2) Thy Kingdom Come!
Today the governments and kingdoms of this world are run according to the ways of Satan and not according to God's laws. God is permitting mankind to have his own way during this 6,000-year period. Man has chosen to rule himself contrary to God's ways and has chosen Satan's ways instead. He has rejected the Government and the Law of God. He has rejected the Gospel of the Kingdom of God that is soon to rule the whole earth with a rod of iron!
Today, as a result of man's disobedience, the world is in chaos. On every side are wars and rumors of wars. Crime and corruption, juvenile and parental delinquency are very great problems for our time, and are bringing trouble of an increasing magnitude. Sickness is increasing. Unhappiness and trouble of every kind are snowballing to the end of this age. The land, the sea and even the air is becoming terribly polluted as a result of the waste, greed, and lack of planning by the world's inhabitants. Even nature is crying out for deliverance. The animals are becoming increasingly diseased or rabid. Even the plaintive cry of the animals calls out for deliverance.
All of these things along with the trembling of the earth in convulsions and earthquakes should remind us of Paul's statement, "that the whole creation groaneth in pain together until now," looking forward to the revealing of the sons of God. In other words, these things should remind us of the resurrection and soon coming of God's Kingdom to this earth.
All this rebellion against God is going to cease soon. Jesus Christ will soon return literally to this earth and will set up the government, kingdom and ruler-ship of God. Rebellious people will be put down, righteousness and equity will prevail. All people will then know God and will be filled with the knowledge of God and His ways. There will be no more religious confusion and division but there will be one true religion. Even nature will work for man instead of against man as it is doing today.
When we see all this trouble in the world and also read of the wonderful world tomorrow when all this will be changed, we should be able to also cry out with every fiber of our being, "THY KINGDOM COME!" God speed that day of happiness!
Before that Kingdom can come, Jesus said that the advance news of its coming must be proclaimed as a witness to all nations (Matt. 24:14). Here is a wonderful opportunity to pray for the broadcasting and publishing of this really GOOD NEWS to the world in ever increasing power and authority. After this news is given sufficiently as a witness then Christ will come and not until then.
3) Thy Will Be Done
God's will is done in heaven. His commands are instantly and completely obeyed. Are they obeyed in this manner in your life and in those you know? Are the people of the world acting according to the will of God? Of course not!
Here is your opportunity to pray fervently that the will of God shall be done in our own personal lives for this day. We can pray for His will to be done in the lives of all His saints, brethren in Christ throughout the world. Pray that His will might be done with the nations of the world. Pray that God's will shall be done for those who need guidance and strength. Here is the occasion to pray that we will be a proper example and light to our employers, to our friends, relatives and acquaintances.
We should want God's will to be done in carrying out His work on this earth. The broadcast and the publishing of literature need to expand so that more people will hear this end-time warning to the world. God's will must be done in His true Church and the people in that Church.
There is so much to pray about that concerns God's will on this earth. Let's pray that God's will shall be done in all these and all other things.
4) Give Us Our Daily Bread
This fourth request or petition is the first one where we ask for our personal needs! Jesus put the big things, the spiritual and important things concerning God, FIRST! Just as in the Ten Commandments, where our relationship to God is mentioned in the first four commands, so in this case the spiritual things are listed first.
The fact that this concerns our daily bread, or as Luke states, "day by day" (Luke 11:3), implies that this is a daily PRAYER. Jesus did not say that we are to ask for tomorrow's bread. God supplies us our needs oftentimes on a day-to-day basis and not for a long time in the future. This ought to show us that we should not expect more than what is required for today. If God gives us provisions for a longer time we should be very thankful and grateful.
At this time all our physical needs for the day such as shelter, food, clothing and other needs may be mentioned. God knows of these needs even before we ask. However, He has not said that He will automatically supply what we do not ask for. James tells us that some people do not receive things because they do not ask for them, and then sometimes when they do ask for things they do so for reasons of lust and greed (James 4:2-3). We should ask for our real needs, and not just what we would like to have.
An important point that we should not overlook is that this request concerns OUR, not my daily bread. Ask God to supply the physical needs of all His begotten children. There is usually always someone, somewhere, who is following God's ways who has need. We may not know the person ourselves, but we can pray for those people whether we know them or not.
Jesus also said: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4). Pray that God will supply the spiritual food that you and all His children need for this day.
5) Forgive Us Our Debts
This fifth request is to "forgive us our SINS" (compare Luke 11:4). If we have sinned, we have incurred a great debt to God. Here is the first opportunity to ask God to forgive our sins that may have been committed since we last asked for His forgiveness. Remember, to ask that OUR, not my, sins might be forgiven. Learn to be concerned for others, to have proper love and compassion for them. Otherwise God will have no mercy or consideration toward us.
This principle is brought out in the very next statement which says "as we forgive our debtors." Only if we forgive those who may sin against us, will God forgive us of our sins against Him. If someone sins against us, it is a very small matter compared with the enormity of the sins we commit against God, since the penalty of sin is death. Therefore, we ought to have a completely forgiving attitude toward someone who sins against us and who then asks that forgiveness.
6) Lead Us Not Into Temptation
This request is one of the hardest for most people to understand. The scriptures state that God does not tempt any man (James 1:13). That would seem to contradict this statement of Jesus in Matt. 6:13. How can we reconcile these texts? The word translated from the Greek into the English word temptation in Matthew 6:13 is the same word used in Matthew 26:41, and again in Revelation 3:10. The word is sometimes translated TRIAL in various versions. It means simply sore trial. We are to pray that we will not enter into sore trial.
The time of trouble to come is mentioned in Revelation 3:10 as a time of sore trial that will come on the whole earth. Those who have part in God's end-time work are described as the Philadelphia Church in Rev. 3. They are promised protection from this terrible time of trial. The final Laodicean Church is not promised that same protection.
All of God's servants are going to have trial and tribulation. It is through much tribulation that we must enter into God's kingdom. All of these things happen for our good to train and teach us vital spiritual lessons. God teaches us many things in various ways. When we do not learn these lessons as we should, when we are unresilient and not pliable in the hands of the Almighty Creator, He must take more drastic action.
That drastic action may be to lead us into a situation where we are sorely tried in severe trial. We need training, chastening, molding and fashioning. We must ask God for this chastening, for this training, and we should ask for it DAILY. However, let us also ask God that we will LEARN the necessary lessons NOW so that He will not find it imperative to lead us into sore trial either now, or during the terrible period of severe trial immediately prior to Christ's return.
One important way to escape such sore trial is to pray daily, and earnestly, so that we will be spiritually strong and learn these important lessons.
7) Deliver Us from Evil
This is the seventh and last request. Evil and trouble of every kind are all around us, and yet this is referring primarily to an even greater evil. In the Greek text the word here means evil one. The meaning is to ask for God's protection against Satan, and from his demons.
Occasionally a person will become fearful and in terror of unclean spirits. We need to understand their power and influence, be able to .recognize their work, but we should never fear them. We are to fear GOD! If we resist Satan then he will flee from us; therefore, there is nothing to fear (James 4:7). Your main prayer should not be for God's protection as this is selfish.
Remember, this prayer is not for you only but for all of God's people. You are to pray, deliver us, not deliver me from evil. Ask God's protection for all His people, for His ministers and others who may be in danger or who must travel a great deal in God's service.
"For Thine Is The Kingdom . . ."
At the beginning of our prayer we acknowledge God and address our prayer to Him. This reminds us of His greatness and love as well as His many blessings to us. Then we may in great detail ask the seven separate petitions. Then, as a conclusion, we again acknowledge the great power and rulership of the Almighty Creator. This conclusion should remind us that God is concerned for us and He has the power to ACT in our behalf. Some critics want to leave out this conclusion, but it is a part of the INSPIRED SCRIPTURE. It is those who don't want to acknowledge God's Kingdom who want to leave it out.
God is the ruler of His Kingdom. He has the POWER and the GLORY. Not just for the present but FOREVER! We must realize and believe this!
All of these requests should be made in Jesus' name (John 14:13), or by His authority, as He instructed us to do. Finally, we may affirm that what we have prayed is so, and that we really mean it by concluding with AMEN. Amen simply means "be it so."
Now you should have more than enough things to pray about each day. You should have many important things to pray about that you were neglecting before. Now your prayers can be complete without becoming vain repetition.
In addition to this complete prayer you should be in a constant attitude of prayer to God at all times. When problems arise you will have instant access to God in fervent and sincere prayer. God will hear and answer!
There may be many other questions you have about prayers. Prayer is a very important and large subject. If you wish further information write today for our free article, "The Answer to Unanswered Prayer."