Today’s Devotion
Topic: The Lord’s prayer (Part 1)
Text: Matthew 6: 9
This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, Amen
Today begins a 5 Day exposition on the Lord’s Prayer. This model prayer is undoubtedly the first prayer every Christian child becomes conversant with, even before they are able to form their own words in prayer. We have prayed this “Jesus- taught-prayer” everywhere and everyday. Some reflections on it will enhance our understanding of God and His expectation of us whenever we pray.
The fundamental definition of prayer is communication with God. This means every believer must be allowed to express his/her own innermost thoughts and desires to God. However, it is no hidden truth that the innermost thoughts of man is selfish and can be wicked, leading us to pray amiss. The Lord’s Prayer therefore serves as the model or guide that opens our understanding to what God’s expectation is when we pray.
NOW TO THE EXPOSITION:
Prayer must not be offered amiss. It must be specifically addressed to a specific deity. One who the praying individual can trust as ABLE to answer. The Lord’s Prayer therefore specifies who our prayer must be offered to. It begins with utmost reverence for our Father in Heaven.
He is the all knowing and all seeing Creator God whose love and power sustains the universe. He is the only One worthy of all the prayers of the saints. He is the One with the answers to all of life’s questions, hence our need to acknowledge and address Him (God) accordingly. He is our Father, and we are His sons and daughters.
Having acknowledged who He (God) is, the next thing is to magnify Him…. “Hallowed be your name”. This statement may be loosely interpreted as “may your name be sanctified forever” or “you will forever remain the Holy and Exalted One”. An indication that Our God is Holy and worthy to receive glory and honor and power forever and ever. He is majestic in holiness and we MUST give reverence to His name. Adoration in prayer is very important.
“Hallowed be your name” is also a statement that shows our humility before a Holy God. It shows how broken and unworthy we are before Him. He is the exalted One without a co-equal and we MUST reverence Him as such. The opportunity to come before His throne of Mercy is a great privilege that we do not take for granted at all.
We might have prayed amiss by concentrating on the “human factor”, that is, dwelling only on our needs and our selfish interests. But today, we learn that for our prayers to be effective, we ought to first deal with the “God factor” and give God all His due. Begin to worship and hallow God. HE IS OUR FATHER AND HE’S WORTHY. Watch and be blessed: https://youtu.be/oye3A3zEy6Q
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