THE LORD’S PRAYER, PAST PRESENT and FURTURE
Jesus, God’s Messiah was fully God and Man
As man Jesus had to make hard decisions. They were hard enough to make him sweat; in fact so hard He sweated drops of blood. He: --was tempted as we are, --learned obedience thru suffering,-- had human emotions of joy, sorrow, frustration, --had needs of sleep, food, companionship, --prayed for help, --yearned for friendship and loyalty and asked for prayer support.
Anticipating the hour of trial when He would have to decide between the cross and Satan’s subtle suggestions, Jesus taught His disciples to pray to, with and for Him. How well Jesus knew there would be agony as He struggled with the decision to obey and suffer or own Satan as His lord. He needed His followers to pray that He would do His father’s will on earth as He had done it in heaven.
Then when He had endured the shame and pain of the cross, died, rose, and ascended, it set the stage for “Thy kingdom come”. And came it did with a flourish of power, unfamiliar languages and joy unspeakable. What the ancient prophets, priests and kings had yearned for during so many centuries actually happened. His kingdom came into the hearts and minds and spirits of His disciples so that now they were adopted into His family of kings, priests and kings.
Most Christians fail to realize there were no Christians during Christ’s human life on earth. Only after Pentecost were there Christians because at that point, the Spirit of God which had been with them, was now in them. The only correct definition of a Christian is “anyone who has the Spirit on Christ in them”. Because God puts His Spirit into those who acknowledge Christ as their Saviour and Lord, only God could remove His Spirit from them. He repeatedly promised that He would never do that. So once in the family of Christ, you are always His child, like it or not. So Christians and only Christians can shout with exaltation, “Thy kingdom came”; praise you God, thank you Jesus, adore you Holy Spirit.
In the Past Tense
Our Father who lived in Heaven, we praise Thy glorious name.
Thy kingdom came.
By Jesus, Thy will was done on earth, just as He did in Heaven.
You gave us the bread of Heaven, thru you Spirit to be enjoyed daily.
We now know that you forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
We now know you will be with us in temptation, just as You were with your Son
Jesus during His temptations.
You delivered us from evil and death thru the power of Your Son in resurrection.
For Thine was the power and glory for then and ever.
So was, is and be it Lord.
In the Present Tense
Our Father who lives in His Heaven, we praise your wonderful names.
Your kingdom is coming.
Your will is being done on earth by Your faithful servants, just as in Heaven.
You keep giving us the daily breads of heaven and earth, thank You.
You keep forgiving us as we forgive Your children, our nieghbours and our
enemies, thank You.
You are with us in temptation, thank You.
You never lead us into evil but always provide an escape, thank You.
For Your's is the Power, Kingdom and Glory for past, present and eternal future.
So it is Lord.
In the Future Tense
Our Father who will live in Heaven forever. We will praise your wonderful names.
Your Kingdom will come, of this we are confident.
Your will must be done all over the earth, just as it is throughout Heaven.
You will give us the bread of Heaven so we will never need the bread of earth again.
Before Your majestic throne will be judged but we are equally sure, that thru Your
Son’s redemption, You will forgive all our sins.
Since there will be no more temptation, we can forget this part, thank you very much.
You will have delivered us from every kind of evil so we can really relax.
For Your's is the Kingdom and we will fully know You in Your amazing glory.
So be it Lord.
Philip Ney MD Pioneer Publishing |
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