SEVEN THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PRAYER

(4) PRAYER-What About?

IT HAS been called the most widely repeated of all Christian prayers.  Whether that is true or not, Jesus' model prayer-sometimes called the Lord's Prayer or the Our Father-is certainly among the most misunderstood. Millions of people utter its words by rote every day. perhaps often during the day.  But Jesus never intended for the prayer to be used in that way. How do we know?   Just before that prayer, Jesus said:  "When praying, do not say the same things over and over again."  (Matthew 6:7)   Did Jesus proceed to contradict himself by laying down a set of words to be memorized and repeated?  Surely not!  Rather, Jesus was teaching us what to pray about, and he was giving us a clear set of priorities to keep mind when praying. Let us take a closer look at what he said;  The prayer is recorded at Matthew 6:9-13 .

"Our Father who art in heaven, let thy name, Jehovah be sanctified." 

Jesus thus reminded his followers that all prayers should be directed to his Father, Jehovah.  But do you know why God's name is so important and why it needs to be sanctified, or made holy?

From the beginning of human history, God's  sacred name has been smeared with lies.  God's adversary, Satan, has called Jehovah  a lying, selfish Ruler who has no real right to govern His creations.  (Genesis 3:1-6) Many have sided with Satan, teaching that God is cold, cruel, and vindictive or denying that he is the Creator of all. Others have even attacked his name itself, removing the name Jehovah from Bible translations and forbidding the use of it.

The Bible shows that God will rectify all these injustices.  (Ezekiel 39:7) By doing so, he will address your every need and problem as well. How so?  The next words in Jesus' prayer provide the answer.

"Let your Kingdom come." 

Today, there is so much confusion among religious teachers about God's Kingdom.  But as Jesus' listeners knew, God's prophets had long foretold that the Messiah, a Savior chosen by God, would rule a Kingdom that would change the world.  (Isaiah 9:6, 7; Daniel 2:44) It will sanctify God's name by exposing Satan's lies and then overthrowing Satan and all his works.  God's Kingdom will put an end to war, sickness, famine-even death itself.  (Psalm 46:9; 72:12-16; Isaiah 25:8; 33:24) When you pray for God's Kingdom  to come, you are praying for all those promises to come true.

"Let your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." 

Jesus' words suggest  that God's will has proved unstoppable in heaven, there, God's Son waged war against Satan and his cohorts, casting them down to the earth.  (Revelation 12:9-12) This petition of the model prayer, like the first two, helps us to keep our focus on what matters most-not our own will, but God's. It is his will that always brings about the greatest good for all creation. Thus, even the perfect man Jesus said to his Father: "Let not my will, but yours be done." -Luke 22:42.

 Next time: SEVEN THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PRAYER/Conclusion of (4) PRAYER-What About?

From the Watchtower magazine