I started this, however, not so that I could monologue, but dialogue. Therefore, PLEASE add your comments, thoughts, ideas, objections, whatever. The beauty of the web is that it is communal and wordwide. This means the distance from Oaxaca, MX to Portland, OR is just about nothing (assuming a computer and internet connection.)
"Lord, teach us to pray..."
I started my current topic of study (the Lord's Prayer) when I endeavored to teach my Sunday school class about prayer. What I already knew to be true - that teaching is one of the best ways to learn - continues to be evidently so with this class. I'm pretty sure I'm learning more than my kids are. Part of that is simply age and part of that is the structural limitations in which I have to work. How do you take a vast topic and teach it in 30 minutes? To 3rd grade boys? who would much rather play than listen? That is a challenge indeed.
What tends to happen is I end up having a vast store of knowledge and understanding that I can only partially impart. The good thing is that it continues to flow out and a person who IS a teacher (as opposed to a person who teaches...) can't help but find ways to teach. I'm not sure if I AM a teacher or am just teaching, but there is a good deal of wisdom, knowledge and understanding that I have found in the process and this is just one more way to communicate it.
So what are my mediations and contemplations so far? Here are a few to get us started:
I have found the first part of the Lord's Prayer to be a deep (if not bottomless) well in which I can dip my bucket and pull out another drink of spiritual truth. Of course, I also have found (and this should be obvious) is that one must not simply study the Lord's Prayer, but pray it. And by pray it, I don't mean recite it by rote, but dig in and spend time in each element, "Our Father", "Hallowed be your name", etc. Learning to pray is much more than memorizing incantations. So, here are a few of my thoughts to get us started:
a) Our Father in Heaven – We have a relationship to God. It is the relationship of a child to a parent. God is our father, we are adopted children. A father’s love is unconditional, a father cares for his children, a father wants the very best for them.
b) Hallowed be your name – Our attitude toward the Father is one of reverence. His name is set apart and holy – it is not to be taken lightly. We are to come to Him with hearts of worship, we are to “offer ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and set apart [consecrated].”
The FIRST thing we do when praying is to properly align ourselves to the Father. We are first and foremost sons and daughters. We come to the father in that relationship. As sons and daughters we come to the Father respecting and revering Him (“fear of God”). This is the beginning of wisdom and the beginning of prayer.
c) Your kingdom come – Our longing is for the coming of the King - To see Him face to face. God is first our Father and next our King. The first defines our relationship to Him and the second His positional authority or role. And if God is our Father and king, then we are His children and princes – heirs to the inheritance of the king.
d) Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven – In Heaven, God’s will is done perfectly (Psalm 103), our desire is that God’s will is done on Earth as well. But why isn’t God’s will done on Earth? It begins with us. Are we doing God’s will? If not, why? The prayer is a submission to the will of the Father (“Not your will but mine be done.”) When we ask for God’s will to be done, what we are really saying is “I seek to do your will on Earth. I want to hear your voice and obey your word.” It is being able to stand in the place of “Take this cup from me” and say “But not my will, but yours be done.”
”The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.” (Prov. 9) and it is also the beginning of prayer. In order to pray effectively, Jesus teaches us that we must first come to the FATHER in reverence, desiring His return and submitting ourselves to His will. Once our relationship and attitude is properly aligned, we are able to present our requests humbly and accurately before the Father.
That's all I've got for today. Hopefully, I'll be writing several times a week, but we'll see. It's pretty easy to publish using this system and your comments will "spur me on to good works" or at least moderately interesting observations. I'll try to stay on topic but thoughts do wander...
