The
Lord’s Prayer
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From early
Christian experience I had been
taught that in religion there is
no place for independent
judgment, that I was not to use
my mind, but trust in God and
have faith. The advice was well
meant and largely true. We are to
have faith, and we are saved by
faith and not by works. However,
the suggestion that we are not to
use our minds is entirely untrue.
We are to serve God with our mind
as well as with other faculties.
Hear these words of Christ:
“And thou shalt love the
Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with
all thy mind, and with all thy
strength: This is the first
commandment. And the second is
like, namely this; Thou shalt
love thy neighbor as thyself.
There is none other commandment
greater than these.” Mark
12:30,31. See also Matthew 22:
37; Luke 10:27. As a fresh breath
from heaven come the words,
“Come now, and let us reason
together, saith the Lord.”
Isaiah 1:18. Is it possible that
God invites me to reason with
Him? Paul supported the idea when
he said, “Consider what I
say; and the Lord give thee
understanding in all
things.” 2 Timothy 2:7.
“Consider” is defined:
“To look closely, to
examine, to think about, to
ponder in order to understand and
decide, to observe,
comprehend.” Did Paul
mean that I have a right to
consider what he said? To think
it over? And what did he mean
when he said, “I speak as to
wise men; judge ye what I
say.” 1 Corinthians 10:15.
Perhaps we had expected to hear
Paul say, “Swallow what I
say.” Instead of this, he
appealed to men’s good
sense, and told them to consider
what he said. He was so sure of
his grounds that he was will to
leave the decision with the
hearers.
God is pleased
when we use the mind He has given
us and seriously consider a
matter before taking action. Such
is not an act of disbelief, but
of intelligent faith. There must
indeed be no doubtful hesitation
in obeying God; but ordinarily He
gives us time for reflection,
that we may see the light in His
light and follow on to know the
Lord.
Little children
should be taught to obey without
questioning. However, as the
child grows older, the wise
parents will use a different
method. They will spend time in
explaining the reasons for
certain requirements. As the
child gets the parent’s
viewpoint, there will be
intelligent co-operation, unless
the child is willfully stubborn.
It is thus God
deals with us. He wants to reason
with us; He wants us to consider,
to judge. God treats us as
grownups, which appeals to a
child. As we think matters
through, we see wisdom in what
might otherwise seem an arbitrary
and unreasonable demand.
God could sit on
His throne and issue His
sovereign decrees without giving
any reason for them. However, He
chooses the better way. He
reveals His secrets to His
servants, the prophets. Amos 3:7.
He talked things over with
Abraham before destroying Sodom
and Gomorrah. Genesis 18:20-33.
He would never dare give us the
right to think, did He not know
that when we have time to
consider the matter, we would
agree with Him. How can any fail
to appreciate such a God! He
makes us feel that we count. We
are not mere automations. Let no
one misunderstand. God demands
obedience. However, He talks
things over with us and leaves to
us the final decision.
While, generally
speaking, every request that God
makes of us is a reasonable
request, there are times when He
tests us to see what we will do
under certain circumstances. He
tests us to see if we have
learned to trust Him absolutely
and if we will obey even without
understanding them. Of such was
the order to Simon Peter,
“Launch out into the deep,
and let down your nets for a
draft.” Luke 5:4. Jesus was
no fisherman, and Peter was. In
addition, Peter had been fishing
all night and caught nothing, and
in daylight, it was no use to try
again. Peter made a weak protest
(verse 5), then let down the net,
and the result was a greater
catch than Peter had ever had
before. This was Peter’s
first lesson in obedience. Years
later when Christ told him to
cast the net on the right side,
there was no arguing. John 21:6.
Peter could have argued that
there was no more fish on the
right side than on the left.
However, he had learned his
lesson.
When Abraham was
told to take his son Isaac and
offer him on the mountain God
should show him, he did not
hesitate. Genesis 22:2,3. He
could not understand, but in
previous years, he had learned to
trust God. Abraham stood the test
for obedience.
These are
interesting events, and there are
others in the Bible. God likes to
talk over with His men, to
prepare them for the time when
there must be prompt and instant
obedience.
God’s
Will in Me
It is well to pray
that God’s will be done in
earth as it is in heaven, for
that calls our minds to fields
far and near where God’s
will is not being done or even
known, and where we might be of
some help. If we Christians pray
this prayer, we cannot be
inactive; for we have it in our
power to help answer the prayer.
When Jesus said, “This
gospel of the kingdom shall be
preached in all the world for a
witness unto all nations, and
then shall the end come”
(Matthew 24:14), He was depending
on us to do our part. He knew
that such preaching was necessary
if God’s will was to be
done. By our work with our
neighbors, by our interest in
fields’ afar, we may in a
very definite way speed the day
when God’s will shall be
done in the earth.
There is, however,
a very personal application of
this prayer that is of more
importance than anything we can
do for others. That is accepting
God’s will for ourselves. If
we do this and our life becomes a
God-directed life, He will be
enabled to use us in ways we do
not now understand or think
possible. In the abstract, it is
easy to pray, “Thy will be
done.” Are we willing to
make it personal?
It must have been
a momentous disappointment for
Moses when he was put aside and
not permitted to enter the
Promised Land and Joshua was
given his place. He pleaded for
permission to go in and see the
land, but his prayer was denied.
Deuteronomy 3: 23-27. As
for Joshua, God said to Moses,
“encourage him, and
strengthen him: for he shall go
over before the people, and he
shall cause them to inherit the
land.” Verse 28.
Moses bowed to the
will of God, and on His behalf
“he gave Joshua the son of
Nun a charge, and said, be strong
and of good courage: for thou
shalt bring the children of
Israel into the land which I
sware unto them: and I will be
with thee.” Deuteronomy
31:23. Moses did not enter the
earthy Canaan; he died and God
raised him from the grave in
immortal glory.
Elijah must have
been much discouraged when after
the great day on Mount Carmel,
where he did mighty exploits for
God and won a signal victory, God
rebuked him for his cowardly
flight from Jezebel, and told him
to put his mantle on Elisha.
However, he did not murmur. When
he found Elisha, he “cast
his mantle upon him.” 1
Kings 19:19.
However, God had
not forsaken Elijah. He and
Elisha worked together, until
Elisha was fully able to take
over the work. Then one day, as
they walked along together
talking together, “behold,
there appeared a chariot of fire,
and horses of fire, and parted
them both asunder; and Elijah
went up by a whirlwind into
heaven.” 2 Kings 2:11.
Elijah’s work on earth was
done; so God took him to heaven.
It must have been
hard for Paul, the active and
energetic one, to sit still in
prison day after day and year
after year. In the midst of a
busy and useful life he was
placed on the sidelines, his work
apparently done, though he was
still in the strength of manhood
and planning a worldwide work.
Alternatively, was his work done?
No, God was merely changing his
work. He had been so busy
traveling and preaching that he
had not had time to do the
writing God wanted done. There
was yet a great deal of the New
Testament to be written, and Paul
was the man to do it. However, he
was too busy. He needed quietness
and freedom from the care of the
churches. Therefore, God arranged
for him a time of quietness, and
Paul immediately went to work. By
writing fourteen of the
twenty-seven books of the New
Testament, he doubtless did more
good that he did during his
active ministry.
Paul was willing
to be set aside, and in his
retirement he did a mighty work
for God. He had learned in
whatever state he was, therewith
to be content.
What shall we say
of John the Baptist? He had done
a valiant work for God in
preparing the way for Christ, and
now that this work was done, he
was consigned to prison and
apparently forgotten. Did envy
and jealousy fill his heart with
discontent as a greater One had
taken his place? No, a thousand
times No. John said, “He
must increase, but I must
decrease.” John 3:30. Had
Jesus forgotten him? “Among
them that are born of woman there
hath not risen a greater than
John the Baptist.” Matthew
11:11.
It is not easy to
say, “Thy will be
done,” when one is set
aside. However, the men we have
mentioned had learned the lesson.
Therefore, Moses and Joshua
appeared together, and Moses
strengthened and encouraged
Joshua. Elijah and Elisha walked
and talked together, and the
younger man was instructed by the
older. Paul willingly changed his
work and accomplished more than
ever. Moreover, John cheerfully
stepped aside when the greater
than he appeared. All these
accepted God’s way, though
it must have cost some of them
great sorrow. All of them learned
one of life’s greatest
lessons, to bow to
disappointment, to say, “Thy
will be done,” and
cheerfully do what God had for
them to do. It is not easy to be
set aside. However, this is the
part of the program of life. He
that can bow to the will of God,
who can say from the heart,
“Thy will be done,” may
be set at another task where he
can still serve.
There may be those
among the readers who have been
set aside and resent it. Let us
repeat: This is part of life, a
lesson that all must learn. There
may be wives who have been put
aside and are passing through the
experience of loneliness and of
not being wanted. There may be
grandparents who once had a happy
home where all were welcome. Now
they are given a rocking chair in
a corner and are given to
understand that they are not to
make themselves too prominent
when “company” comes.
There are those
who have held high office in
state or church or institutions.
Their counsel, which once was
sought eagerly, is not in demand
any more; they are outdated. The
shock is almost unbearable for
some persons.
It is easy enough
to say that God’s will be
done, when all goes well.
However, it is not easy to say
this when a loved one is on the
deathbed and hope is gone. It is
not easy to say it when we are
personally involved, when we are
incapacitated and feel we are in
the way and our usefulness is at
an end. It was not easy for
Christ to say it in Gethsemane.
However, He did say it, and a
world was saved.
Frustrations and
disappointments are a part of
life and an important part. For
in the darkness God may be hid.
If we relate ourselves rightly to
reverses and
“dis-appointments,”
they may become
“His-appointments.” If
we accept the disappointments as
ordered or permitted by God we
may see God’s will being
done in our reaction. Therefore
let all pray, “Thy will be
done in me.”
“Give
Us This Day Our Daily Bread”
This petition does
not ask for luxuries, but for
bread, the barest necessities of
life. The historian Gibbon, in
recording one of the many famines
in olden times, makes the
observation that some of the
delicate ladies in Rome learned
for the first time how little it
took to sustain life.
They had feasted
on nightingale’s tongues and
other delicacies, and now they
were happy to get a crust of
bread. This is a good lesson to
learn. Paul says, “Having
food and raiment let us be
therewith content.” 1
Timothy 6:8.
God’s promise
does not include palatial homes,
rich appointments, and all the
latest conveniences. While we
would not exclude these under
appropriate circumstances, they
are not included in Christ’s
prayer. In it, we ask for bread.
God does not frown
on riches. If we have honestly
acquired some of the good things
of life, and if we use them
rightly, we thank God for them.
Job was the richest man in all
the East, and God blessed him.
Abraham was a rich man, and so
were David and Solomon.
God is not against
riches, but against their misuse.
Men who have riches and look down
on others who have not, men who
forget that it is God who gives
power to obtain wealth and that
they are not owners but stewards
of their possessions, men forget
that a part of what they have God
requires of them, men who forget
their brother’s need and
close their eyes to the cry of
the world – such will find
it hard to enter heaven. It is
easier for a camel to go through
the eye of a needle than for them
to gain eternal life. Matthew
19:24.
In daily bread we
are justified in including not
only bread to sustain life, but
such things as shelter, clothing,
health, and also for the mind
and, of course, spiritual needs.
Many people of the world need
bread, many are undernourished,
and children suffer for want of
that which we waste. A terrible
responsibility rests upon those
who have, who store up, who waste
while others starve. This holds
for nations and individuals.
However, great as the need is for
temporal food, we must admit that
there is a great need for
intellectual and spiritual
nourishment. In some respects,
this need is even greater.
The prayer for
bread furnishes an excellent
illustration of how God answers
prayer. We ask for bread, and
then we work in the sweat of our
face to provide it ourselves.
Even though Christians believe in
prayer, no one would think of
asking God to furnish food
without any effort on the part of
the one who prays. Even when God
sent manna from heaven, the
Israelites had to go out and
gather it. God did indeed send
ravens with food for Elijah, and
God can do the same today; but
this is not God’s ordinary
way of working.
It is just as
consistent to ask God for bread
and expect Him to bring it to our
door, as to ask God for any other
blessing a hand to help
ourselves. The fact that we in
most instances are to answer our
own prayers needs to be impressed
upon all. We may ask God to
convert the heathen; but if so,
we are not to look the other way
when the collection plate is
passed. God helps those who help
themselves – and
others.
To those who are
religious but unconcerned about
their brother’s temporal
needs, God sends a warning.
“Cry aloud, spare not, lift
up thy voice like a trumpet, and
show My people their
transgression, and the house of
Jacob their sins. Yet they seek
Me daily, and delight to know My
ways, as a nation that did
righteousness, and forsook not
the ordinance of their God: they
ask of Me the ordinances of
justice; they take delight in
approaching to God. Wherefore
have we fasted, they say, and
Thou seest not. Wherefore we have
afflicted our soul, and Thou
takest no knowledge?” Isaiah
58: 1-3.
The people who
make the complaint that God takes
no notice of them are religious
people. They fast and afflict
their souls, but God does not
hear. They seek God daily and
‘delight in approaching to
God.” And still God does not
hear their prayers. They think He
ought to. They pray daily.
What is wrong with
them? In His answer, God tells
them wherein they fail. They pray
and afflict their souls, they
fast and keep the ordinances of
God, but God ignores them. They
do not keep the right kind of
fast. Then God tells them
what to do. They fast to be seen
of men. They go with bowed heads
and spread sackcloth and ashes
under them. “Wilt thou call
this a fast, and an acceptable
day to the Lord?” asks God.
Verse 5. Is not this the true
fast, God said, “to deal thy
bread to the hungry, and that
thou bring the poor that are cast
out to thy house [not to the
poorhouse or some public
institution]? When thou seest the
naked, that thou cover him; and
that thou hide not thyself from
thy own flesh?” Verse 7.
God’s further demands are
“to loose the bands of
wickedness, to undo the heavy
burdens, and to let the oppressed
go free, and that ye break every
yoke.” Verse 6.
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