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God's Words For US
by Cecelia Lester
We often repeat the prayer Jesus taught His disciples without really focusing on the meaning of the words and phrases. When we spend time with God and reflect on this prayer, we come away with a different outlook on the Christian life, on our relationship with God and ourselves.
“Our Father in Heaven,” Christianity is about the relationship between God and humankind. God the Creator becomes our Father. He lovingly takes on this parental role for all who accept Him. We notice the pronoun used here. Jesus the Son established God’s relationship to all.
We attempt to teach young children that God loves all he creates-whether or not He sees that person as good. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves of God’s love for the person who sins but not the evil they are doing.
“Hallowed be Your Name. . .” His children are to honor God’s name. Song writers remind us of this quite often, using such words as: “Wonderful”, “Awesome”, “Marvelous”, and “Blessed.” We honor Him by striving to keep His laws, following His teaching, and reading the Word. Praying and seeking the Wisdom he offers are also way of honoring God.
“Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be DoneOn Earth as in Heaven.”
All of God’s children want to live their lives according to God’s will. What would our churches, our homes, our communities, our nations, even our world look like if we allowed God’s will to be first in our lives? If we even asked God to guide us through any activity or project?
Our churches would be full. They wouldn’t have any budget issues. Our homes would be peaceful and pleasant. The divorce rate wouldn’t exist. Our communities would be safer places to live. The crime rate would drop to zero. People wouldn’t be afraid to get out at night. Our nations would enjoy a peace unknown to present-day countries.
In order for these lofty desires to come to reality, God’s people have to truly seek His rule in their lives. We have to submit ourselves to God and let Him guide and direct us through the events of our lives.
“Give Us Today Our Daily Bread.” Bread, often called the staff of life, is thought of as the basic food for most of humankind. Along with the other basic needs of clothing and shelter, food consumes a lot of our income. Here, Jesus speaks of daily bread. If bread is basic to our food requirements, why does our Lord ask the Father for daily bread? Might he be asking for what we need for each day?
As God’s children, we strive to live one day at a time. We call it living by faith. We have meetings scheduled that we have to re-schedule or cancel because of sickness or because of the winter storms or tornadoes that seem to keep coming through.
I once stayed home from midweek worship because a neighbor, when he returned home from work, we thought would call the authorities about an incident the night before. We believed they would want to talk to us, to confirm the story. I didn’t feel upset about the change in plans because God gave me an opportunity to help a neighbor, if he needed it. We could have been a part of keeping that neighbor and others along our street safe.
“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”
Sometimes even the most obedient child of God transgresses the Father’s Law. When we ask Him to pardon us our sins, He does. What we also need to do is forgive those who have done something to hurt us.
The book of Matthew has Jesus telling the disciples, “If you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive you.” (Matthew 6:14-15)
Forgiving another person is hard. But we have to do it in order to progress in our lives. Not forgiving someone who has hurt us allows that person to have control over our lives. We can become caught up remembering the hurtful action and stagnate in our personal growth. We don’t do what we did before the incident. We may lose out on some good experiences because we remember what that person said and how much it hurt. We find ourselves acting very carefully around others because we don’t want that one person to know they hurt us. We don’t share the event with others because we know they are friends with us and this one that hurt us. They might believe that person did nothing wrong; then we’d have issues with at least two people.
But, Jesus tells us to also forgive the ones who hurt us as we ask God to forgive us. God’s followers don’t view this as an option but as a command.
“And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.” As we walk through this world, we want to please God by staying away from things that ensnare us. Some of these issues are small and personal. Others seem to be huge and
interpersonal, between us and someone else. Then, there can be those stressors that seem to hang on to all of us-the public stories that seem to draw us in.
Temptations come in many forms and disguises. They all come to us from the enemy by way of our fallen world. How can we stay away from temptation? We need to follow God as closely as we can, asking Him to guide us in all we do.
One of the ways to stay away from these entrapping situations is through Bible study. When we do this we find out what God says about issues that affect our lives. Bible study can be done by ourselves or in a group. It can be done on a daily basis, as a part of our devotions, or it can be done in a group every week or every other week.
Another way we can stay away from temptation is through prayer. God will answer our prayers if we practice what He tells us in His Word. He tells us to pray and to seek His wisdom. He gives us discernment that guides us away from the temptation and closer to Him.
“For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” God rules over His people because He made us and loves us. He has the power to do whatever He chooses in any given situation because He’s God. We are to give Him glory when we experience His goodness, also as He guides us through the harsh times of life.
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Cecelia Lester has been serious about her writing for over two decades..
She composes Christian essays and posts them to her blog quietspirit-followingmyking.blogspot.com/
She has served in a faith-based organization, Grace In Action by writing two newsletters and searching for possible grants.
In July 2017, she published her first book, 'Times of Trouble Bring Rays of Joy.'
She and her husband of 54 years live in central Indiana. They have one grown son.
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