Thursday, January 13, 2011

He Taught Us To Pray



Our Father, who art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy Name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

As we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

and the power,

and the glory,

for ever and ever.

Amen.

Matthew 6:9-13

The Lord's Prayer has had me in amazement these days.  It is so complete!  Everything I need or want is included in this prayer. God cares for us so much that He gave us just the right words to say.  I also really enjoy reading Martin Luther's Large Catachism on the subject. 
"........God takes the initiative and puts into our mouths the very words we are to use. Thus we see how sincerely he is concerned over our needs, and we shall never doubt that our prayer pleases him and will assuredly be heard.  So this prayer is far superior to all others that we might ourselves devise.  For in the latter our conscience would always be in doubt, saying, "I have prayed, but who knows whether it pleased Him, or whether I have hit upon the right form and mode?"  Thus there is no nobler prayer to be found on earth, for it has the excellent testimony that God loves to hear it.  This we should not trade for all the riches in the world.

                        Dr. Martin Luther, The Large Catachism


4 comments:

  1. Yes, this is realy good because of the reality that he has given us, his Triune name to walk in,and His name is a Mighty Fortress!

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  2. Not sure where i heard this, but it's been said that when we pray this, we are praying against ourselves and for His will to done in all things. We get tricked into blessings! :)
    Did Molly get her prize?

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  3. Thank you Sarah. My will never seems to get me what I want-not long term anyways. As much as I might fight against it at the time, I'm much happier when His will is done. And yes, Molly did get her prize and she loves it! She is sending you a thank you picture (with mom's help).

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  4. Martin Luther writes “.... To this day I suckle at the Lord’s Prayer like a child, and as an old man eat and drink from it and never get my fill. It is the very best prayer, even better than the psalter, which is so very dear to me. It is surely evident that a real master composed and taught it. What a great pity that the prayer of such a master is prattled and chattered so irreverently all over the world! How many pray the Lord’s prayer several thousand times in the course of a year, and if they were to keep on doing so for a thousand years they would not have tasted nor prayed one iota, one dot, of it! In a word, the Lord’s Prayer is the greatest martyr on earth (as are the name and word of God). Everybody tortures and abuses it; few take comfort and joy in its proper use.” (A Simple Way to Pray, LW 43: page 200)

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