Did it make any difference?
Jennifer and I prayed for Rita to sit offshore and die. We traded information about the windspeed and position during that praying. When it landed it was Category 3 instead of Category 5. But by one report it wiped out 90% of the homes in Cameron Parish, the far southwest parish in Louisiana.
Did God answer our prayers? Is the primary purpose of praying to influence God? If you look at the model prayer, I think you get a very direct answer to this question:
Jesus provides us both a theological framework for prayer and a quotable prayer that can be and is used for public prayer. Some evangelicals get squeamish at using a 'model' prayer for public purposes. I am convinced that Jesus gave us this prayer as an example to be prayed.
If you've heard any sermons on this passage, you can almost follow along point-by-point with how I understand this passage:
1. Jesus starts with focusing on and praying to the Father. I'm going to borrow from the Greek Interlinear at Scripture4All.org:
v9 "Thus then be praying (you): Father of us (THE) in the heavens let-be-holy(ized) the name of you"
You can already hear in this rendering a calmer, more casual voice. The praying is in the present tense. But the "holyizing" is Aorist Passive Imperfect. Aorist implies immediate action. Passive suggests that something other than the actions of the subject leads to the action...perhaps even other than the actions of the object. Imperfect connotes continuation of action/occurrence. This is the purpose of worship: that God's name will be made/kept holy as we understand our relationship to Him and as we honor him.
As I read this, it gives me the sense that we are called on to pray that God's essential character would shine through and cause his name to be made holy.
2. Jesus emphasizes the Father's pre-eminence over the universe. Jews often refer to God as the "Master of the Universe". This model prayer emphasizes both the arrival of God's Kingdom and the realization of God's Will:
v10 "Let be coming the kingdom of you; Let be-being-become the will of you as in heaven and on land"
The kingdom is arriving. But God's will is being brought into being or, if you will, being rendered/realized (greek ginomai). And the prayer asks that it not just occur in heaven (it WILL occur there) but also on the earth.
3. Jesus recognizes our temporal needs in this eternal cosmos. He instructs us to ask that our needs be met:
v11 "The bread of-us (the) on-being be-giving to-us today"
The word that gets transliterated "on-being" is epiousios. There is controversy regarding the specific meaning that dates back to early church days. Perhaps the best way to view it is as a measure of sufficiency. Then you might translate this verse "Give us this day sufficient bread for the day." This of course alludes to the manna (literally "what's this?") that God provided the Hebrews on their trek from Egypt to Ha'aretz Yisrael where they became Israelites. If you recall, they got upset at ONLY being provided with manna...they weren't satisfied with God's daily Providence. This verse suggests both asking for and expecting and accepting precisely what is necessary.
I think the most important part of this verse is that Jesus has us pray to the Father for daily needs. The emphasis is on needs, but it is also on every day. God desires to hear from us daily...about everyday things.
4. Not missing a beat, Jesus transitions from physical to spiritual necessities. The conjunction between these two verses suggests that they cannot be separated but MUST be seen as a single request:
v12 "And from-Let to-US the owes (debts) of-us as and/also we from-let to-the owers (debtors) of us." (the 'from-let' is translated 'forgive' in most English versions)
Which is worse? To go without bread or to owe something to a brother or for him to have owe us (either materially or spiritually)? We think of this in terms of sin and forgiveness. But the emphasis is on who owes and who is owed. The verse reminds us of the very memorable Parable of the Unforgiving Servant in Matthew 18:23-35.
We tend to mentally separate bread and debts. But if you consider the two together, you realize that it points to our interconnectedness with each other. As God provides for one...often in abundance...we are able to provide for another...acquiring the opportunity for obligation but never REQUIRING a return obligation. In God's economy, God's Providence overflows...and we are openhanded in receiving it, in sharing it, and in blindly allowing others to participate in our abundance.
In treating God's Providence to us with an open hand, our spirits align with his Spirit. He gives freely to us...and we give freely to others. He doesn't expect us to repay HIM for his Providence...neither should we expect others to repay our generosity. We should instead hope that generosity cascades into the lives of others and frees them to also be generous.
This is NOT a call for socialism by the way. Socialism is the expectation that others (presumably that have more) would see the benefit to themselves of being generous (to the less fortunate...or perhaps even to us). A Christian comes at it differently. Instead of expecting someone ELSE to "get it", when we put Jesus in charge it is up to US to "get it."
It is like standing under the shower of blessings and giddily inviting others in...splashing blessings onto them to bring them into the shower. If you ask of God and he blesses you...don't you see that as the source of blessing he is able to bless you more than he already has...and not just materially?
5. Jesus connects trials with deliverance from the evil one. This next verse gets translated "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." But follow the transliteration:
v13 "And no (not) you-may-be-into-carrying us into trial, but rescue us from the wicked one."
I think the way I would interpret that is something like this: "Don't just bring trial after trial on us, but deliver us from the one that thinks enough trials will break our spirit...don't let us be broken." You can't help but believe Jesus is thinking of Job's trial as he offers this phrase. And you get the feeling that it is more generic than simply temptation...any trial of life.
6. The prayer ends there, but Jesus provides his OWN commentary on forgiveness. The Greek text skips "For thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever, Amen." Jesus comments with the heavenly perspective:
v14 "If ever (conditional) for you-may-be-from-letting to the humans (anthropos) the beside-falls (offenses) of them, shall-be-from-letting and/also to you the father of you (in) heaven"
Very simply...your expectation that God will forgive YOUR sin should be based on your willingness to forgive others. You have no hope of forgiveness until you are willing to forgive others. In case we miss the obvious meaning, Jesus reconstructs the same verse using the negative condition in verse 15. "If you don't forgive others, the Father won't forgive you."
As I read through this, I am struck by its freshness. From depicting God as BOTH fatherly AND heavenly (radical) to basing forgiveness on the willingness to forgive, Jesus rewrites human expectations. And yet he does this in teaching us to pray...to beseech God. He is throwing out the old ways and introducing a new way...and yet you sense this was always the original way that God wanted it to be.
When we honestly approach God...no gamesmanship...I believe he thoroughly hears us. When we come to game rather than to let down our guard, I believe he still hears us, but it isn't the same. Again I think of the biblical comment about David: being a man after God's own heart. And then I think of Jesus's comment about Nathanael: "here is a man of no guile." These men somehow came before God with whole hearts...nothing kept to one side.
When we come to pray that way…no guile …no gamesmanship …according to the will of the Father …we really can expect God to answer. I don't even think we have to try to overspiritualize this. We can expect God to answer according to what we prayed.
So why are we so surprised when the hurricane dwindles just as we have prayed for it to do?
Did God answer our prayers? Is the primary purpose of praying to influence God? If you look at the model prayer, I think you get a very direct answer to this question:
Matthew 6:5-15 NIV"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.9"This, then, is how you should pray:
" 'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
11Give us today our daily bread.
12Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.'14For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Jesus provides us both a theological framework for prayer and a quotable prayer that can be and is used for public prayer. Some evangelicals get squeamish at using a 'model' prayer for public purposes. I am convinced that Jesus gave us this prayer as an example to be prayed.
If you've heard any sermons on this passage, you can almost follow along point-by-point with how I understand this passage:
1. Jesus starts with focusing on and praying to the Father. I'm going to borrow from the Greek Interlinear at Scripture4All.org:
v9 "Thus then be praying (you): Father of us (THE) in the heavens let-be-holy(ized) the name of you"
You can already hear in this rendering a calmer, more casual voice. The praying is in the present tense. But the "holyizing" is Aorist Passive Imperfect. Aorist implies immediate action. Passive suggests that something other than the actions of the subject leads to the action...perhaps even other than the actions of the object. Imperfect connotes continuation of action/occurrence. This is the purpose of worship: that God's name will be made/kept holy as we understand our relationship to Him and as we honor him.
As I read this, it gives me the sense that we are called on to pray that God's essential character would shine through and cause his name to be made holy.
2. Jesus emphasizes the Father's pre-eminence over the universe. Jews often refer to God as the "Master of the Universe". This model prayer emphasizes both the arrival of God's Kingdom and the realization of God's Will:
v10 "Let be coming the kingdom of you; Let be-being-become the will of you as in heaven and on land"
The kingdom is arriving. But God's will is being brought into being or, if you will, being rendered/realized (greek ginomai). And the prayer asks that it not just occur in heaven (it WILL occur there) but also on the earth.
3. Jesus recognizes our temporal needs in this eternal cosmos. He instructs us to ask that our needs be met:
v11 "The bread of-us (the) on-being be-giving to-us today"
The word that gets transliterated "on-being" is epiousios. There is controversy regarding the specific meaning that dates back to early church days. Perhaps the best way to view it is as a measure of sufficiency. Then you might translate this verse "Give us this day sufficient bread for the day." This of course alludes to the manna (literally "what's this?") that God provided the Hebrews on their trek from Egypt to Ha'aretz Yisrael where they became Israelites. If you recall, they got upset at ONLY being provided with manna...they weren't satisfied with God's daily Providence. This verse suggests both asking for and expecting and accepting precisely what is necessary.
I think the most important part of this verse is that Jesus has us pray to the Father for daily needs. The emphasis is on needs, but it is also on every day. God desires to hear from us daily...about everyday things.
4. Not missing a beat, Jesus transitions from physical to spiritual necessities. The conjunction between these two verses suggests that they cannot be separated but MUST be seen as a single request:
v12 "And from-Let to-US the owes (debts) of-us as and/also we from-let to-the owers (debtors) of us." (the 'from-let' is translated 'forgive' in most English versions)
Which is worse? To go without bread or to owe something to a brother or for him to have owe us (either materially or spiritually)? We think of this in terms of sin and forgiveness. But the emphasis is on who owes and who is owed. The verse reminds us of the very memorable Parable of the Unforgiving Servant in Matthew 18:23-35.
We tend to mentally separate bread and debts. But if you consider the two together, you realize that it points to our interconnectedness with each other. As God provides for one...often in abundance...we are able to provide for another...acquiring the opportunity for obligation but never REQUIRING a return obligation. In God's economy, God's Providence overflows...and we are openhanded in receiving it, in sharing it, and in blindly allowing others to participate in our abundance.
In treating God's Providence to us with an open hand, our spirits align with his Spirit. He gives freely to us...and we give freely to others. He doesn't expect us to repay HIM for his Providence...neither should we expect others to repay our generosity. We should instead hope that generosity cascades into the lives of others and frees them to also be generous.
This is NOT a call for socialism by the way. Socialism is the expectation that others (presumably that have more) would see the benefit to themselves of being generous (to the less fortunate...or perhaps even to us). A Christian comes at it differently. Instead of expecting someone ELSE to "get it", when we put Jesus in charge it is up to US to "get it."
It is like standing under the shower of blessings and giddily inviting others in...splashing blessings onto them to bring them into the shower. If you ask of God and he blesses you...don't you see that as the source of blessing he is able to bless you more than he already has...and not just materially?
5. Jesus connects trials with deliverance from the evil one. This next verse gets translated "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." But follow the transliteration:
v13 "And no (not) you-may-be-into-carrying us into trial, but rescue us from the wicked one."
I think the way I would interpret that is something like this: "Don't just bring trial after trial on us, but deliver us from the one that thinks enough trials will break our spirit...don't let us be broken." You can't help but believe Jesus is thinking of Job's trial as he offers this phrase. And you get the feeling that it is more generic than simply temptation...any trial of life.
6. The prayer ends there, but Jesus provides his OWN commentary on forgiveness. The Greek text skips "For thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever, Amen." Jesus comments with the heavenly perspective:
v14 "If ever (conditional) for you-may-be-from-letting to the humans (anthropos) the beside-falls (offenses) of them, shall-be-from-letting and/also to you the father of you (in) heaven"
Very simply...your expectation that God will forgive YOUR sin should be based on your willingness to forgive others. You have no hope of forgiveness until you are willing to forgive others. In case we miss the obvious meaning, Jesus reconstructs the same verse using the negative condition in verse 15. "If you don't forgive others, the Father won't forgive you."
As I read through this, I am struck by its freshness. From depicting God as BOTH fatherly AND heavenly (radical) to basing forgiveness on the willingness to forgive, Jesus rewrites human expectations. And yet he does this in teaching us to pray...to beseech God. He is throwing out the old ways and introducing a new way...and yet you sense this was always the original way that God wanted it to be.
When we honestly approach God...no gamesmanship...I believe he thoroughly hears us. When we come to game rather than to let down our guard, I believe he still hears us, but it isn't the same. Again I think of the biblical comment about David: being a man after God's own heart. And then I think of Jesus's comment about Nathanael: "here is a man of no guile." These men somehow came before God with whole hearts...nothing kept to one side.
When we come to pray that way…no guile …no gamesmanship …according to the will of the Father …we really can expect God to answer. I don't even think we have to try to overspiritualize this. We can expect God to answer according to what we prayed.
So why are we so surprised when the hurricane dwindles just as we have prayed for it to do?
posted by greg.w.h@8:01 PM link-to-post
6 comments
6 Comments:
Wow Greg! This is great... I need to come at it and read it again when I have more time too...
I have been asking this very question about prayer.. of course it is one I come at again and again... but especially significant right now as a friend's mother is dying from a stroke. His wife died when his daughter was 4... and his mother is the WOMAN in her life... she is only 12. They have prayed that grandma (nona) would be with her until she graduated high school. All circustances say that she will die any moment. I know God knows what's best but I do pray for life.
We had an associate pastor named Clark at our church in Friendswood that became very sick first with a heart problem and then with pancreatic cancer. If you know very much about the latter, you know it is very sudden and very fatal.
We prayed earnestly for healing. Clark had many life issues that he was needed for in his family, including a new grandbaby by his youngest (and single) daughter. God did not answer our prayers the way we asked them as Clark passed away not too long later.
It was a real test of faith for their family, but you could see evidence of God working. First, Clark's end-of-life witness was unbelievable. He accepted that the end was coming early and he remained in good spirits to the end. That impact alone was life-giving for those that physically ministered to him medically.
His daughter still had her mom. And she had to fight through a lot of growing up really fast. My impression is that she was being successfully guided towards very quick personal and spiritual growth. Again, if my observation is accurate, it was another sign of life-giving love on God's part.
I think we should always pray for the most hope-filled outcome, especially when we know there are needs that would be left unmet if someone meets an untimely transition to heaven. In the situation you mention, I agree with you that you are praying hopefully and with great love for the whole situation. To pray otherwise, I believe, is to try and put ourselves on the Throne of Heaven and to try and speculate/guess what 'would be best.'
I'm just not up to that responsibility. If God has a plan that is different than our heartfelt, honest prayers, we will find that out as he unfolds it. And we can trust--because of verses like Romans 8:28--that it will work out for good regardless.
I think any other approach requires too much complexity to make sense...or puts us in the position of being anxious which clearly is in opposition to how Jesus said we should approach life.
I had a lot of fun researching this post. I don't have much Greek background as the most complex language I've studied that is similar is Russian. But I love looking things up!
Donde esta Greg?
Wendy
I'm here!! I've had three ideas that I got part way through but didn't get posted. Finishing up a project at work (still). Three birthdays this last week (our oldest son, mine, and youngest son...on consecutive days.) Trip to College Station to see Cathy and see Josh lead the Corps in for review (he's 2nd Brigade Commander in the Corps of Cadets.)
Then down join the in-laws and caravan (in our Caravan) to Houston for Saturday evening and Sunday a.m. at their house. Then stop at Willie's Icehouse to catch up with college roommate David and his wife (he has a business venture concept he wanted to run by me.)
I slept in this a.m. until 8 so I could relax from the weekend!!
I will get back to posting soon...I promise. (Oh...forgot...my computer cratered at home, so I have to rebuild it tonight...my 7th hard drive in 5 years...if I were superstitious...)
Good to know! Happy birthday too!
that sounds like some great time with family and friends!
Thanks! Which reminds me...time to update the profile!!
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