Cultural Perspective of Worship (Worship Series 4 of 6)

Scripture prescribes some things regarding worship, but there are many things it doesn’t prescribe.

            For instance, Scripture commands us to meet together for worship, but it doesn’t tell us the time or place, how we should dress, or who should pray and how we should pray. The Bible doesn’t tell us how many songs we should sing or what Scriptures we should read or preach. The Westminster Confession helps us answer these questions:

There are some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and government of the Church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature, and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word, which are always to be observed. (1.6)

            In other words, when Scripture commands us to do something but doesn’t instruct us exactly how to do it, we should use our God-given human reason guided by general biblical principles. There is a distinction between the general elements Scripture commands us to have in worship, like prayer, teaching, and singing, and the specific ways we are to carry out those elements, like the length of prayers, the method of teaching and preaching, etc.

            Historically, the terms used to describe this distinction are elements and circumstances. The elements are the things Scripture prescribes and the circumstances are the things we must work out for ourselves in carrying out the elements.[1]    

            It’s very important to distinguish between the biblical elements regarding worship and the cultural circumstances through which we experience these elements. The core elements of Christian worship are not arbitrary. They are God’s biblical norms for his church in every generation and culture.

            Yet, there are significant cultural freedoms through which these biblical norms for worship are expressed in every generation. Serious problems arise when people confuse the biblical norms (elements) and the cultural freedoms (circumstances).

            We should be especially on guard against the common mistake of thinking that the cultural freedoms adapted as worship practices by previous generations are the biblical norms for all generations. God gives a lot of cultural freedom in worship so it can be relevant and effective in all times and contexts.

            So we need to rethink what worship should look like in every generation. This does not mean we neglect to learn from the rich worship traditions of the past. Instead, as we learn from these traditions, we should avoid the traditionalism that adheres blindly to the worship practices of the past.

            Earlier, we answered the question “What should we do in worship?” by examining some of the essential elements of worship prescribed in Scripture.

            We come now to the question, “How should we worship?” What are some of the worship practices (circumstances) that we are free to choose depending on our cultural context?  Some of these worship practices include:

• Time of worship

• Place of worship

• Length of worship

• Leaders of worship

• Number of hymns, songs, prayers

• Words of sermons, hymns, songs, prayers

• Use or types of musical instruments

• Calls to worship

• Dialogue in worship

• Types of confessions

• Methods of teaching and preaching

• Modes and forms of baptism

• Tithes and offerings

• Oaths, vows, covenants

• Salutations, benedictions

• Assurance of pardon

• Solos, ensembles, choirs, drama

• Use of media

• Body postures: Lifting hands, kneeling, clapping, dancing, etc.

• Aesthetics: lighting, fragrance, incense, seating, music, etc.

            Although the Bible doesn’t give us specific answers regarding how, when, or where to carry out these worship practices, this doesn’t mean that anything is permissible. Drawing from the Westminster Confession, quoted above, we should find our answers to these questions by using our God-given human reason guided by general biblical principles.

            For example, our decisions regarding the type of music we use in worship should be determined by the light of nature, which means making value judgments based on a variety of factors, including quality and skillfulness. In Psalm 33:3 we’re told to “sing to Him a new song, play skillfully, and shout for joy.” And in 1 Chronicles 15:22, we learn that Kenaniah was put in charge of singing at the temple because he was skillful at it.

            Music quality and skill are not easily measured. The Bible doesn’t give us a required level of skill for musicians or a preference for specific types of music or kinds of instruments. So we have to make these decisions based on the light of nature, and guided by biblical principles.

            Where Scripture is silent, we should use whatever means are available to pursue biblical values in worship. Those values will guide us to choose music that will enhance the whole spectrum of biblical directives in worship, from enhancing reverence and awe for our transcendent God as we bow down in confession before him, to shouting God’s praise with loud voices and instruments as we clap and raise our hands.

         The book of Revelation gives us a majestic picture of God being worshiped by his people from every tribe, language, people, and nation (Rev 5, 7). This vision should motivate us to embrace the beauty of a host of diverse expressions of biblical worship for the sake of the nations.

We should embrace the diversity of proper expressions of biblical worship that indicate God is moving among every tribe, and nation, language and people, and that indicate we are sensitive to the varying aspects of this mission that God gives to individual churches in the way that they exercise their worship liberties.[2]

[1] This distinction between worship elements and circumstances is legitimate up to a point. However, in Puritan theology this distinction has given rise to a very complicated theory in which there must be a scripturally prescribed list of elements for every distinct form of worship (family worship, private worship, civic worship, NT church worship, etc.), only some of which are within the discretion of the church. This theory is not found in the Westminster Confession, though it is found in other writings of the Confession’s authors.

[2] Authentic Worship in a Changing Culture, CRC Publications

Biblical Perspective of Worship (Worship Series 3 of 6)

Most people know about the Ten Commandments. But most people don’t understand the difference between the first and the second commandments. The first commandment is “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exod 20:3). And the second commandment is “You shall not make for yourself a carved image” (Exod 20:4).

            Aren’t these two commandments telling us basically the same thing–that we are only to worship the one true God and not worship idols?[1] The answer is no. These are very different commandments.

            The first commandment clearly rules out worshiping a false God. But the second commandment addresses a different issue. It forbids the worship of the one true God in a false way, through the use of images.     

            Soon after God gave the Ten Commandments, Aaron, the high priest, was guilty of violating the second commandment by making a golden calf for Israel’s worship. Aaron told the people to use the golden calf to worship the LORD, the God who brought them out of the land of Egypt (Exod 32:4b-5).

            Aaron did not tell Israel to worship “other gods,” but to worship the one true God, LORD (Yahweh), in a false way. Likewise, when most people throughout history use graven images to worship God, they are not usually worshiping the graven image, but the god the image represents.

            So the second commandment calls us to worship the one and only true God only as he commands us to worship him. This raises the question, “How are we to worship God?”

            We could invent all kinds of interesting ways we think God should be worshiped. But in the Bible God tells us what pleases and honors him in worship.

            The understanding of the sufficiency of Scripture alone (sola Scriptura) and not church traditions to direct our worship helped spark the flame of the Reformation. The application of the principle of sola Scriptura to worship is called the “regulative principle.” The Westminster Confession of Faith says:

But the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by Himself, and so limited by his own revealed will, that he may not be worshipped according to the imagination and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation, or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scripture. (21.1; cf. 1.6, 20.2)

            The regulative principle teaches that everything we do in worship must be biblical. It must be prescribed, warranted, and required by Scripture through explicit commands, approved examples, or theological inference. Some examples include:

• The object of worship (Exodus 20:1-3) The 1st Commandment: No other gods

• The way of worship (Exodus 20:4-6) The 2nd Commandment: No graven images of God (LORD)

• The focus of worship (Exodus 20:7) The 3rd Commandment: Honor the Name

• The day of worship (Exodus 20:8-11) The 4th Commandment: Honor the Sabbath (Acts 20:7, 1 Cor 16:2, the Lord’s Day, Rev 1:10)

• Prayer, lifting up hands, etc. (Gen 18:16-33, Acts 2:42, Acts 4:23-31, 12:12, Heb. 13:15, Hos. 14:2, Luke 1:10, Rev. 5:8, 8:3-4, 1 Tim. 2:1-2, 8)

• Teaching Scripture (Ezra 8, 1 Cor. 14:26, 2 Tim. 3:16, 4:2ff, Heb. 4:12)

• Reading Scripture (Acts 13:15, Col. 4:16, 1 Tim 4:14)

• Observing the Lord’s Supper (Acts 2:42, 20:7, 1 Cor 11:17ff)

• Singing Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (1 Cor 14:26, Eph 5:18-19, Col 3:16)

• Offering tithes and gifts (Gen 14:18-20, 1 Cor. 16:1, 2 Cor 8, Phil. 4:18)

• Properly exercising tongues, prophecy, and interpretation (1 Cor. 14:26)

• Encouraging one another (1 Cor. 14, Heb. 10:24-25, Rom. 16:16, 1 Cor 16:20)

            Just as we are to worship God in all of life according to the rule of Scripture, so we are to worship God in all our public worship services in obedience to God’s word.

            The regulative principle helps protect the church from improper and unbiblical practices in worship. However, it doesn’t answer all our questions about how to apply biblical principles in worship, particularly in our own time.  Consequently, the regulative principle should not be used to determine whether traditional or contemporary songs should be used in worship or whether the Lord’s Supper should be observed with real wine or grape juice, etc.

            What is often neglected in these discussions is the important role of the sufficiency of the Scriptures (sola Scriptura) and the principle of conscience. We must be on our guard against clergy and Bible scholars who use their expertise in theology to teach for or against certain elements in worship that cannot be clearly affirmed or denied by the plain meaning of Scripture.

            What is the proper response to church leaders who accuse you of displeasing God if you don’t worship according to their practices, when you can’t see these practices condemned or required in the Bible? The victims of such bullies should embrace the words of Martin Luther,

“Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason—I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other—my conscience is captive to the Word of God.”

[1] This has been the historic position of the Roman Catholic Church. They combine the first two commandments into one and divide the tenth commandment into two, retaining ten commandments. But the distinction we make here is still affirmed by Roman Catholicism.

Vertical and Horizontal Worship (Worship Series 2 of 6)

The Scriptures present us with not only a broad and narrow sense of worship but also a vertical and horizontal focus. Our vertical focus in worship is on God and our horizontal focus is on others.

Vertical Focus of Worship

The vertical focus of worship is that it should bring glory to God alone (Soli Deo Gloria). Paul admonishes us, “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31).

            So, just as all of life should be to the glory of God alone, so should all of our worship. Robert Rayburn writes, “It is fundamental that we recognize that all true Christian worship must be theocentric, the primary motion and focus of worship are Godward.”

            The essence of God-centered worship is the acknowledgment that we no longer see ourselves as the center of our world and recognize that only God rules and reigns there. In worship, we lift our voices to heaven and proclaim: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever” (Rev 5:13b). God alone is the one whom we are to please and honor in worship.

            So what is God-honoring worship?

            It’s worship that honors the Triune God for who he is and for what he does in creation and redemption. It is worshiping and honoring God the Father as Creator (Ex 15:1-18, Ps 104), God the Son as Redeemer (Heb 7:24-25, 10:1-18, Eph 1:15-23, 3:14-21), and God the Spirit as Restorer of all things lost in fallen humanity and creation (Rom 8:16, Eph 1:13-14).

God-centered worship honors God as our Triune Creator, Redeemer, and Restorer for his love, his justice, his goodness, and wisdom. We worship God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. We worship God the Son as our Prophet, Priest, King, and Friend because of his life, death, resurrection, and ascension, anticipating his coming return to make all things new.

And the only way we can worship God the Father and God the Son in this way is by the grace and power of God the Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit exalts Christ in our minds, hearts, and lives. We worship God as our Father only because the Holy Spirit awakens us and persuades us that we are his children (Rom 8:16-17). And in those times of worship when our words and understanding fail, the Holy Spirit utters to God our unspoken groanings (Rom 8:26).

Horizontal Focus of Worship

Although worship is primarily vertical and God-centered, there is also a biblical, horizontal focus in worship on God’s magnificent display of grace to us through our redemption in Christ. We please God as we praise and honor him for creating and redeeming us.

            So there is a horizontal focus to worship that emphasizes ourselves and our fellow worshippers.

            Some believe that any human or horizontal focus in worship detracts from its God-centeredness and is therefore unbiblical and inappropriate. They teach that we should be so focused on God in worship, so obsessed with him alone, that we never even think of ourselves or our fellow worshippers.

            This idea sounds right, and there is truth in it, but it’s not biblical.

            Besides the primary purpose of glorifying God, biblical worship also considers the good of God’s people and requires aspects in worship that also promote their instruction (1 Cor 14:3-6), mutual edification (1 Cor 14:12; 26-28), conviction of sin (1 Cor 14:24-25), love (1 Cor 14:1), encouragement (1 Cor 14:3), thanksgiving (1 Cor 14:16), and even their witness to unbelievers (1 Cor 14:16, 23).

            People sometimes criticize contemporary worship songs for being too focused on self, on “I” and “me.” They consider such songs narcissistic, the worship of self rather than of God.

            Although some contemporary worship songs do not honor God because of their preoccupation with the worshiper, this doesn’t mean that using a lot of personal pronouns in worship is always wrong. For example, in the 50 verses of Psalm 18 there are at least 73 forms of the Hebrew first person singular pronoun. It begins,

I love you, O LORD, my strength.

The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;

My God is the rock, in whom I take refuge.

He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

I call on the LORD, who is worthy of praise,

And I am saved from my enemies (Ps 18:1-3).

         But this Psalm is God-centered, for it recognizes God as the source of all our strength, deliverance, and refuge. The Psalmist speaks of himself to acknowledge his weakness and his intense need for the Lord.

         God, as our Covenant Lord, is not only a receiver but also a giver, who takes great pleasure in pouring out his blessings on his people for the sake of his name. In worship, God calls us to give to him honor and to receive from him grace. This is why the worship we offer up to God is also a means of grace flowing down to us. We glorify God as we find our ultimate joy in him as the supreme object of our worship.

         In worship, God also means for us to be his instruments through whom he channels his blessings to others. In Colossians 3:16, Paul writes, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” In this passage, we see both the vertical focus of giving thanks to God, yet we see the horizontal focus of encouraging others.

         This horizontal focus of biblical worship even includes unbelievers who may be present in public worship. The Apostle Paul teaches we should have a concern for unbelievers who attend our worship services (1 Cor 14:23-25).

         Some teach that being sensitive to what unbelievers may think of worship is unbiblical. But it is clear from Paul’s teaching that we are to honor God by making our worship accessible and intelligible to unbelievers. However, in doing so, we must always maintain our primary, vertical focus on God.

Broad and Narrow Worship (Worship Series 1 of 6)

The Importance of Worship

There are few places in Scripture where we see God seeking something. However, Jesus teaches that the Father is seeking true worshippers. “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him” (John 4:23).

            Likewise, the Apostle Peter reveals the importance of worship by presenting it as the purpose for which God’s people exist: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light (1 Pet 2:9).”

The Meaning of Worship

So what is the meaning of worship? Hebrew and Greek terms in Scripture used for worship refer to giving honor and service to a superior, rendering to them what is due. Moreover worship means to revere, honor or describe the worth of another person or object.

            And the old English definition of Christian worship as worth-ship, describes it as an act of affirming God’s worth, a declaration that God is worthy of our honor and service.

            Thus Psalm 96 instructs us, “Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name.” And the book of Revelation gives us a majestic picture of worship with myriads around God’s throne proclaiming: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing” (Rev 5:12).

            Furthermore the biblical terms for worship give us a picture of more than praising God with our prayers and singing in public worship gatherings. The Old Testament uses the Hebrew word abad for both worship and service. This means we can worship God through our service, and we can serve God through our worship.

            Also in the New Testament, common words for worship are the Greek terms proskuneo, the act of giving honor, and latreuo, the act of serving, and the similar word leiturgeo meaning the act of ministering. And in Romans 12, when the Apostle Paul exhorts us to “present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God,” he calls this act our “spiritual worship” (Rom 12:1) using the Greek word latreuo.

            But for some people, the word worship only suggests images of church buildings where people gather to sing, pray, hear Scripture readings and sermons, and observe sacraments and ordinances. For others, worship is more connected to powerful personal experiences, including extended times of prayer and praise. Still others may think of worship as private devotions and opportunities for service.

            So how should we define worship? Here are a few definitions that can help us develop a biblical understanding of worship:

• Worship is acknowledging the greatness of our covenant Lord. –John Frame

• Worship is the activity of the new life of a believer in which, recognizing the fullness of the Godhead as it is revealed in the person of Jesus Christ and His mighty redemptive acts, He seeks by the power of the Holy Spirit to render to the living God the glory, honor, and submission which are His due.  –Robert Rayburn

Broad Sense of Worship

The Scriptures teach there is a broad sense of worship that includes all of life.[1] This is what Paul refers to Romans 12:1 as our spiritual worship. In the next verse, Romans 12:2, he describes spiritual worship when he writes, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Therefore, our spiritual worship includes leaving behind worldly patterns of life and the renewal of our mind.

            In addition, in the rest of Romans 12, Paul tells us our spiritual worship includes humbling ourselves and loving others by using our gifts to serve them. Therefore this broad sense of worship involves every part of who we are and what we do. We see this broad sense of worship also described by the writer of the book of Hebrews:

Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. (Heb 13:14-15)

            This command is for us to continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God with our lives. And these sacrifices include doing good and sharing what we have with others. To illustrate, when the Apostle Paul received needed money from the church at Philippi, he described their giving as an offering: “I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God” (Phil 4:18).

Similarly, in Romans 15:6, Paul refers to the Gentile converts as his offering to God. And he referred to his ministry and approaching death as a drink offering to God (Phil. 2:17, 2 Tim. 4:6).

Consequently, the Scriptures present worship as a comprehensive way to live that involves every aspect of life. In its fullest sense, worship concerns not only our relationship to God but also our relationship with ourselves, others, and creation.

            In order to describe this understanding of worship that involves the redirection of all of life, theologians use the Latin phrase Coram Deo. This phrase refers to something that takes place before (coram) the face of God (Deo). R.C. Sproul writes, “To live corem Deo is to live one’s entire life in the presence of God, under the authority of God, to the glory of God.”[2]

Narrow Sense of Worship

This broader sense of worship comes into focus in a narrow sense when we set aside special times dedicated to worship in private prayer (Dan 6:10), with our family (Deut 6:4-9) and corporately with members of our church community (Acts 1:13, 5:42, 12:12, Rom 16:5, 1 Cor 16:19).

            Thus the Apostle Paul refers to believers as those who “come together as a church” (1 Cor 11:18) on “the first day of every week” (1 Cor 16:2). Likewise, the writer of Hebrews admonishes followers of Jesus to be stirring one another up so they are “not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Heb 10:25).

            And in the book of Acts we see a beautiful picture of first-century believers’ devotion to prayer and worship:

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers… And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people” (Acts 2:42, 46-47a).

            Therefore, a biblical approach to the worship of God includes both the broad and narrow sense of worship. But these approaches are not separate. Your broad sense of worshiping God in all of life fuels and enriches your narrow sense of worshiping God in dedicated times of private and public worship and vice versa. The Father is seeking your worship in both the broad and narrow sense.

[1] For more on this concept and other matters discussed in this book, see John Frame’s book Worship in Spirit and Truth (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 1996).

[2] www.ligonier.org, http://www.ligonier.org/blog/what-does-coram-deo-mean/

Praying with Persistence and Faith (Prayer Series 6 of 6)

After Jesus gives his disciples his pattern for how they should pray in Luke 11, he continues by telling them a story. His main point is to teach them, and us, to continue in persistent and confident prayers, even when we see no answers.

In this story, Jesus describes a man and his family who are asleep in their home at midnight. A friend of the man suddenly begins knocking at his door because he needs bread for his guests. Jesus says the man who was in bed doesn't get up and open the door. Instead this man yells out, “‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? (Luke 11:7).

The reason the man says his children were with him in bed is because he and all his family members were probably sleeping together in one large room, as was the custom then. And if the man gets up and lights a lamp, he’ll wake everyone up.

But, Jesus says the man eventually got up because of one reason. His friend continued knocking. The Greek word (ἀναίδειαν anaideian) used to describe what his man did can be translated by several different words. One is persistence. He persisted knocking.

Another word is “I   ” meaning without modesty or shame. This is a shameless boldness. It’s someone continually knocking without any shame, in brazenly immodest way. What is shameless is not what is being asked for. He's just asking for bread. But what is shameless is that he won't stop asking until he receives the answer.

Jesus is teaching us here that this is how we should pray. With persistent, shameless boldness especially when facing no answer.

Jesus continues teaching by saying, “And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” Luke 11:9. These words are in  the present tense, meaning more literally, "Keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking."

It’s very easy for us to see this teaching of Jesus on prayer more like suggestions of Jesus rather than commands. Prayer is a privilege of the children of God. But we also learn here that persistent prayer is also a command. If we are not persevering and persisting in prayer in the face of no answers, we are being disobedient to God.

This is why a long-term devotion to persistent Kingdom prayer, following the pattern Jesus gave us, must be at the core of every church that wants to be healthy. Only a church committed to persistent kingdom prayer will be a true foretaste and instrument of the Kingdom of God on earth.

After Jesus 1) gives us a pattern to follow in prayer, and then 2) he calls us to be persistent in our prayer, he ends his teaching on prayer with words meant to inspire us to 3) have confidence when we pray. Jesus says:

"And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! (Luke 11:10-13).”

Notice how Jesus ends his teaching on prayer where he began—pointing us to the Father.   In the pattern he have us, he teaches us that, when we pray, we should pray to God as Our Father. Here he teaches us that when we pray to Our Father, we need to remember that he is a good and loving Father who takes great pleasure in hearing and answering the persistent prayers of his children.

If you ask for something and you don't get it, it probably wouldn't have been a good gift. Matthew 7:11. That's your confidence. You are not alone. You're not without resources. You have a Father who gives good gifts. John Newton reminds us, that when our loving Heavenly Father doesn’t answer our prayers the way we want, it doesn’t mean he does not hear or that he is not answering. Newton writes, “God works all things together for our good: everything is needful that he sends; nothing is needful that he withholds.

If you want to know that you can trust the Father, look at his one and only Son, Jesus, in the Garden of Gethsemane before going to the cross. He asked the Father to allow the cup of God’s wrath not to be poured out on him if there was any other way. Did the Father answer his eternal Son’s prayer?

He didn't answer his prayer by allowing Jesus to avoid the cross. He knew that without the cross, Jesus could not fulfill his mission by ultimately defeat Sin, Satan, and death itself. Without the cross, Jesus could never be raised from the dead with power, ascend to the right hand of God, and pour out the fullness of God’s Spirit on his church to form a people from every tribe, tongue, and nation who will worship and serve him in a new heaven and new earth for eternity.

Romans 8:32 drives home the most important point about the Father we must never forget when we pray:

" He (Father) who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”

When God does not give you what you ask for, don’t allow yourself to think that the Father is not loving you. I promise you. God’s word promises you, that he does. So keep praying with confidence of his love and never forget that Jesus is the highest proof of his love.

Learning to Pray from Jesus (Prayer Series 5 of 6)

In the bible, we learn that God takes great pleasure in pouring out his blessings on those who will dare to radically align their life purposes with His.

This raises one of the most important and ancient questions of the ages: “What is God’s purpose for the world today—with which we are to be radically aligning our lives and our prayers?” The Scriptures are very clear regarding God’s purpose for the world.

And Jesus gives us a wonderful glimpse into how our prayers are meant to be in alignment with God’s kingdom purposes in the world when he taught his disciples how to pray. (Mat 6:9,10, Luke 11).

The Lord’s Prayer may be one of the best known, least understood and worst applied patterns for prayer ever given. So, to help us learn how to pray and teach others in our church to pray more in line with God’s will, let’s take a brief survey of this pattern for pray given to us by Jesus.

First, let’s observe the overall pattern of this prayer. Jesus divides the prayer into two sections.

The first part of the prayer contains God-ward petitions, prayers that we pray to God primarily using the word “Your” for God: “Hallowed by YOUR Name, May YOUR Kingdom come, May YOUR will be done.

In the second part of the prayer, we find Man-ward petitions, there is a noticeable shift of the pronouns from “YOUR” referring to God, to “US” and “OUR” referring to us: “Give us this day OUR daily bread, Forgive us OUR sins, Lead US not into temptation, Deliver US from evil.”

It’s also helpful to see that these petitions in the second section were designed to be prayed with others and not merely by ourselves. It can even be difficult to use these petitions as only personal prayers for ourselves because Jesus teaches to pray “Give US our daily bread.” Not “Give ME MY daily bread.”

Of course, this does not mean we should avoid praying the Lord’s prayer in private. But,  even then, we should pray not merely for ourselves but on behalf of others.

Let’s look next at the first God-ward petitions

Jesus begins saying,  “Pray then in this way: Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be your name.”

Our Father

In the Old Testament, God is mostly referred to as Lord and rarely referred to as “Father.” But in the Gospels, the word “Father” is on the lips of Jesus more than 180 times. And every prayer of Jesus addresses God as “Father” except for one prayer.

This is a radical new way for the people of God in Jesus generation to understand and approach God in prayer. Here, Jesus is authorizing his followers to approach God through him just like he approaches God—as his personal, loving Father.

Later Jesus teaches that this new child-like relationship his followers can have with God through him is the only way people can enter God’s Kingdom. Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, unless you become like little children you will in no way enter the Kingdom of God.”

Hallowed by Your Name

Jesus teaches, pray “Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be your name.”  

Here we learn from Jesus that God’s primary purpose in the world today, for which we are to be radically aligning not only our prayers but also our lives, is that His Name would be Hallowed or Glorified. Jesus is echoing the prayer of the Psalmist in Psalm 86:9 who prays, Let…“All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name.” 

May Your Kingdom Come

This raises the question, “How are we to glorify the Father’s name?” Jesus answers that question in the next two petitions: “May your Kingdom Come and Your Will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Here we learn that God has chosen to Glorify His Name among all Nations through the Coming of His Kingdom in such a way that it causes His Will to be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.

This Kingdom Mission involves much more than merely seeing “souls saved” and church buildings filled. It also involves seeing the invisible Kingdom of Christ made visible not only in individual human hearts but also in entire families, cities and nations.

And It involves seeing the advance of God’s kingdom into the surrounding culture by not only words of truth but also relentless acts of mercy and justice through which the crookedness in society is made straight.

After these Godward petitions, Jesus shifts his pronouns to the man-ward petitions.

• Jesus teaches us to pray to the Father First about 1) HIS name, 2) HIS kingdom, and HIS will.

• Then we are to pray 1) Give US, forgive US, lead US, and deliver US. 

But even these petitions about US should not be seen as separate from the God-ward petitions. Instead they should be seen as the necessary means of fulfilling the God-ward petitions.

For example, why do we need “Daily bread?” The answer is so that we can remain alive to see God’s name hallowed by the coming of his kingdom by his will being done on earth through us as it is in heaven. And this is also why we need to ask God to forgive us our sins, lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil.

This is not merely for our sake that we ask for bread, forgiveness, and deliverance from temptation and evil. But for His Sake, for His name and for His Kingdom and for His will.

By teaching his followers to be praying this pattern prayer, Jesus is assuming that his followers will be praying it. He once said, “Why do you call me Lord, Lord and do not do what I say?”

And, Jesus does not mean for us to be merely reciting these words in public worship. He warned us against this by saying “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.”

Instead, Jesus means for his followers to find joy, purpose and power by daily asking for God’s name to be glorified, for God’s kingdom to come and for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

And he means for God’s name, God’s Kingdom, and God’s will to be the reason we ask for Our daily bread, our forgiveness, our not being led into temptation and our being delivered from evil.

The Lord’s Prayer may be quickly memorized but it takes a long time to be learned by our hearts. But this is a very worthy goal.