Musings on the Lord’s Prayer Part II

In the previous post, I shared some of my musings from personal life and study of the Lord’s Prayer, recorded in Matthew Chapter Six. Picking up the passage at verses 11-13, I discovered some powerfully personal issues facing me.

Give us this day our daily bread

God’s daily provision for His people began 4000 years ago. Remember the journey through the desert that lasted for forty years? No drive-through McDavid’s for burgers on any of their paths. No roadside convenience stores for snacks and tasty beverages at the rarely seen oases.

According to Exodus Chapter Sixteen, the daily diet for the millions of God’s trekking people had a name, Manna, which literally meant What is it? I remember in my university days, one menu item lived up to its name, Mystery Meat; but at least, we didn’t have it every day.

God provided food for His people every single day, though He had strict instructions that no Tupperware or Zip-Loc bags would be allowed. Those who broke the rule and took more than their family needed, storing up a portion for the next day—just in case—found the manna unusable due to the presence of maggots.

On the sixth day, the people were ordered to collect enough for two days provision for their family’s needs, because manna wouldn’t be provided on the seventh day—the Day of Rest. Of course, people being people, some ignored the instruction and found only dry ground on the seventh day. Oops, God really meant what He said.

Living in one of Africa’s most under-developed countries, our missionary community made it a practice to return from home assignment furloughs with special treats to share with others for those extra-special occasions. A box of Brownie mix is a treasure, reserved for such celebrations. The problem came when we repeatedly passed the box by, waiting for just the right time to prepare the chocolate treat.

At last, the time had arrived. We didn’t worry much about the long-passed expiration date; all of us had become used to eating expired foods. Lifting the packet out of the box squelched our joy; the bugs had already consumed our treat, leaving only a few bits of powder in one corner. However, this was better than the day we opened the lid on a white cake mix, only to find it filled with live spiders.

Everyone in our community is still working on celebrating special occasions a lot faster than we did the first few terms in Africa. Hard to break that hoarding habit, you know?

On one occasion outside of Africa, we saw the Lord supply our daily bread in an amazing way. We had a grocery list, but God’s provision to pay for the items hadn’t yet arrived. With the larder totally bare, the call to fasting seemed imminent.

The response to a knock on the door brought God’s provision. The dear woman had been grocery shopping for her own household. As she passed by certain items, the Lord urged her to take one of these, two of those, etc. She purchased the items, and then got a little nervous as she sensed the Lord wanted her to drive the thirty minutes to bring the two sacks of groceries to us.

She rejoiced with us, as each item taken out of the sack brought a checkmark on our grocery list. When every item had been accounted for on our list, a kilo bag of sugar remained in the large grocery bag. We’d forgotten to put that item on the list, but the Lord knew we had not a grain of sugar in the house.

God still supplies our needs, as we continue to pray as Jesus taught His disciples, “Give us this day our daily bread.”

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

Some versions use the term trespasses; some call them offenses; but the idea carries with it the request for the Lord to forgive us for the things we do wrong. Because Jesus provided the last sacrifice of blood that would ever be required for the forgiveness of sin, we have but to ask for God’s forgiveness.

Read the not-so-fine-print here, though. There is a condition. If I want God to forgive me, I must also forgive others who have offended/sinned against me. In fact, Jesus goes so far as to say, I won’t be forgiven if I don’t.

Drop down to the verses immediately following the Lord’s Prayer and you’ll see Jesus reinforcing the as we have forgiven our debtors.

“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matt. 6:14-15 NIV)

That’s the red-letter edition of truth. We simply must forgive people who have hurt us in any way, if we want God to forgive us. It doesn’t say we can wait until we feel like forgiving someone. The faster we do it, the better things will go for us, because God’ll be on our side. Make a choice to forgive, and then let God take care of the offender.

And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.

Some versions say the evil one, but it’s easy to get the point, isn’t it? We need not look far to find “the evil one” working all over the globe right this very moment in time. Already this year twenty-two young girls have given into the temptation offered by the cruel, murderous ISIS recruiters, leaving family and country to become the slaves of Islamic terrorist—by their own choice.

Experimentation with all sorts of out-of-the-box drugs, searching for the next new thing, keeps doctors and law enforcement officers working hard to see that the kids live long enough to stop walking into each new diabolical temptation. Who but the evil one would get young people to get their high from veterinary drugs used to anesthetize animals? So many have died that the international community is trying to get this very important veterinary drug removed from the world market, much to the consternation of those using it in the proper way.

Even though Jesus taught His disciples to pray in this way thousands of years ago, the need is just as real for us today. I ask for God’s help to resist temptations put before me; but realizing the heavy issues today’s young people face, I include them right alongside my own prayers.

May God deliver us all from evil.

For many fellowships of Believers, the prayer doesn’t end after this verse. Later manuscripts added the final line. It does rather wrap it up nicely, bringing the focus full-circle. From Our Father Who art in Heaven to a declaration of how it is God can answer the above prayer for each of His children.

For thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. (Amen means “So be it.”)

If you’ve not heard this prayer sung, click on the youtube link to hear a beautiful rendition of this powerful hymn, sung by Glen Campbell:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8hnYFLWAIQ

Have you any thoughts or experiences you’d like to share about the Lord’s Prayer? I’m always excited to learn what God’s been doing in the lives of my brothers and sisters I’ve yet to meet.