RPG Adults
THE LORD’S MODEL PRAYER (II)
THURSDAY, JULY 27
Ephesians 6:10-20
Psalm 56:9
“When I cry unto thee,
then shall mine enemies turn back:
this I know; for God is for me.”
THE LORD’S MODEL PRAYER (II)
(a) Present Our Daily Need: “Give us this day our daily bread.” We present our daily needs to our Father, both spiritual and physical needs, trusting in His loving care and provision. We are to be contented and thankful to the Lord for each day. As we need food for our bodies, we do need God’s Word for our souls. Moreover, we also need God’s guidance, wisdom, grace and strength to live for Him and do His will each day. We are also to pray for our brethren, God’s servants, the ministry, the salvation of others, the governors, etc. (Acts 4:31; Eph 6:18-19; Col 1:3; 4:3-4; 2 Thess 1:11; 3:1; 1 Tim 2:1-4).
(b) Ask for Forgiveness: “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” The next prayer item is to ask for God’s forgiveness through our repentance and confession of sins. Receiving the forgiveness and mercy from the Lord, we should show His grace and mercy to others, willingly and wholeheartedly forgive those who have wronged us personally (Matt 18:21-35).
(c) Ask for Protection: “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” God is holy and loving, so “God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man” (James 1:13), but He did allow Satan, the tempter, to tempt and test Job and our Lord Jesus Christ (Job 1:12; 2:6; Matt 4:1-11). Realising our weaknesses, we pray that God will protect us and deliver us from Satan, evil and sins (Jude 1:24-25) while we submit ourselves to the Lord and “resist the devil” (James 4:7) and “abstain from all appearance of evil” (1 Thess 5:22).
(d) Praise the Lord: Our prayer ends with our praise to Him: “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” Truly, so be it!
THOUGHT: Prayer is a good weapon in our battle against Satan and sins.
PRAYER: Father, help me to pray as I have been taught in Thy Word.