Part 13
2. We pray for our daily bread. _"God gives daily bread indeed without our prayer";_ He gives it _"also to all the wicked,"_ who cannot and will not pray for it. _"He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."_ Matt. 5,45. If God gives daily bread without our prayer, why, then, do we pray for it? _"We pray in this petition that He would lead us to know it,"_ that is, we pray that God may lead us to know that our daily bread, all we have and receive in this life, is _His gracious gift._ Wicked, unbelieving men do not acknowledge this. They believe that they are earning their daily bread by means of their labor or receiving it by other natural means. Christians also often forget that all their earthly goods are the gift of their Father in heaven. Therefore we pray that God would grant us to know that every good gift comes from above, from Him, our Father. _"The eyes of all wait upon Thee, and Thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest Thine hand and satisfiest the desire of every living thing."_ Ps. 145,15.16. When we acknowledge this, _we shall receive our daily bread with thanksgiving._ Then our daily bread, all our earthly goods, _will be a blessing to us,_ a blessing for both our body and our soul. Knowing that our daily bread is God's gift, we receive it with thanksgiving; therefore we pray before each meal and, having finished it, say grace.
3. Our Lord tells us to pray for _our_ daily bread. It is true, our daily bread is the gift of our Father in heaven, but He will generally bestow this gift upon us _by means of our labor._ God wants us to work, and He will provide what we need for this life. The bread that we eat should be the bread _that is honestly coming to us. "If any would not work, neither should he eat."_ 2 Thess. 3,10.--We do not say _my,_ but _our_ bread, because we _include our neighbor_ in our prayer, asking God to give also him his daily bread. This reminds us of our duty willingly to help our neighbor whenever he is in need and want. Our Father in heaven very often gives us more than we need for our own support and the support of our family; He does this for the purpose that _we may have to give to those that are in need._ God, then, desires to give our neighbor his daily bread through us. _"Deal thy bread to the hungry."_ Is. 58,7.
4. We pray God to give us our daily bread _this day._ Our Lord reminds us _that we should not be anxiously concerned for the morrow._ We have a rich and kind Father in heaven, who cares for us, for our life and welfare. We pray to Him for our bread to-day and every day, and we know that He will not forsake us. Our Lord admonishes us: _"Take therefore no thought for the morrow; for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself."_ Matt. 6,34.
5. In the Fourth Petition we pray for our _daily bread,_ for all that is necessary for our life and bodily welfare here on earth. In the first three petitions we pray for _heavenly gifts,_ for the gifts which we need for our soul, for our eternal welfare. Our Lord in this way teaches us that the heavenly gifts are much more important, that we should pray for them first of all. _"Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you."_ Matt. 6,33.
REMEMBER:--
1. _We pray in this petition: My dear heavenly Father, give me this day my daily bread. Grant me grace to know and acknowledge that my daily bread is Thy gracious gift in order that I may receive it from Thy hand with thanksgiving._
2. _Do not forget to say your prayers at meals. Thereby you confess that your daily bread is the gift of your Father in heaven, and you show your thankfulness to Him._
3. _Pray also for your neighbor and give from your abundance whenever he is in need._
MEMORIZE:--
_He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust._ Matt. 5,45.
_Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me._ Prov. 30,8.
_Having food and raiment, let us be therewith content._ 1 Tim. 6,8.
_Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you._ Matt. 6,33.
QUESTIONS.
1. What is meant in this petition by "daily bread"? 2. Why does the Lord teach us to pray for our daily bread? 3. Wherewith should we be content? 4. Does not God give us our daily bread without our Prayer? 5. On whom even does He bestow this gift? 6. Why, then, do we pray for our daily bread? 7. Why do we pray God to lead us to know that our daily bread comes from Him? 8. How will we receive our daily bread when we know that it is He who gives it to us? 9. Why does our Lord teach us to pray for our daily bread? 10. Why do we not say _my,_ but _our_ bread? 11. Of what should this remind us? 12. Why do we add the words _this day?_ 13. Why do we not need to be anxious for the morrow? 14. What does our Lord teach us by putting the petition for our daily bread after the petitions for His heavenly gifts?
LESSON 44.
The Lord's Prayer.
The Fifth Petition.
Which is the Fifth Petition?
_Our Father who art in heaven, forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us._
What does this mean?
_We pray in this petition that our Father in heaven would not look upon our sins, nor on their account deny our prayer; for we are worthy of none of the things for which we pray, neither have we deserved them; but that He would grant them all to us by grace; for use daily sin much and indeed deserve nothing but punishment. So will we also heartily forgive and readily do good to those who sin against us._
1. _"And forgive us our trespasses,"_ thus the Lord teaches us to pray in the Fifth Petition. That means, as our Catechism explains these words: _"We pray in this petition that our Father would not look upon our sins."_ A child that has disobeyed his father approaches him sorrowfully, asks his forgiveness, and promises to be more obedient in future. We, the children of God, do the very same thing. Every day we come to our heavenly Father with a contrite heart and ask His _forgiveness._ Daily we confess that we have sinned again. We are deeply sorry that again we have been disobedient to His good will, that we have deserved His punishment. But we also know that God is _our gracious, loving Father,_ always willing to forgive us our many sins. We know that Christ has paid the _ransom for our transgressions_ and earned God's forgiveness for us. In our Savior's name, trusting in Him, we come to God every day and pray with deep shame, but also with firm confidence: My dear Father in heaven, I, a poor sinner, come to Thee and humbly confess that again I have trespassed and sinned against Thee. Do not look upon my sins, do not punish me as I have deserved, but regard Thy Son's righteousness and for His sake forgive me all my sins. We pray as did the prodigal son: _"Father, I have sinned against heaven and in Thy sight, and I am no more worthy to be called Thy son."_ Luke 15,21. However, accept me again for Christ's sake.
2. We have a _special reason_ for asking God's forgiveness in our prayers. We pray to God for many blessings, for many precious gifts, both heavenly and earthly. But we are sinners; _"we are worthy of none of the things for which we pray, neither have we deserved them."_ If God would look upon our unworthiness and sin, how could He grant us our petitions? _"For we daily sin much and deserve nothing but punishment."_ As long as our sins separate us from God, we are certain that God will not hear us. Our prayers would indeed be in vain. Therefore we pray to our Father that He would not look upon our sins, _"nor on their account deny our prayer,"_ as we have so well deserved. We pray that He would grant us His forgiveness and give us all His rich blessings _by grace, for Christ's sake._ In Christ's name we come to our Father and confidently pray with the _publican_ in the Temple: _"God be merciful to me, a sinner."_ Luke 18,13.
3. Our Lord adds something to this petition. He says: _"As we forgive those who trespass against us."_ These words contain a _promise_ on our part. Because God so graciously and willingly forgives us our many and great sins, we promise that _we also will forgive those who sin against us._ There are such as sin against us, wrong and grieve us with word or deed. But how small are their faults over against the great and grievous sins we have committed against our Father in heaven! Having received the gracious forgiveness of our Father, how could we do otherwise than forgive also those who trespass against us? Willingly we promise to forgive them, and to do so _heartily, from our hearts,_ as our Father has forgiven us, and not only to forgive them, but _readily_ to _do good to them._ Does not our Father do the same thing to us? We sin against Him and grieve Him daily, and nevertheless He not only forgives us, but He also blesses us every day with all His gifts for body and soul. If, on the other hand, we refuse to forgive our brother, we shall not obtain forgiveness from our Father. _"When we stand praying, forgive if ye have aught against any, that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses."_ Mark 11,25.26. (Read carefully the beautiful parable of our Lord about the _wicked servant,_ Matt. 18,23-35.)
REMEMBER:--
1. _We pray in this petition: My dear Father in heaven, do not look upon my sins and do not on their account deny my prayer. I am not worthy of any of the things for which I pray, but on account of Thy grace hear my prayer and forgive me all my sins for Christ's sake._
2. _We promise in this petition: My dear Father in heaven, as Thou hast forgiven me the multitude of my sins and hast granted me daily all Thy precious blessings, so will I show Thee my gratitude by heartily forgiving those who sin against me and readily doing good to them. Grant me grace to do this, dear heavenly Father._
MEMORIZE:--
_Father, I have sinned against heaven and in Thy sight and am no more worthy to be called Thy son._ Luke 15,21.
_God be merciful to me, a sinner._ Luke 18,13.
_When ye stand praying, forgive if ye have aught against any, that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses._ Mark 11,25.26.
QUESTIONS.
1. What is meant by the word "trespasses" in this petition? 2. What do we ask our heavenly Father to do in this prayer? 3. How do we know that God will forgive us our sins? 4. How has Christ earned forgiveness of sins for us? 5. For whose sake, therefore, do we ask forgiveness? 6. What special reason have we to include this petition in our prayers? 7. Why are we unworthy of the things for which we pray? 8. What, on the contrary, have we deserved? 9. What moves God to hear our prayers? 10. What words does our Lord add to this petition? 11. What promise do we give God when we add these words? 12. How are the sins our neighbor commits against us to be regarded as compared with our sins against God? 13. What should we therefore willingly do? 14. What will happen to us if we do not heartily forgive our neighbor? 15. What must we be willing to do in addition to forgiving our neighbor? 16. What should induce us to forgive our neighbor when he trespasses against us?
LESSON 45.
The Lord's Prayer.
The Sixth Petition.
Which is the Sixth Petition?
_Our Father who art in heaven, lead us not into temptation._
What does this mean?
_God indeed tempts no one; but we pray in this petition that God would guard and keep us, so that the devil, the world, and our flesh may not deceive us, nor seduce us into misbelief, despair, and other great shame and vice; and though we be assailed by them, that still we may finally overcome and obtain the victory._
1. _"And lead us not into temptation,"_ this is the Sixth Petition. Our Catechism explains it in the first place by saying: _"God indeed tempts no one,"_ that is, He tempts no one _for evil._ That is most certainly true. Our heavenly Father is the holy God. He hates sin and all those who willingly commit it. How could He tempt us to sin, try to lead us into evil ways which He hates? Scripture tells us: _"Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man; but every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lusts and enticed."_ Jas. 1,13.14.
2. As God does not tempt us for evil, why, then do we pray our Father not to lead us into temptation? We pray _"that God would guard and keep us" that our enemies may not lead us into sin and shame._ There are such as always try to lead us, the children of God, into sin, those _enemies_ of whom we heard in the Third Petition--the _devil,_ the _world,_ and our _own flesh._ Our most dangerous foe is the _devil. "Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour; whom resist steadfast in the faith."_ 1 Pet 5,8.9. Remember how he tempted _Adam and Eve_ in Paradise and seduced them to fall into sin. Our next enemy is the _world,_ that is, all the wicked men around us. How often do our friends or schoolmates entice us to do wrong! _"My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not."_ Prov. 1,10. The third enemy is _our own flesh,_ our old sinful heart, which is full of evil lust. Our own lust draws us away from God and entices us to sin.
3. These our enemies have an _evil will_ against us. They want to lead us away from God and our salvation, to lead us again into the kingdom of Satan and sin. They try with all their power and cunning to _deceive_ us; they try to give us the impression that it would be good for us to follow their temptations. By such enticements they try to seduce us to lead us astray from God and His Word, into _misbelief,_ into a wrong faith, or into _despair,_ so that we abandon all hope for our salvation. (Remember _Cain,_ Gen. 4,15, and _Judas,_ Matt. 27,4.5.) Or they try to lead us into _other great shame and vice,_ into sins that will bring shame upon us, to yield to evil passions, which will destroy our faith.
4. Against these mighty enemies we are _powerless._ We could not seriously think of taking up the fight against them by our own power. If we did, we would soon learn to our sorrow that we cannot successfully resist their temptations. Our enemies would gain the victory over us. In this our pitiful condition we come to _our Father in heaven,_ who has promised us His help, and who is always with us. We pray to Him in the name of our Savior not to lead us into temptation, that is, we pray that God would _guard_ or watch over us that such temptations may not come near us, that He would graciously defend us against them.--_If is true, temptations will come._ We live in this sinful world, which is full of temptations. The devil "walketh about" to devour the children of God, and our flesh tempts us with evil lust. These enemies will again and again _assail_ us to gain their evil ends and desires. _And it is for our good that God permits them to do so._ But we pray God to keep us steadfast in all these temptations, to _strengthen_ us in order that we may fight the good fight of faith against them. We pray to our Father that He may _preserve_ us in the true faith, so that we shall _finally,_ in the end, _overcome all temptations and obtain the victory._ Our heavenly Father will hear our prayer. _"God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able."_ 1 Cor. 10,13. According to His good and gracious will He wants us to be faithful to the end and to be saved.
REMEMBER:--
1. _We pray in this petition: My dear heavenly Father, guard and keep me against my powerful enemies, the devil, the world, and my flesh; hinder their evil will that their temptations may not approach me._
2. _We pray in this petition: My dear heavenly Father, be with me in all temptations, whenever my enemies assail me, and grant me grace to fight the good fight of faith. Keep me in the true faith in Christ, my Lord, that I may finally overcome all temptations and obtain the victory._
MEMORIZE:--
_Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour; whom resist steadfast in the faith._ 1 Pet. 5,8.9.
_My son, if sinners entice thee consent thou not._ Prov. 1,10.
_God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able._ 1 Cor. 10,13.
QUESTIONS.
1. Which is the Sixth Petition? 2. What does God indeed not do? 3. Why are we certain that God will not lead any one into temptation? 4. Why, then, do we pray God not to lead us into temptation? 5. Who are our enemies that lead us into temptation? 6. Why is the devil compared to a roaring lion? 7. Who is our second enemy? 8. What do we understand by our own flesh? 9. What is the evil will of these our enemies against us? 10. Into what do they try to lead us? 11. Who alone can help us against our powerful enemies? 12. What does it mean when we pray that God would guard us against our enemies? 13. When their temptations do assail us, what do we pray our Father in heaven to do? 14. What makes us certain that God will hear our prayer?
LESSON 46.
The Lord's Prayer.
The Seventh Petition And The Conclusion.
Which is the Seventh Petition?
_Our Father who art in heaven, deliver us from evil._
What does this mean?
_We pray in this petition, as the sum, of all that our Father in heaven would deliver us from every evil of body and soul, property and honor, and finally, when our last hour has come, grant us a blessed end, and graciously take us from this vale of tears to Himself in heaven._
Which is the Conclusion of the Lord's Prayer?
_For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen._
What is meant by the word "Amen"?
_That I should be certain that these petitions are acceptable to our Father in heaven, and heard; for He Himself has commanded us so to pray, and has promised to hear us. Amen, Amen, that is, yea, yea, it shall be so._
1. _"But deliver us from evil." "We pray in this petition, as the sum of all";_ in this petition we sum up all the others. We include in the word _"evil"_ our misfortunes and troubles of every kind, all our wants and needs: all the ailments of our _body,_ such as sickness and the like; everything that is hurtful to our _soul,_ sin with all its fearful consequences; anything that injures or destroys our _property,_ such as is done by fire, water, or bad, evil-minded men; whatever harms our _honor,_ loss of our good name through lies and calumnies, etc. All these things we sum up in the word _evil._
2. We pray that our Father would _deliver_ us from all these evils. We beseech Him to _spare_ us from as many evils as He sees fit. We know that days of sorrow and afflictions will indeed come to us. It is our Father's good will that _"we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God."_ Acts 14,22. God sends us afflictions because He _loves_ us, His children, because in His wisdom He knows that it is good and salutary for us. _"Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth."_ Heb. 12,6. We willingly submit to His will. But whenever the Lord has afflicted us, in every need and distress, we lift our hearts to Him, the Father of mercies, and _pray Him to be with us in our affliction,_ to help _bear the cross_ He has laid upon us. We ask Him that He would turn every affliction _to our benefit_ and in His own good time take it from us. It is our earnest prayer that through everything that seems evil to us He would keep us steadfast in faith to everlasting life.
3. True, as long as we live here on earth, we shall not be entirely free from evil. On earth we are living in a _"vale of tears."_ But the time will come when _"the Lord shall deliver me from every evil and will preserve me unto His heavenly kingdom."_ 2 Tim. 4,18. And when this time has come, _our last hour,_ the hour of our departure from this world, we pray _that our Father would grant us a blessed end, and graciously take us from this vale of tears to Himself in heaven,_ and thus wholly deliver us from all evil. In that hour we shall say: _"Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace according to Thy word; for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation."_ Luke 2,29.30. When our dear Father takes us to Himself in heaven, all our prayers will have been granted, all earthly sorrow and affliction will be at an end; we shall have and enjoy with our Father and our Lord all His heavenly gifts.
4. In the Conclusion of the Lord's Prayer we say: _"Thine is the kingdom."_ We mean to say: Thou alone art my Lord and King, from whom I am to seek help, and who certainly will hear my prayer. _"Thine is the power":_ that is, Thou alone art the almighty God, Thou alone hast the power to grant my petitions. And so _"Thine is the glory";_ that is, all glory, all honor, all praise, shall be given to Thee alone _forever and ever._
5. The word _"Amen"_ with which we conclude our prayer means, as our Catechism explains it: _"Yea, yea, it shall be so."_ We express in this word our assurance that our prayers are _acceptable to our Father in heaven,_ and that _He will hear them._ May we really be certain that our petitions are acceptable to God? Most assuredly. _Our Lord Himself has given us this prayer,_ He has taught us these petitions, and _"has commanded us so to pray."_ When in true devotion, in the name of our Redeemer, we come to our Father and pray these petitions, how could it be otherwise than that our Father is well pleased! And He Himself, our Father, has so often _promised that He will hear us,_ that He will grant our prayer. Our Lord has promised us: _"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it you."_ John 16,23. How could we doubt that God will hear us when we pray in Christ's name, according to His will?--Indeed, it sometimes seems to us as if God _did not hear_ our prayers. But it only seems so; God hears every true prayer. But we must not forget that God grants us our petitions _in His own manner,_ which we often do not understand. He does not always grant our petitions at once, but _at His appointed time,_ at the time He has appointed for His help, which, indeed, is the best time for us. Confidently we always want to conclude our prayers with, _"Amen; yea, yea, it shall be so."_
REMEMBER:--
1. _We pray in this petition: My dear Father in heaven, lead me through all my afflictions according to Thy gracious will and pleasure, and when my last hour has come, grant me a blessed end and take me up to Thee in heaven, and so deliver me from all evil._
2. _We are certain that this, our Lord's Prayer, as well as all the prayers we are bringing before God in accordance with it, are acceptable to God, and heard; for He Himself has commanded us so to pray and promised to hear us._
MEMORIZE:--
_We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God._ Acts 14,22.
_The Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto His heavenly kingdom._ 2 Tim. 4,18.
_Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace according to Thy word; for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation._ Luke 2,29.30.
QUESTIONS.