Hi, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.  

Today, let’s continue praying the Lord’s Prayer.  We will focus on the phrase “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” First, the whole prayer:

Our Father in Heaven,
Hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done on earth as in heaven.
      Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial,
And deliver us from evil.
For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, now and forever,
Amen.

Our Father, “Your will be done on earth as in heaven.” We thank you for Jesus, who came from heaven to earth to show us your will.  We learn what your will is by looking at what he did. Jesus healed the sick, fed the hungry, set captives free, made the lame walk and the blind to see. Jesus preached the good news of the Kingdom of Heaven to the homeless and the forsaken and the sick and the outcasts.  May we follow his example of doing your will — caring for the lost in our society, healing the wounds and forgiving the sins of many.

Our Father, teach us to know the difference between our will and your will. Many of the things we desire are things you want for us: healthy families, success at work, a peaceful country, salvation for the world. These are things that would answer the prayer, “Your will be done on earth as in heaven.”

But other things you desire are not so evident. Aldous Huxley said that “Your will be done” is prayed by millions who haven’t the slightest intention of letting any will be done except their own.   Jesus said, “Take up your cross and follow me.”  I’m glad Jesus carried his cross, but I don’t think I want a cross of my own.  Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit and the meek and those who mourn and the persecuted.” I’m not sure I want to be poor and meek and sad and persecuted.

Our Father, I like it that you are king, and I like it that Jesus and I are sons of the king. But one night when Jesus lived on earth, he prayed, “Father, I’m not really excited about the direction things are taking here. If possible, can you change the plan?  Yet not my will but yours be done.” And it was your will that answered his prayer by sending him to die on the cross. Shall I pray as Jesus did, “Not my will but yours be done?”

But still we pray as Jesus taught us, “Your will be done on earth as in heaven.” We rejoice in your will when it brings hope and healing and riches and light.  We submit to your will when it brings a cross and death. With Jesus, may we lose our own will, and find your will on earth.

And with Jesus, may we find at last our resurrection to eternal life.

Our Father, your will be done.

Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Hi, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me.”

Today is Book Review Day.  The book I’m reviewing today is  the most famous, the most often read, in fact the very best book on prayer that is available.  If you’re a Christian you probably own this book already. It’s not often published by itself — it usually comes as one book in middle of another book.  Today’s book is the Psalms, a collection of 150 prayers in the middle of the Bible.

The Psalms are not meant to be read straight through the way you read a modern novel.  They are meant to be prayed. When our daughter was 10 or 12, she asked what I was reading.  “The Psalms,” I said. “Oh, the Psalms,” she replied. “They’re all the same: ‘Help me Lord, my life is falling apart, I’m depressed, come rescue me.’ and then, ‘Oh, thank you Lord, you saved me.’” I said, “What a wonderful summary of the Psalms.  That’s why I love them. I think you’re just too young to appreciate them.”

The most amazing thing about the Psalms? If you’re not very good at praying, they give you words to pray with. They’re a gift for people who try to pray.  

Another amazing thing about the Psalms is the stuff people bring to God when they pray.  Here are some examples:

Emotions are big in the Psalms.  People speak to God
– about great joy and deep sorrow,
– about large hopes and crushing disappointments,
– about desperate loneliness and exuberant friendships,
– about debilitating depression and unrestrained happiness,
– about vicious hatred and deep deep love.

Relationships are big in the Psalms.  The pray-ers have friends who love and support them, enemies who hate and attack.  Sometimes friends become enemies. The only constant friend is God, but often the one praying is not sure if God is friend or enemy today.

Good and evil are big in the the Psalms.  The pray-ers often complain about the violence and injustice in the world. But they also confront the evil that lives in the human heart — in our own hearts — and they bring the evil to God.

One of the most important things the Psalms teach: We don’t have to get better to come to God.  We don’t have to dress up or pretend our lives are together. We can come to God and say our prayers just as we are, in any state of anger or depression or joy.

In the Psalms, God presents himself in many different ways.
– he is king and ruler and judge of the world in Psalm 2
– he is our rock and fortress and saviour in Psalm 18
– he is the creator of a beautiful universe in Psalm 19
– he is the gentle shepherd in Psalm 23
– he is the one who hears our cries of pain and distress in Psalm 42
– he is  the gardener tending a vine in Psalm 80
– he is the mother bird sheltering us under her wings in Psalm 91

In all of our need, all of our pain, all of our joy, God is there for us in the Psalms.

Author Eugene Peterson describes the Psalms in this way:
“Prayers are tools,
not for doing or getting,
but for being
and becoming….
[Prayers] are the tools…God uses to work his will in our bodies and souls.
Prayers are [the] tools…we use to collaborate with his work in us. . . .
The Psalms are the best tools….” (Eugene Peterson, “Answering God”, pp. 2-3) 

Dear God, today we need a teacher in the way of prayer.  So we pray to you with the Psalmist, “Show us your ways, Oh Lord, teach us your paths” (Ps 25). “Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Ps 90).   

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me.”

Hi, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Today we continue praying the Lord’s Prayer. Let’s focus on the phrase, “Your kingdom come.” First, the whole prayer:

Our Father in Heaven,
Hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial,
And deliver us from evil.
For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, now and forever,
Amen.

Our Father in Heaven,
“Your kingdom come.”

We pray to you as king, which seems rather odd in our modern world
where democracies elect presidents,
where dictators appoint themselves to rule,
where Big Brother watches us on security cameras and cell phones,
and where Kings and Queens are invested with great pomp and little power.
But you don’t call yourself dictator or president or Big Brother. You call yourself King — undisputed ruler over all that exists, because you created everything and you sustain it all.

If you are king, then why must we pray for your kingdom to come? Is it not already here? Where are you not already king?

We confess that you are not king in our lives, because we reserve control for ourselves. We cling to that bit of money, that bit of power, that bit of self-expression that is so important to us. Beside your big kingdom, we build little kingdoms of our own design. We pray your kingdom come, oh God, overruling our self-styled kingdoms and plans.

We confess that you are not king in our choice of entertainment. We amuse ourselves with relationship-destroying behaviour in movies, TV programs, video games and music. Your kingdom come, O God, that we may build and honor the life you give.

We confess that you are not king in our homes. Free us from being petty tyrants who rule by fear and manipulation. Free us from eating too much and exercising too little. May your kingdom come to our homes, that they may be places of health and relationship and life.

We confess that you are not king in our churches. These are human institutions
where we argue about styles of music and length of sermons;
where we want others to honour us;
where the church leaders vie for power and influence;
where we gossip and criticize and say all manner of evil against each other.
May your kingdom come to our churches, that our service will be done in love for you and others.

We confess that you are not king in our nation and in our world of nations. Our world is full of racial injustice, economic injustice, political corruption, and moral bankruptcy. Our greed causes devastating climate change. Bring your kingdom, O God, to our world, to politics and economics, to education and law-courts, to business and employment and morality and climate.

We remember Paul’s words, “The kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17). Be in us that righteousness, peace, and joy, making our lives part of your kingdom, making them springs of water welling up to eternal life (John 4:14).

Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Hi, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.  

Today, we continue praying the Lord’s Prayer. Let’s focus on the phrase “Hallowed be your name.”   First, here’s the whole prayer:

Our Father in Heaven,
    Hallowed be your name.
    Your kingdom come.
    Your will be done on earth as in heaven.
      Give us today our daily bread.
    And forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
    Save us from the time of trial,
    And deliver us from evil.
For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, now and forever,
Amen.

Our Father in Heaven,

“Hallowed be your name.” Hallowed comes from the word holy, which means “set apart,” or “special.” So we set your name apart from the common things of daily life, and we treat your name as something special.

We set your name apart from our tools: the lawn mower, the snow shovel, the pickup truck, the computer. You are more than all of these. You are not an appliance we use to fix our broken lives. You are not a cleaning service we call on when we have sinned. You are not a gun to point at our enemies. You are God over all. You have your plans. You have your way of making things happen. This is why we set you apart, and we pray that as you  carry out your plans, you will hear us call on you, and will invite us to participate in your activites.

We set your name apart in the words we use. Often we hear your name as a swear word or an exclamation mark, like “oh my God,” or “Jesus Christ.”  Help us to separate your name from the dirt of our lives, to give your name a place of honor. Help us quiet our confusions, our mixed emotions, and the angers that control us. Help us to hold to your name in the quiet centre of our hearts, away from the turmoil that swirls around and within us.

We set your name apart in our relationships. You have put your image in each of us. You know the damage we do by ignoring your image in others and treating them as objects. Hallowed be your name in our relationships.

Forgive us for dumping on our children instead of correcting them quietly and peaceably. Hallowed be your name in our children.  

Forgive us for treating our partners unkindly, instead of treating them as holy people, fellow travellers on our journey through life.  Hallowed be your name in our partners.

Forgive us for speaking ill of parents and bosses and politicians. They too are made in your image. Despite what evil they have done, the light of your image shines in their life and activity. Hallowed be your name in all earthly authority and life.

Help us, we pray, to set your name apart in the books we read, the movies we watch, and the computer games we play. How often our entertainments are filled with violence and sex and crime and injustice. We set your name apart from these because you value peace and purity and justice.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Make your name special in our lives, so we can make it special in our world.

Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Hi, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.

Today, in the book of Genesis in the Bible, we come to the second time the word “Pray” is used. It’s in another story — this time, a romance.  

Here’s the story. Early in his life, Abraham responded to God’s call and moved from his home in Mesopotamia to present-day Israel and Palestine. Abraham decided his son Isaac needed a wife, but the local women in Canaan didn’t meet his approval. His solution? Send a servant back to Mesopotamia. “Find my son a wife,” said Abraham. The servant loaded 10 camels with stuff for the journey and gifts for the relatives, and set out to find a bride.  

When the servant arrived, he parked his 10 camels beside the local watering hole. “What now,” he wondered

So he prayed and made a suggestion to God. He said, “When a lady comes to the spring for water, I’ll ask for a drink. If she gives me a drink and offers to water the camels too, I’ll take that as a sign she’s the right one for Isaac.”

As the servant waited at the spring with his camels, along came Rebekah. And she had all the right qualifications: a relative of Abraham, beautiful, and single. The servant watched her fill her water jar, and asked for a drink. ”Sure,” she said, “Have a drink. And I’ll  water your camels too.”

Wow. Mission accomplished. Prayer answered. The servant knew he’d found the bride, so he pulled out a gold nose ring and gold bracelets, put them on Rebekah and sent her home.  When her brother Laban saw her decked out in all that gold, he got excited and hurried to the spring to invite the servant and his camels home. The servant told his story, gave his gifts, and took Rebekah home, where she married Isaac.  

So . . . What’s to be learned from the servant’s prayer?

1. A question. Is this a good way to pray? To tell God we need a sign to help us make a decision? Maybe yes, maybe no. Sometimes God gives people a sign when they ask, but often he doesn’t. Have you ever prayed for sign, but all you got was silence? Did you ever get something that was kind of close to the sign you wanted, but not spot on? And it left you confused and indecisive? Often the best sign is to talk to someone wise and compassionate, who will hear our troubled story and help us understand our choices. You don’t want someone like Rebekah’s brother Laban, whose main opinion seems to be, “Gold nose ring and gold bracelets? Go with the gold, girl!”
2. And finally, we see that once again God shows up in the complexities of human experience to help His people.  

Pray with me: “Dear God, I need a sign but I am so confused. I’m not sure I would understand a sign if You gave it to me. Change my heart and walk with me on my journey, that I may find my way to You.”

Until next time, I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with me”.