Know your Source
Matthew 6:9-13
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Jesus gives us an example of how to pray in Matthew 6:9-13 and also in Luke 11. Some say that it is just an ‘example’ of how to pray and others call it “The Lord’s Prayer.” Actually it is both. In days and times when Scribes wrote whatever had been spoken I am sure that Jesus wasn’t giving the listener a mystical “formula” as how one can be blessed. He had been sitting at the right hand of God even before the Earth was created, doing what they do which is being good and right, and Jesus knew exactly how His Father would love to be addressed. He doesn’t want selfish people or hoarding children to think that their ways are righteous. God wants holy children who respect and honor Him. We do not say, “My Father” repetitively but “Our Father.” Jesus said to pray for all others even our enemies. How can we do so if all of our prayers begin with “My Father”? You may have observed that this Master Prayer begins with a reverent approach to God. Then it moves into a prayer for the world, that the Kingdom of Heaven may replace the world’s errant ways and bring peace, the elemental one of supply for the needs of physical existence. Life is more than meat, but the meat is necessary to enable one to express life in larger and more important ways. We have to feed the body or we could not even enter upon the endeavors and interests of a day’s living. It is the same with all other material necessities.
Two words stand out which are “our” and “daily”. In the Lord’s prayer we should not be asking for all that we can get but all that we need as we go along the path of righteousness. We ask God to provide for us as our needs arise. When we are asking God, our Source for whatever we need, Jesus is telling us to ask for it on a daily basis. God is a God of more-than-enough, yes, but His Son tells us to pray for “Our Daily Bread” and not to be concerned about tomorrow because we do not know when it is our time to leave these earthly bodies. Remember, you are a soul with a body not a body with a soul.
When the Israelites were weary of eating manna in the wilderness they asked God for more. This was a text book explanation of greed and unappreciation. Therefore, God, being the good God/Father that He is, gave them meat instead of manna. Yes, He gave them a lot. Jehovah Jireh is the name of our God who provides for us and He does it wonderfully. The Israelites ate so much meat that they couldn’t take it any more. The were smelling meat, seeing meat, vomiting meat and most likely they were probably seeing maggots coming out of the meat because it was too much for their bodies to ingest. Imagine that. Do you remember the story in the Word where the land owner had a lot of wheat and instead of selling it for a lesser price or giving it to the poor he decided to build more silos? The wheat rotted and wasn’t good for anyone because of his pride and hoarding spirit. Not to mention the clean up from bugs and other critters that the rotting storage would have attracted. Most people who have a problem with hoarding have a rustled, uneasy, sort of ‘dirty’ appearance. They wear a spirit of Greed upon their being not understanding that they’ve been intruded upon by it. They are now possessed by it as it stands within them laughing at the poor. You can tell that something is amiss because of the outward look and greedy stare that they portray to others. I’ve seen some who want everything. They’d rather have two of something than to allow a needy family next door to have one or buy it from them at a less expensive cost for their families. If you are one who has been blessed with an over-abundance, know that our City Mission can use the help, ministries, churches, boarding homes, daycares, Meals on Wheels, orphanages, and schools can use any extra supplies that you may have.
All that we have belongs to God. We are only the stewards of these material things which God has loaned to us. That is why God teaches us to make it a matter of prayer. We go straight to the point of production and not merely to some center of distribution. Everything grew from the Creative Mind of God and His Will, that productive power that has no limits. We do not make things, we only manifest them. “Our Daily Bread” means not only food for the body but for the soul as well. We daily need material means, spiritual means by which we secure the food, the work we do to earn the money to buy the food, and the strength to do the necessary work to accomplish all this. They do not come from us but from God. The available supply is limited only by our need and ability to use it constructively. We sometimes get the idea that there is a certain amount of money, mineral resources, agricultural possibilities, and manufactured things, and that when these are used there is no more to turn to. Knowing the true concept of supply will not make us more material but more spiritual instead. It takes us nearer to God not further away. The Lord’s prayer spiritualizes our idea of everything, even our material supply. It sends us Heavenly as the supply is sent to us Earthly.
We are taught by Jesus to not keep more than that which is far beyond our means of necessity. God wants to give us all that we need but we must be careful and exercise reason and wisdom with Him as well. The Word says that Judas was the keeper of the purse that the Apostles had with them. Judas! The one who revealed the Christ to the enemy. he had the bag of money on his person. (And I use the small letter ‘h’ on purpose.) And he sold Jesus with the money that Jesus and His Disciples had been saving for their needs to be supplied. (Please see John 13:29) Always be careful of the weasels in your supply as well.
weasel
noun
he was a double-crossing weasel: scoundrel, wretch, rogue; informal swine, bastard, creep, louse, rat, ratfink, toad, snake, snake in the grass, serpent, viper, skunk, dog, cur, scumbag, scum bucket, scuzzball, sleaze ball, sleazebag, slime ball, sneak, backstabber, heel, nogoodnik, nasty piece of work; dated cad; archaic blackguard, knave, varlet.
We are human, and our tendency is to keep asking for more than what we need. What we need is to ask God for what is necessary for that day. As our forefathers used to sing and quote, “Our tomorrows are not promised.” One thing that I can tell you about your future is that you can and will enter Heaven through the True Door, Jesus Christ, if you accept Him as your Savior and Lord. You can do it now if you feel that tug on your heart. Just say, “Lord Jesus, forgive me of my sins. I accept you as my Lord and Savior. Teach me your ways and cause me to be a light in this dark world. Thank you for dying on the Cross just for me. Thank you for defeating the enemy of my soul through that one act alone. Thank you for the life that you have given me. I denounce, bind and rebuke everything that I’ve thought and practiced before this moment that wasn’t of Your Divine Nature. In your wonderful name Jesus, amen.” Now go find a bible-believing, spirit-filled church and begin to ‘hear’ the Word and practice it in your life.
We will be far happier and derive far more benefit from the blessings we receive if they are kept within the limits of the Father’s Will for us. “Father knows best.” If money-making were kept within the boundaries of The Lord’s Prayer it would never get out of hand as it sometimes does and there would be no murder or stealing to attain it. The person whose possession of things that has the blessing of Heaven on them is the only one who can rightly be said to be rich, whatever the sum of his possessions may be. So, if we go to the fields, the mills, the factories or the market, for whatever we need, lets first go to God that through these means He may give His blessing.
God bless you 100-fold in Jesus name, amen. (And that doesn’t mean x100.)
Rev Essie