The Bible reading today came from Matthew 6:9-15 which says:-
9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,[a]
but deliver us from the evil one.[b]’
14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Often people recite this prayer, which is repeated in Luke 11:1-4, without understanding what it means.
"Our Father" - We acknowledge God as our creator and father.
"who art in heaven" - we acknowledge that God is our heavenly father.
"hallowed be thy name" - we recognise that He is to be honoured.
"thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" - we desire to see God's kingdom and to see that what He wants done gets done.
"give us today our daily bread" - we recognise that God can provide our daily needs and show that we trust Him to do so.
"forgive us our trespasses (some texts translate this as "sins" or "debts") "- we need to ask God to forgive our sins as a way of showing that we recognise that we are sinners.
"as we forgive those who trespass against us" - if we don't forgive others then we can't expect to be forgiven.
"lead us not into temptation" - keep us away from those things that lead us to sin.
"but deliver us from evil" - if we do overstep the mark and succumb to temptation then helps us to return to the right path.
"for thine (yours) is the kingdom" - we acknowledge that God is in charge.
"the power" - all power comes from God.
"and the glory" - we need to allow God to take the credit.
"forever and ever" - God doesn't change.
"Amen" - so be it.
Parts of this prayer are a little more difficult than others. It would be much easier to forgive others for what they had done to us if we could also forget the events. Most of us don't need anybody to lead us into temptation, we can find it all by ourselves, but if we ask God, He can lead us away from it.
I had a bit of trouble keeping up with the sermon this morning so I hope I have captured the essence of it. I have seen similar dissertations before and I think I may have had a copy of one of them at one stage. I sure I could find one on the internet if I wanted to try.
May God bless you richly this week.
Richard.
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