Does faith change how we live? Do we feel part of the big family we are in if God is "Our Father"? And do we experience everything Jesus guided us into when we pray?
As a church we are praying every day through Lent in the way Jesus taught his followers, reflecting daily on one short chunk of the Lord's Prayer. This week, students from Severn Vineyard have been sharing their thoughts. Today, Mal Calladine chats with them about their experience.
Eoin Rollins writes:
The conclusion of the Lord's Prayer goes along the lines of "deliver us from evil" depending on your translation. However, this fully conveys the great mission of God in our lives. We are asking him to protect us and to lead us away from darkness.
This for me leads very well into the way we finish the Lord's Prayer, where we praise His might and glory: “For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever, Amen.”
This reminds me of the sheer glory of God’s power, of His presence, and His creation. There is very little you can say that is not already said here. It echoes everything that been said so far, His divinity, His love, and as he leads us from darkness.
I am also reminded of the eternal nature of God. Time seems so short and fleeting for us, but for Him is means something different. Time does not exist for God, he will not tire and grow lax as we may, but rather he is both with us in a deeply personal sense, and with us in the larger world, guiding our actions in accordance to His plan.
We conclude the Lord’s Prayer with "amen", which translates to "God’s will be done", and symbolises going forward to pursue his work, his kingdom and his message. Thank you all for joining us in our interpretation and reflection on the Lord’s Prayer. Amen.
Mark Wallace writes:
When I read this verse, my mind immediately highlights some flaw or ‘stronghold of temptation’ that I have been wrestling with over the past little bit. This week it would be endless procrastination (as a student knows too well) though from week to week, this varies.
Despite that, I would say that I don’t spend enough time praying into those areas of need. I can get caught in my struggle, and defensively, ignore it, which often doesn’t fix things. However, turning to Jesus is precisely what the Bible calls us to do in our weakness.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says:
“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
We have the authority to dismantle the strongholds that keep us from a deeper relationship with Jesus. That’s an amazing promise!
I feel challenged this week to ‘appropriate my freedom’. We are saved, but we still follow the ways of the world in our temptation. Instead, we need to take hold of this promise of authority over temptation and live in the hope of the Bible, drawing near to Jesus.
Where do you need to be renewed?
This is a helpful prayer model from Karl Martin’s Stand for use against your Stronghold of temptation.
Ask god to make clear patterns of wrongdoing.
Confront and resist. Pray with authority. This is so tough!
Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Ask him for courage, for security and for healing.
Receive the Holy Spirit to fill you with His fruits
Amen
Shannon Nath writes:
Working through the second line, forgiveness is something easier said than done. In our current distant world, it is very easy to just forget. I know I have been in situations where I have felt wronged and it would be easier to entirely walk away from that relationship than to calm down and forgive for a friend’s mistake. I remind myself that I too make mistakes sometimes. I ask for forgiveness. To deny someone that which I ask for seems cruel. I believe this line serves as a humble reminder to forgive, even when it is easy not to.
Of course, it is wishful to hope that you will not have to forgive people. It is an ideal that the people who you love will not let you down. But whether intentionally or not, it is a situation we all encounter at some point or another. Our relationships are about both giving and receiving. It would not be right to accept forgiveness but to never give it when it is needed back. It makes for a resentment that eats you up inside. If you are too preoccupied with holding this grudge, it will be awfully hard to have a fulfilling relationship with God.
Even when it feels challenging, forgiving is possible and will allow healing.
For those of you with little ones at home, this short video may help 😊
Is there anyone that you need to forgive?
Lizzie Jackson writes:
To me this is a reminder of God’s provision, something I will never fully grasp but he has definitely spoken to me about recently. To me, believing that God will provide is not just to say so before getting on with your daily life, but to actively prioritise God, knowing that your earthly needs will be accounted for.
I am currently studying for mid-term exams. This year of medical school is the year that study leave disappears. Our lectures now go right up to the first exam. Gone are the days of 4 weeks off to study. I know that I could block out all hours of the day for studying and cancel all other responsibilities, it might be an impressive work ethic but would it really be glorifying God? Its important to give time to other things- even though it might mean getting lower grades.
My instinct says that’s an excuse for being lazy, but its quite likely that this desire to study all day doesn’t come from a work ethic but a fear of failure, a lack of understanding that my career really is in God’s hands. Full marks is not necessary for me to be able to live out God’s purposes and would only really benefit my ego. At that point I’m using my time to worship exam success rather than God because I’m not trusting in his provision.
When reading Ecclesiastes in the Summer, God really spoke to me over Ecclesiastes 5:19-20. “God keeps them occupied with a gladness of heart!” Are we working down to the bone when we actually don’t need to? We could be trusting in God’s provision that the money lost from taking on a morning’s volunteering wont change his promise to provide. The sheer simplicity of that verse strips back the stress, the worry, the demands and tells us to enjoy our day to day.
Does my life look different to the lives of those who don’t believe there is a God providing for them? Why not? Where can I commit my needs to God and take a leap of faith? I think it’s time for me to cook dinner for my family more often instead of always studying into the evening and when I catch myself worrying about a mid-term exam, lifting my eyes back to God so he can put it into perspective. He knows what we want and what we need and he promises to provide when we serve him first.
Lizzie Jackson writes:
I always have a very clear image in my head when I say ‘God’s kingdom’. I picture God on his throne and people of all races and cultures gathered around, worshipping him together. But it occurred to me that what we mean by ‘God’s Kingdom’ varies a lot between people. When we pray this line, what are each of us actually praying for? I decided to ask some friends what they picture when they think about God’s Kingdom:
The first two friends pictured the new creation. One sees Earth but the same way she imagines Eden. Everything that much brighter. “Like suddenly turning the brightness up on your phone and you can see everything so much clearer”. The other pictured nature completely new, restored and people in permanent communion with God.
This is a beautiful perspective. But from this perspective I sometimes struggle to pray for the Kingdom to come because I have a non-Christian family and I wonder what that looks like for them. It takes a lot of trust to pray that line.
The third friend had a different perspective. She said she didn’t really picture anything, just thought of the phrase:“The Kingdom is God’s will accomplished”
With her perspective, there is an element of eternity to this prayer but also a message for now. We can bring God’s kingdom closer the more we act according to his will and allow it to prevail. ‘Your kingdom come’ means God’s will shall be done and Earth is made a little more like heaven.
This week’s thoughts are from students at Severn Vineyard.
Today, Eoin Rollins writes:
When I pray the Lord’s Prayer, my mind turns to the first verse, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Your name”.
I’ve always been fascinated by the concept of family, I miss my 3 younger brothers and have realised just how important my family is to me. Then I also remember that I am part of a much larger community or family, brought together by Our Father.
I am reminded of this whenever I pray, that no matter haw far apart we are, separated by distance or by arguments, there is something that ties us all together, the love of God. The Father is always there for us, showering us all in His love.
I feel that this prayer further elaborates on this, that while God remains in heaven, we can see and feel and worship his presence here on Earth. ‘Hallowed’ is derived from the word holy, the holiness of His name and His acts. I see the work of God everyday, in his creation, his children and this amazing world that He made.
Whenever I pray the Lord’s Prayer, I am reminded of the love God has for all of us, and the holiness of his Name and creation.
