YES, HE is Talking to YOU! (continued)
Love is the Fulfilling of the Law
We have taken several days to elaborate on The Great Invocation and this was time well spent as it brings to our attention its existence and its practical use as a prayer for the world today. It is time that, as a people, we come out of our ages old attitudes towards prayer as being either a thing of praise to the Lord or of supplication for something that we our those near to us need. The Great Model Prayer that the Master gave to us, which had no name but which we call the Lord’s Prayer or the Our Father was intended to guide us in praying from the beginning but it has not. Some even think of it as one of those vain repetitions or as a Catholic prayer because of the way it is used in the churches today. I did not intend on going here today but let us begin with a bit of exploration on this other Great World Prayer to make the point of how it is and has been misunderstood and to show that it is still today a valid prayer and invocation to the Father for the well being and right treatment of all. Again, as yesterday, let us begin with some of the commentaries about the prayer in general:
- John Gill says this regarding the prayer. From the Masters words: After this manner therefore pray ye That is, in such a concise and short way, without much speaking and vain repetitions; making use of such like words and expressions as the following: not that Christ meant to pin down his disciples to these express words, and no other; for this prayer is not a strict form, but a pattern of prayer, and a directory to it, both as to brevity, order, and matter; for we do not find the disciples ever making use of it in form; and when it is recited by another Evangelist, it is not in the selfsame words as here; which it would have been, had it been designed as an exact form. Besides, Christ does not bid them pray in these very words, but “after this manner”; somewhat like this: not but that it is very lawful to use the very express words of this prayer in any of the petitions here directed to; and which indeed were no other than what good people among the Jews did frequently make use of; and which were collected and singled out by Christ, as what he approved of, in distinction from, and opposition to, other impertinent expressions, and vain repetitions, which some used; as will appear by a particular consideration of them. (John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible)8.
- From The Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible8: 9. After this manner–more simply “Thus.” therefore pray ye–The “ye” is emphatic here, in contrast with the heathen prayers. That this matchless prayer was given not only as a model, but as a form, might be concluded from its very nature. Did it consist only of hints or directions for prayer, it could only be used as a directory; but seeing it is an actual prayer–designed, indeed, to show how much real prayer could be compressed into the fewest words, but still, as a prayer, only the more incomparable for that–it is strange that there should be a doubt whether we ought to pray that very prayer. Surely the words with which it is introduced, in the second utterance and varied form of it which we have in Luke 11:2, ought to set this at rest: “When ye pray, say, Our Father.” Nevertheless, since the second form of it varies considerably from the first, and since no example of its actual use, or express quotation of its phraseology, occurs in the sequel of the New Testament, we are to guard against a superstitious use of it. How early this began to appear in the church services, and to what extent it was afterwards carried, is known to every one versed in Church History. Nor has the spirit which bred this abuse quite departed from some branches of the Protestant Church, though the opposite and equally condemnable extreme is to be found in other branches of it.
The above are two rather opposite perspectives on the Lord’s Prayer at least at the outset. The actual meaning of the thoughts at the end of the Critical Commentary are rather unclear however and it becomes hard to tell the writers ultimate opinion of the use of it.
- A more recent writer, W. W. Fereday, says this: No devout mind will ever question the absolute perfection of the prayer itself, seeing that it came from One with whom neither error nor flaw are possible. But we may legitimately question whether it was intended for the perpetual use of His people, and under all circumstances. Even that which is divinely excellent may prove injurious to the soul if wrongly applied. Spiritual intelligence in the ways of God is of the greatest possible importance to us all. **.
- Adam Clarke, a biblical scholar from the 18th century says: After this manner therefore pray ye. Forms of prayer were frequent among the Jews; and every public teacher gave one to his disciples. Some forms were drawn out to a considerable length, and from these abridgments were made: to the latter sort the following prayer properly belongs, and consequently, besides its own very important use, it is a plan for a more extended devotion. What satisfaction must it be to learn from God himself, with what words, and in what manner, he would have us pray to him, so as not to pray in vain! A king, who draws up the petition which he allows to be presented to himself, has doubtless the fullest determination to grant the request. We do not sufficiently consider the value of this prayer; the respect and attention which it requires; the preference to be given to it; its fulness and perfection: the frequent use we should make of it; and the spirit which we should bring with it. “Lord, teach us how to pray!” is a prayer necessary to prayer; for unless we are divinely instructed in the manner, and influenced by the spirit of true devotion, even the prayer taught us by Jesus Christ may be repeated without profit to our souls*.
- Alexander Maclaren, a 19th century expositor says this: The pattern of prayer. We call it the Lord’s Prayer, but it is so only in the sense that He gives it. It is our prayer for our use. His own prayers remain unrecorded, except those in the upper room and at Gethsemane. This is the type to which His servants’ prayers are to be conformed. ‘After this manner pray ye,’ whether in these words or not. And the repetition of the words is often far enough away from catching their spirit. To suppose that our Lord simply met the disciples’ wish by giving them a form misconceives the genius of His work. He gave something much better; namely, a pattern, the spirit of which we are to diffuse through all our petitions*.
We see here in the first of these three a diminishing attitude toward the Master’s intent on this prayer while in the rest is a similar thought and a proposal that the pattern given is of more worth than the words. Through all of these commentaries and many others there is either a hard NO to the question of what the Master meant as far as using this prayer or there is the idea that He would not have told us these words, especially in the context of the Gospel of Luke saying “When ye pray, say” (Luke 11:2) if He did not intend for us to use it. For our understanding and purpose we should see that the Master clearly gave us this as both a pattern and as a prayer. As a pattern because of the way that it addresses our relationship to God and as a prayer because He worded it and in His words there is Power. This prayer is posted in our Prayers and Meditations section with a thought by thought interpretation of it and a review of this will show the Power and the invocative nature of it. In this prayer as in The Great Invocation the Master shows us to pray for others and for the furtherance of the Plan of God on Earth. It is a prayer for US and not for me.
Prayer and meditation is an important tool in our spiritual arsenals; it is a way by which we can put our conscious selves in closer contact with our Souls, our Christ Within. It should be understood by the leaders in the churches today that whenever a prayer is for some thing for the carnal life of man, that it is contrary to the to the objective of bringing more of the Presence of God into our lives; that prayers for our selves and our selfish ends only serve to further ground us in this world. Jesus tells us that “for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him” (Matthew 6:8) which can, and probably should, be understood as we need not ask. In the New Testament the word pray is used frequently but there is little given in any of the reference as to the meaning of the word as it relates to the act and so it has become what it is. Church prayer groups and prayer leaders, phone in and write in prayer counselors and intercessors and the write in prayer box on a mail in donation form seem to be much of the idea of prayer today; it has much become a matter of praying for what we need for our selves and our loved ones here and now. The only reality of personal prayer should be that we pray for more Love and more Light and for more Guidance to flow to our consciousness from our own Souls and from our God.
For us the idea of prayer should be to have the presence of mind, in Faith, that knows that all things are as the Master told us and which have been confirmed by the writers of the epistles plus by the ongoing flow of revelation through the Light of our own Souls. Our prayer is for continued Light and Love in our conscious lives which brings us closer to the stated goal of His Presence; our prayer is for continued revelation which brings understanding through the Wisdom that flows to us. When the Master tells us that: “…all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing , ye shall receive” (Matthew 21:22) He is not encouraging us to ask for ‘things’; He already told us that the Father knows all we need. The same is true with the infamous ‘series’ of sayings in Mark’s Gospel where Jesus tells us: “What things so ever ye desire, when ye pray , believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:24). In relation to these we should see that the Master’s idea of believing so far surpasses our finite understanding that when we can believe as He says we will want for nothing for we will have accomplished our goal. He speaks here of the Faith that can move mountains. In Mark’s Gospel the Master continues on to tell us that not only do we need to have that mountain moving faith but we need to be in total forgiveness which seems only possible if we are separated from any degree of carnal thought. His words are “….Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubtin his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray , believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses” (Mark 11:22-25). These sayings cannot be separated and taken out of this context as they are strongly woven together into this, His teaching on Faith and Prayer.
Throughout the gospels and the epistles there is no readily identifiable reference to praying for things or events of a personal nature except in the case of healing in the Epistle of James. All others seem to be of these natures:
- Jesus praying mostly without explanation of what His prayers are. As Alexander Maclaren says His own prayers remain unrecorded, except those in the upper room and at Gethsemane.
- As a a statement of fact as to what one was doing or what others are observed doing as in the Book of Acts where Peter says “I was in the city of Joppa praying” (Acts 11:5) and “where many were gathered together praying” (Acts 12:12) .
- In instruction an the demeanor of praying as “Every man praying or prophesying , having his head covered, dishonoureth his head” (1 Corinthians 11:4)
- Praying ‘in the Spirit’ or for spiritual things as in “Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift….” (2 Corinthians 8:4) and “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:18) and “Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance” (Colossians 4:3).
- Praying for the spiritual success of others as in “Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now” (Philippians 1:4-5) and this by Paul which is a prayer in this epistle without calling it such: “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God” (Ephesians 3:14-19).
This is the nature of prayer in the New Testament; where in this can we find the instruction that we should take whatever it is that we desire and make that our prayer. Our model should be in prayer for others and for all humanity, not for carnal things but for spiritual things as we see in this last entry from the Apostle Paul. Understand that as we have here put together verses on prayer with the idea that they do not promote praying for things that support our carnal nature, others can take the same scripture and claim that it supports what they see as the rightful use of prayer. Jesus gives us a guiding light here in His simple saying: “For where your treasure is , there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21). If we pray for a thing and do so diligently then we can be sure that that is what is in our hearts; that is our treasure. The bold type in the saying below by Paul is often used out of context to tell us of the use of prayer; in context however it has a very different meaning:
“Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Philippians 4:6-8). Again we have a seamless single statement from which a particular part is taken and used in a way that it is likely not intended.
For us the objective is the Kingdom of God in our lives here and now and for this the focus must be on the Soul, the Spirit, the Christ and His Kingdom and not on the petty and temporal wranglings and desires of the flesh. Both the Lord’s Prayer and The Great Invocation offer this type of prayer understanding and when earnestly performed can and will bring us closer to our goal and add our influence to the prayers of all the world for the Light, Love, and Power of God that it be working here on Earth. And, for the coming of the Kingdom of God so that the ways of that Kingdom are reflected here on Earth.
Note on the Quote of the Day
This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment. If you have not seen this before, this should be viewed as, like John and Jesus to the Jews, something new and different.
Because of the subject for today I am recycling the Lord’s Prayer as the Quote of the Day.
Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. (From the Gospels of Matthew and Luke; this version is from the Book of Common Prayer of 1662).
For commentary and information on the Lord’s Prayer, please see the Prayers and Meditations section of this blogsite.
- 8 Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com
- * This is in the public domain and available through internet search from a variety of sources.
- **STEM Publishing: The writings of W. W. Fereday: Thoughts on the Lord’s Prayer.
