Page 118 - TH130 Kingdom of God A4 Final

The Kingdom of God

Jesus then gives us a pattern for prayer. This prayer has come to be
known as the “Lord’s Prayer.”

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
Your kingdom come, your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one. (vv. 9–13)

Here, Jesus is not giving us a prayer to be memorized and then
repeated over and over without thinking. He has already warned against
such praying. He is rather giving us a model prayer, one that can serve
as a pattern, or an outline, to guide us when we pray.

Jesus is showing us that we should begin our prayers with worship
and adoration. We should then pray that God’s will be done in our lives
and ministries, and that His kingdom will be manifested in this world.
Jesus is further teaching that we should trust God to supply our daily
needs, and we should regularly repent of our sins and ask God to forgive
and cleanse us. As we ask for God’s forgiveness, we should forgive
others. Finally, Jesus is teaching us that, when we pray, we should ask
God to deliver us from the snares of the “evil one” (v. 13). If we will
follow this pattern, our prayers will become more effective and our lives
will be enriched.

Fasting Properly (6:16–18)
Kingdom people will live spiritually disciplined lives (Galatians 5:22–23).
One of those spiritual disciplines is fasting. Our fasting, like our giving
and praying, should not be for outward show. Jesus tells us that when
we fast, we should not try to look somber and disfigure our faces so
people will know we are fasting. Rather, we are to conduct ourselves in
such a way that it will not be obvious to others that we are fasting. If we
will do this, our Father, “who sees what is done in secret,” will reward
us openly (v. 18).

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