Let God Control the Situation
I want to finish up this series on Prayer, specifically the Lord’s Prayer, and look at Matthew 6:9-13 again: Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. 'And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 'And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]' NASB
With this prayer we have learned who to pray to, what to pray for and why we pray. Today I want to focus on the last half of that prayer, when we need to pray.
Every phrase in this passage is talking about asking God to help us and provide us with our needs. Give us our daily bread - meet my needs God. Forgive us our debts - forgive me of MY sins God. As we forgive our debtors - help me to forgive OTHERS that have sinned against me God. The truth of the matter is that we need so much from God and Jesus knew that if He didn’t teach us how to go to the Father for our needs, that we would have really no idea how to get these needs met.
Sometimes there are days when our cup is empty and we need a refill.
Let’s begin with the first phrase in this passage: “Give us this day our daily bread.” Give Us: Jesus is making it clear here that each of us need to get something from God.
This Day: And when do we need these things from God? Every day!
Our: He is reminding us again that we need something that we can only get from God.
Daily: How often do we need to get these things provided for by God? Daily!
Bread: What is it that we are supposed to be going to God for? Not only for our daily needs, but a filling of our cup.
Have you ever sat and thought about what your daily needs are:
* Peace * Patience * Help with losing weight * Financial help * Better health * Kids to obey them * Time to themselves * Wisdom to make right decisions
There is nothing wrong with these needs. God cares for each need and loves to provide them for us. But God knows that the greatest need that anyone really has is a need to be dependent upon Him, because without Him, we can do nothing.
“Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God.” II Corinthians 3:5
“I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” John 15:5
By spending time in His Word on a daily basis is the first “bread” that God wants us to need and eat daily.
The next few sentences go into sin, temptation, and evil. To close this week out I want to look at the last sentence:
“For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen”
I find it interesting that this model prayer began with Jesus teaching us the importance of remembering the Holiness of God and it ends with reminding us that we can rest in the Sovereignty of God.
Sovereignty meaning He has complete control over the situation. I think we sometimes forget that and we try to control it ourselves. But look at that verse again…For YOURS is:
The kingdom – the situation or circumstance
The power – the strength that it takes to get through it.
The glory – He gets all the credit as you see the end result.
So truly, what this means is Jesus is telling us to confess our confidence in God that He is able to meet our needs and that in our confidence we can praise Him and worship His glory in the victory.
Only God sees the big picture. Only God knows exactly what needs to be done or not done. Only God knows what is best and what will bring about what is best. And because of this, He is the only one that can truly be trusted to make the best decisions and bring the best of things to past. So as you come to the close of your prayers each day, thank Him. Thank Him for being in control.
