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DAY 1
In order to fully understand this week’s part of the Lord’s Prayer, we have to look back at why Jesus taught this prayer in the first place. In Matthew 6:5-6 Jesus condemns the hypocrites for purposely drawing attention to themselves when they prayed. In Matthew 6:7-8 He condemns the Gentiles (pagans) for babbling on and on in their prayers, with the mindset that if they used the right words or the right formula for their words, their prayers would be answered in a way that was pleasing to them.
Jesus continues His lesson on prayer in Matthew 6:9 where He moves from teaching His listeners how not to pray to teaching them how to pray. Some could argue that Jesus is giving a prayer formula, which is exactly what He condemned the pagans for, but He is actually doing the opposite. The formula of the pagans was selfish; it was used in an attempt to trick God or coax Him into giving them what they wanted. The Lord’s Prayer, by contrast, helps to humbly situate us in a way that recognizes to whom we are praying, rather than for what we are praying. The Lord’s Prayer encourages us to think closely about the content and the purpose of our prayers, and it humbles us and focuses our attention on the One who hears our prayers.
This re-focusing is clear in the first phrases in the prayer where we are taught to acknowledge God’s Fatherhood (our Father), His holiness (“hallowed be Your name”), His authority and goodness (“Your kingdom come. Your will be done.”), His omnipresence and omnipotence (“on earth as it is in heaven”), and His care for us (“Give us this day our daily bread”). We continue to see who God is in Matthew 6:12a where we are taught to pray, “and forgive us our debts…”
God is a holy God. Our sin keeps us from being in a perfect relationship with Him. Because of this, sin is a big deal. When we don’t treat sin like a big deal, we cheapen the gift of God’s grace. Sometimes we innocently forget that sin matters because we are confident in God’s forgiveness. We know who He is, and we trust Him. He tells us that if we confess our sins, He will forgive us (1 John 1:9). We rely on God’s faithfulness in forgiveness. This is good and right. We can absolutely trust who God says He is, but we also cannot forget that we have to rely on His faithfulness because we are not faithful. His forgiveness is necessary because He is holy and we are not. Too often we take His grace for granted and forget how profound a gift it is.
King David is a prime example of one who was made keenly aware of his sinfulness, and, therefore, his need for the Lord. Psalm 51 David’s lament in response to his sins with Bathsheba. He cries out to God with a heart of sorrow and repentance. He acknowledges that his sins, though they affected Bathsheba and others, were sins, first and foremost, against God (Psalm 51:4). He asks God to restore a right heart in him (Psalm 51:10). David goes on in his lament and pleads to God to not cast him from His presence but to restore to him the joy of his salvation (51:12). David recognized that his sin caused division in his relationship with the Lord. He wanted to restore the relationship, but he knew that sacrifice would not bring restoration. Instead, God desired a “broken and contrite heart” (51:17), a heart that was repentant and sorrowful. David’s repentance and sorrow led him to a deeper recognition of his need for the Lord. When we are willing to recognize and repent of the sin in our own lives, we, too, will be led into a deeper walk with our Father as we become even more mindful of the gift of salvation and of our need for God. David heard the word of the Lord through Nathan. He repented and turned from his sin. He was a doer of the Word, not just hearer (James 1:22).
The five words in the first half of Matthew 6:12 carry great significance. The Lord’s Prayer is a reminder to pay attention to what we’re praying and to focus on the One who is hearing our prayers. We cannot pray “hallowed be Your name” or “Your will be done” without also praying “forgive my sins.” A recognition of and appreciation for God’s holiness makes little sense if we don’t understand just how deeply un-holy we are. A desire for God’s will to be done requires a recognition of our own shortcomings and failings. We cannot adequately live out “Your will be done” without a sincere repentance of the ways we fall short of His glory. When we consistently remember how far from perfection we are, we consistently remember our dependence on God and the richness of His mercy and grace.
When we remember that sin is a big deal, we remember that grace is a big deal.
Focus today on praying “forgive my sins.”
FOR REFLECTION
Do you find yourself falling into the trap of not seeing sin as a big deal? Confess this to God and ask the Holy Spirit to make you keenly aware of and sensitive to your sin.
What specific sins do you need to ask forgiveness for? Confess those to God. The more specific you are, the more aware you will be of the temptation to commit those sins throughout the day, and the more aware you will be of the abundance grace that God showers on you.