Bible Study with the Cincotti's - Prayer & The Lord's Prayer - 03/05/2023

Today's Bible Study, Authored by Arthur Cincotti. 03/05/2023

Listen to our Bible Study Discussion at: Prayer & The Lord's Prayer Podcast

Or watch the Video Zoom Session of our Study on YouTube: 

Prayer

 

“Can two walk together unless they are agreed? Amos 3:3

Prayer is a conversation with God. Conversation is the vehicle by which we come to know someone, including God.

Let’s look at the “model” prayer, in Mat. 6:9-13, and then branch off from there. Prayer was not intended to be a wrote activity..

 

9. “In this manner, therefore, pray:

         Our Father in heaven,

         Hallowed be Your name.”

Immediately we engage two subjects from last weeks study; sonship, and God’s sovereignty.

We discussed, last week, that being children of God is not a foreign concept, even to first cen. Jews, but we added that our sonship is by adoption, and the vehicle for that adoption is the new birth.

Jn. 3:3 and I Pet. 1:22,23

Last week we also considered God’s sovereignty. Rev. 19:16, “And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” God is sovereign because He is holy, and in Rev. 4:8, “The four living creatures...do not rest day or night, saying: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty…”

10. “Your kingdom come

        Your will be done

        On earth as it is in heaven.”

This is a tough one. In brief I would call this an alignment with God’s will, and His kingdom dynamics in the hear and now. Jesus said, twice in Mat’s gospel, “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Mt. 4:17 and 10:7

11. “Give us this day our daily bread.”

Mt. 6:25, “Is not life more than food…”

God is obviously involved and engaged in our physical needs.

Mt. 6:32,33, “Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

But also, Jesus invites us to feast upon Himself. Jn. 6:35, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in My shall never thirst.”

12. “And forgive us our debts,

        As we forgive our debtors.”

Forgiveness is a paramount aspect of God’s character. As we are called and drawn to be more like Christ, forgiveness will flow readily from us. And yet forgiveness is a complicated subject, because where there is no repentance, how can forgiveness be manifest?

13a. “And do not lead us into temptation.”

Js. 1:13,14, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away be his own desires and enticed.”

13b. “But deliver us from the evil one.”

I Th. 3:5 “For this reason, when I could no longer endure it, I sent to know you faith, least by some means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor might be in vain.”

We still lie under the sway of the enemy, but we are given an instruction: “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Js. 4:7

13c. “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

A proclamation referring back to vrs. 10

This is a beautiful pattern for prayer, but if prayer were as easy as five of these and three “Hail Mary’s” and you’re done, then where would the intimacy be???

As our relationship with God flourishes, and grows in maturity and intimacy, so does our prayer life!!!

A powerful dynamic, in prayer, is to pray God’s word back to Him. This is not so much to remind feeble old Grandpa what He said, but that we would know His promises and come into alignment with them.

In this practice lies the power of proclamation as a weapon in prayer; extending our faith, and calling “those things which do not exist as though they did” Rom. 4:17

 

These are the privileges of sonship that we looked at last week:

authority, access, intimacy, and inheritance.

In this regard, Paul compels us to “pray without ceasing” I Th. 5:17

A constant dialogue with “Our Father who art in heaven” is available to us because He said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Heb. 13:5 (Deut. 31:6)

This constant prayer, however, does not constitute an excuse not to steal away for special, solitary time with Him, Mt. 6:6; or for corporate prayer with other believers, Mt. 18:19

The power of agreement was manifest in the upper room (Acts. 2) when the hundred and twenty found themselves, “in one accord”.

Finally, prayer doesn’t represent a method of twisting God’s arm or informing Him what’s going on, or even listening for instruction, but the most intimate place of prayer is simply enjoying His presence.

“In Your presence is fullness of joy;

  At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Ps. 16:11

-----Join us for another Bible Study Next Week -------

or

Join our “Victory over the Darkness”, “The Bondage Breaker”, "Freedom in Christ" series of Discipleship Classes via the mt4christ247 podcast!

at https://mt4christ247.podbean.com, You can also find it on Apple podcasts

(https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mt4christ247s-podcast/id1551615154). The mt4christ247 podcast is also available on Google Podcasts, Amazon Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartradio, and Audible.com. 

These teachings are also available on the MT4Christ247 You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@MT4Christ247

Email me at mt4christ247@gmail.com to receive the class materials, share your progress, and to be encouraged.

My wife, TammyLyn, also offers Christian encouragement via her Ask Seek Knock blog (https://tammylynask.blogspot.com/ ),  her Facebook Group: Ask, Seek, Knock (https://www.facebook.com/groups/529047851449098 ) and her podcast Ask, Seek, and Knock on Podbean (https://feed.podbean.com/tammalyn78/feed.xml)

“The views, opinions, and commentary of this publication are those of the author, M.T. Clark, only, and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of any of the photographers, artists, ministries, or other authors of the other works that may be included in this publication, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the author may represent.”

Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship