THE LORD'S
PRAYER
Matthew 6:9-13
(continued)
What
do we Pray for in the Third Petition?
In
the Third Petition, (which is, Thy will be done in earth, as it
is in heaven,) we acknowledge, that by nature we and all men are
utterly unable and unwilling to know and do the will of God: "For
I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing: for
to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good
I find not." (Romans 7:18) - "They say unto God, Depart
from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways." (Job 21:14)
- "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit
of God: for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them,
because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthians 2:14)
We are prone to rebel against His Word: "The carnal mind
is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither
indeed can be." (Romans 8:7)
We are prone to be discontent and murmur against His providence:
"He called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because
of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted
the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us, or not?" (Exodus 17:7)
- "All the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against
Aaron; and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we
had died in the land of Egypt! or, would God we had died in this wilderness!"
(Numbers 14:2)
We tend to do the will of the flesh and the devil: "In
time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according
to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh
in the children of disobedience." (Eph.2:2)
We pray, that God would by His Spirit take away from ourselves
and others all blindness: "That the God of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom
and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding
being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling,
and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints."
(Ephesians 1:17-18)
... that He would take away all weakness: "That he would
grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened
with might by his Spirit in the inner man." (Ephesians 3:16)
... all indisposedness: "He cometh unto the disciples,
and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What! could ye not
watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation:
the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." (Matthew
26:40-41)
... all perverseness of heart: "I have surely heard Ephraim
bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised,
as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be
turned; for thou art the Lord my God. Surely after that I was turned,
I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh;
I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach
of my youth." (Jeremiah 31:18-19)
By His grace He makes us able and willing to know, do and submit
to His will in all things: "Blessed are the undefiled in
the way, who walk in the law of the Lord... I will keep thy statutes:
o forsake me not utterly... Make me to go in the path of thy comandments...
Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness."
(Ps. 119)
... with the same humility... "He hath shewed thee, O
man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to
do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"
(Micah 6:8)
... as the angels in heaven: "Above it stood the seraphims:
each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain
he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto
another, and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts: the whole
earth is full of his glory." (Isaiah 6:2-3) - Bless the Lord,
ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening
unto the voice of his word. Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts; ye
ministers of his, that do his pleasure." (Ps. 103:20-21) - "Take
heed that ye despise not one of these little ones: for I say unto
you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father
which is in heaven." (Matt. 18:10)
... with the same cheerfulness: "Serve the Lord with gladness;
come before his presence with singing." (Psalm 100:2) - "Naked
came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither:
the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of
the Lord." (Job 1:21) - "And the king said unto Zadok, Carry
back the ark of God into the city: if I shall find favour in the eyes
of the Lord, he will bring me again, and shew me both it and his habitation.
But if he thus say, I have no delight in thee; behold, here am I,
let him do to me as seemeth good unto him." (2 Samuel 15: 25-26)
... with the same faithfulness: "Remember now, O Lord,
I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth, and with a
perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight: and
Hezekiah wept sore." (Isaiah 38:3)
... with the same diligence: "Thou hast commanded us to
keep thy precepts diligently. O that my ways were directed to keep
thy statutes!" (Psalm 119:4-5)
... with the same zeal: "Not slothful in business; fervent
in spirit; serving the Lord." (Romans 12:11)
... with the same sincerity: "Let my heart be sound in
thy statutes, that I be not ashamed." (Psalm 119:80)
... with the same constancy: "I have inclined mine heart
to perform thy statutes alway, even unto the end." (Psalm 119:112)
What
do we Pray for in the Fourth Petition?
In
the Fourth Petition, (which is, Give us this day our daily bread,)
we acknowledge, that in Adam, and by our own sin, we have forfeited
our right to all the outward blessings of this life, and deserve to
be wholly deprived of them by God, and to have them cursed to us in
the use of them: "But of the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest
thereof thou shalt surely die." (Genesis 2:17) - "And unto
Adam he said, because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife,
and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou
shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow
shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life." (Genesis 3:17)
- "For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly,
but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope; because
the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption
into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that
the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until
now." (Romans 8:20-22) - "Your iniquities have turned away
these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you."
(Jeremiah 5:25) - "But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not
hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his
commandments and his statutes, which I command thee this day, that
all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee. Cursed shalt
thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. Cursed
shall be thy basket and thy store, etc." (Deuteronomy 28:15 ff)
All the outward blessings of this life are not of themselves able
to sustain us: "He humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger,
and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not... that he might make
thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word
that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord..." (Deuteronomy
8:3)
... nor do we merit them: "I am not worthy of the least
of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto
thy servant, etc..." (Genesis 32:10)
... nor can we by our own industry procure them: "And
thou say in thine heart, My power, and the might of mine hand, hath
gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for
it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish
his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day."
(Deuteronomy 8:17-18)
We are prone to desire outward blessings unlawfully: "From
the least of them even unto the greatest of them, every one is given
to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest, every
one dealeth falsely." (Jeremiah 6:13) - "For from within,
out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications,
murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, etc." (Mark
7:21-22)
... get them unlawfully: "He is a merchant, the balances
of deceit are in his hand: he loveth to oppress." (Hos. 12:7)
... use them unlawfully: "Ye... receive not, because ye
ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." Jas. 4:3
We pray for ourselves and others that, waiting on the providence
of God from day to day and using lawful means, we may, of his free
gift, and according to his fatherly wisdom, enjoy a good portion of
them: "And take double money in your hand: and the money
that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again
in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight. Take also your brother,
and arise, go again unto the man: and God Almighty give you mercy
before the man." (Genesis 43:12-14) - "And Jacob vowed...
If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and
will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on..." (Genesis
28:20) - "Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him
labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may
have to give to him that needeth." (Ephesians 4:28) - "For
we hear that there are some which walk among you dis-orderly, working
not at all, but are busybodies. Now them that are such we command
and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ that with quietness they work,
and eat their own bread." (2 Thessalonians 3:11-12) - "Be
careful for nothing: but in every thing by prayer and supplication,
with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God."
(Philippians 4:6)
We pray that we may continue to receive outward blessings and use
them in a holy and good way: "Forbidding to marry, and commanding
to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with
thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature
of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with
thanksgiving: for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer."
(1 Timothy 4:3-5)
... and that we may be blessed with contentment: "Godliness
with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world,
and... can carry nothing out. Having food and raiment, let us be therewith
content." 1Tim.6:6
... and be kept from all things that are contrary to our well-being:
"Remove far from me vanity and lies; give me neither poverty
or riches; feed me with food convenient for me: lest I be full, and
deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal,
and take the name of my God in vain." (Proverbs 30:8-9)
____________________________________________________________________________________________
From
the Westminster Larger Catechism
