5. THE LORD'S PRAYER
a. PRAYER EXPLANATION:
Thoughts from the Mount of Blessings, p. 102-122
"After this manner therefore pray ye." Matthew 6:9
The Lord's Prayer was twice given by our Savior, first to the multitude in
the Sermon on the Mount, and again, some months later, to the disciples
alone. The disciples had been for a short time absent from their Lord, when
on their return they found Him absorbed in communion with God. Seeming
unconscious of their presence, He continued praying aloud. The Savior's face
was irradiated with a celestial brightness. He seemed to be in the very
presence of the Unseen, and there was a living power in His words as of one
who spoke with God.
The hearts of the listening disciples were deeply moved. They had marked how
often He spent long hours in solitude in communion with His Father. His days
were passed in ministry to the crowds that pressed upon Him, and in
unveiling the treacherous sophistry of the rabbis, and this incessant labor
often left Him so utterly wearied that His mother and brothers, and even His
disciples, had feared that His life would be sacrificed. But as He returned
from the hours of prayer that closed the toilsome day, they marked the look
of peace upon His face, the sense of refreshment that seemed to pervade His
presence. It was from hours spent with God that He came forth, morning by
morning, to bring the light of heaven to men. The disciples had come to
connect His hours of prayer with the power of His words and works. Now, as
they listened to His supplication, their hearts were awed and humbled. As He
ceased praying, it was with a conviction of their own deep need that they
exclaimed, "Lord, teach us to pray." Luke 11:1.
Jesus gives them no new form of prayer. That which He has before taught them
He repeats, as if He would say, You need to understand what I have already
given. It has a depth of meaning you have not yet fathomed.
The Savior does not, however, restrict us to the use of these exact words.
As one with humanity, He presents His own ideal of prayer, words so simple
that they may be adopted by the little child, yet so comprehensive that
their significance can never be fully grasped by the greatest minds. We are
taught to come to God with our tribute of thanksgiving, to make known our
wants, to confess our sins, and to claim His mercy in accordance with His promise.
b. THE LORD'S PRAYER (Click each Verse for Explanation)
After this manner therefore pray ye:
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