The Lord's Prayer and the Flesh III

If you think about it you realize the next 2 phrases are related:

Give us today our daily bread- This request is there to constantly remind me of where all of my provisions are coming from-my sovereign creator and Father who owns and supplies everything, even my very breath. I am self-employed and when I look at the cash flow it is scary but I have come to realize that there isn't much correlation between what it looks like we will make and God's provision for our needs. Another word we have just about lost is Providence. It is such a rich term from our christian heritage. It is almost like the Jewish term Jehova-jirah which tells a whole story about God's provision every time you say it. Our Father not only provides our daily sustenance but also reaches down to provide our means of righteousness in our case through the death of His Son in my place. Of course this is related to that next phrase:

And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors-I believe this is not so much meeting a condition so I can be forgiven as it is a shameful realization that I own nothing to hold against anyone else. That's why Jesus tells to give sacrificially-to realize that I own nothing materially And to forgive unconditionally-I don't own but am owned. I am a willing slave of a perfect Father who will always take care of me. Recognition of this helps me to deny my flesh and to not take things personally. Since I am not a person just a lowly slave I can rest in finding my identity in Him. "He must increase and I must decrease."

The Lord's Prayer and the Flesh II

The next 3 phrases in this prayer redirect our desires outside of us.

Hallowed be Thy name: I want God, even His very name revered. His honor is what's important to me.

Thy Kingdom come:
God's Kingdom is what matters. Instead of worrying about the kingdoms of this world (which I can do little about) I need to adjust my thinking to focus on the eternal, perfect kingdom which I am a part of, (providing I have been born into it.)

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven:
I use this as a daily commitment to my total trust in my Sovereign Father. I tell Him every day that He can do whatever he wants with me. It was hard at first-Reminds me of a story Uncle Thorne used to tell: This Dad sits his little kid up on a wall and says, "jump". The fearful child says no. The dad says, "I said jump-I'll catch you." The kid jumps, The dad steps aside and the child crashes to the floor. The dad's response: "Get up kid, and let that be a lesson to you, don't ever trust no one.
No normal father would ever do that. Jesus says, "If you, being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give good gifts to them who ask. I have learned that I can trust Him

The "Lord's Prayer" and the flesh I

To me, one of the great things about this prayer is it gets the focus off of me:
Our Father who art in heaven--The first thing it does is establish God as father. He is creator and owner of everything and so I can be free of expectations and rights. Our culture has diminished fatherhood so much that it almost means nothing. A Roman father could throw his child in the river with impunity. (read pater potestas) Our God is good so we know we can trust Him completely. He created and He owns us. I have learned that when I live for Him Things work out best for both of us.

Secondly it establishes His transcendence. We are taught that He sees the whole timeline of creation. He is not limited or affected by all these things around us. They are his creation and the Bible teaches someday they will all roll up like a scroll and be ended. No, I don't believe in open theism

Back to the Flesh

A number of years ago I taught a Jr. High class on the Lord's Prayer. The object was to learn/teach to use that prayer, not as a vain repetition but as a template for how God wants to hear from us. I have used that template for a while and have found it to be helpful. As I have used it I have found that what Søren Kierkegaard said is true:

"Prayer does not change God, it changes Him who prays." It isn't about me or my desires it's all for and about God