spirit is a holy powerhouse, ready to change us and fill us.

The Israelites needed to be reminded how great their God was. They always chose the hard way. I choose to remind myself all the time about how great my God is, and how powerful His Word is.

Pray: “Father, You Word will I hide in my heart, that I will not sin against Thee.”

God's name and His Word are sacred and holy. When I read some of these verses about lust I cringe. But I know that my God is right, loving, and good and that His way is always best (it's not even close). So I read them again, again, and again. I allow the Holy Sword of God's Word to slice out of me the things that destroy me.

The more I meditate on the Bible, the more I understand it. The more I understand it, the more power I have to obey it. The more I obey it, the more the Holy Spirit empowers me. The more He empowers me, the more He can shine His light in a very dark world.

Matthew 5:16 says, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

When we allow God's Word to empower us and change us, then we will see that He has the power to shine through us. And once that starts to happen, we just might never want to go back to the sin that previously enslaved us.

Pray: “Father, please change me, and show me what it is like to have “Your Holy Spirit” shine through me.”

 

David in Psalms 100 says to pray by entering into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise. Thanksgiving and praise in prayer teach us to focus on the good things we have. If I thank God for several good things that I have, it increases my contentment.

We can pray about that as well. Pray, “Father, take away my spirit of lust and help me to be content).” We will not need P at all if we are fully content.

Today, consider personalizing the Lord's prayer and focusing on contentment.

 

When the Lord's prayer says: “Hallowed be Thy Name, it has a number of meanings. When I was young I thought, “There is this far-away God who made up a bunch of rules for us.” But God's commands are not arbitrary at all. He knows exactly what is best for us. When He tells us not to look with lust, it is the smartest thing in the world to realize that our life is better if we stop lusting. So when you say great is Thy Name, consider adding: “Father, You are right, lust messes me up. You are right, lust causes destruction, You are right, sin leads to darkness, and darkness leads to depression. You are right, lust kills my joy, kills my purpose, and it starts to kill everything else that is fun when I focus on lust incessantly. Your laws are wise and perfect for me. God knows exactly how I should act so that I can live a great life.

Second, since lust leads to fear, anger, and other negative emotions, consider becoming obsessed with planning to fight lust for a block of time every day. What time will you block off for this fight? How long will you commit to the fight every day?

Third, some don't quite believe the long lists of the negatives of lust that I write about constantly. If that is you, consider copying and pasting all the negative things that you read, that are a result of habitual lust, into a Google doc or Word file. Then study that list over the course of the year to see if your consequences are similar to mine.

Or... you could consider printing out the above-underlined paragraph. God knows exactly how mixed up I am. But when I humbly tell Him that He is right, wise, great, and correct about lust, He will very likely start to lead me into greater wisdom concerning my folly.

Finally, telling God how “right” He is about lust is a great way of emphasizing the words “Hallowed be Thy Name.” It can be a habit that helps you break “The habit.”