癤풱unday, March 28th, 2004
Scripture Reading: Matthew 6;9-13

The Lord's Prayer (??

Today let me share a message
titled, "The Lord's Prayer (??".
There is priority and posteriority
in everything we do. If we violate
this order, we will face trouble. It is
the same with prayer. We should pray
first about God's concerns and then
about our desires. The reason why God
does not answer many of our prayers
is that our priorities are not in order.
Last Sunday I told you about God's
concerns. "Our Father in heaven, hallowed
be your name, your kingdom come,
your will be done on earth as it is
in heaven." It was the prayer about
God's concerns. If we pray about His
concerns, He wants to answer ours.
So we can tell Him our wishes and desires.
When we ask God by prayer, He'll work.
Prayer is like a water pipe. It is
in the kitchen, but it's only when we turn
on the faucet, that the water comes out.
Prayer is like a faucet. We have been
given God's promise and blessing.
However, only when we pray, will
God's grace be granted to us. Then,
what should we pray about for our lives?
First, God tells us to pray, "Give us
today our daily bread." Our daily bread
is the most basic requirement in our lives.
When we live on this earth, we have to
think about what to eat, what to wear,
what to drink, and where to live.
God tells us to pray about these things.
The Scripture says, "Do not worry, saying,
'What shall we eat,' or 'What shall we
wear?' or 'What shall we drink?'
For the pagans run after all these things,
and your heavenly Father knows that
you need them." God knows that we need
all these things and tells us to pray
about them. A theologian said, "God does
not care about our physical desires."
However, Matthew 7:9-11 says something
different, "Which of you, if his son asks
for bread, will give him a stone? Or if
he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?
If you, then, though you are evil, know
how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your Father in heaven
give good gifts to those who ask him!"
If a son asks for bread, will his father
say, "No," and give him a stone?
If he asks for a fish, will his father say,
"You'd better have a snake"? We know
what we should give our children.
How much more will our Father in heaven
give us good gifts when we ask Him?
This is what Jesus told us. Our daily bread
includes all things. For our daily bread,
we need to be educated. Praying about
education is God's will. After being educated,
we need a job. Asking for a job is related
to our daily bread. After getting a job,
we need transportation. We can ask
for money for transportation or a car.
That is God's will. We also need houses,
don't we? We can ask for a house.
Then, we need a family, and we ask
for it. All things we need in our lives
are involved in our daily bread. In times
of the first church, a spiritualist, Marcio,
said, "Flesh is evil, and spirit is good."
With this dualism, he insisted, "It is not
good to ask God for daily bread for flesh."
Waldpha, another spiritualist, in the post
middle ages of western countries insisted
that people should not ask God for
physical needs, since true Christians must
be poor. Even today, many people say that
God does not care about our physical needs.
However, God really is concerned about
our physical requirements. That's why
He told us to pray about our daily bread.
If He thinks that physical things are evil,
and He is not concerned with them,
why did He send His Son to this world
in a physical body? Why did His Son eat,
drink, weep, suffer, and bear our burdens?
Why was He crucified, shedding His blood
for our sins, iniquities, filth, the curse,
despair, and death? If God thought that
our physical things were evil, and He
didn't care about them, He wouldn't have
come to this world physically to help us.
To live in this world, God didn't only
make us spiritual, but He also made us
physical. He made both the spiritual realm
and the physical realm. Unless we violate
the order, all things that God made are
beautiful. If we seek first His kingdom
and His righteousness, and serve Him,
the physical things that God gave us
are all beautiful, glorious, and godly.
A religious reformist, Martin Luther, said
our daily bread was as follows: "Our
daily bread is everything to preserve life.
It includes food, a healthy body, good weather,
houses, households, a good government,
and peace." Therefore, our God wants us
to realize that the daily bread we ask for
includes all the requirements for our lives.
We have to ask Him for this blessing
every day. Where is the blessing from?
It comes from heaven, doesn't it?
The sun provides us with a beautiful light.
It is a blessing, isn't it? Air, water,
and everything in this world are blessings,
aren't they? The source of blessing is God.
We have to ask God for blessing daily.
When the Israelites went through the desert,
God gave them daily bread. For 40 years,
He rained manna on them from heaven.
He didn't give them manna for a week,
a month, or a year at a time, but only
a day at a time. Exodus 16;4 says, "I will
rain down bread from heaven for you.
The people are to go out each day and
gather enough for that day. In this way
I will test them and see whether they
will follow my instructions." Therefore,
God wants us to serve Him, by praying
and trusting Him every day. He does
not want us to pray about the things
in a week or a month at one time,
but to pray to Him with thanksgiving
each day. Psalm 68:19 says, "Praise be
to the Lord, to God our Savior, who
daily bears our burdens." We have to
tell our burdens to God every day
by prayer. He does not want us to pray
about the burdens of a week or a month,
but each individual day. Psalm 88:9 says,
"I call to you, O LORD, every day;
I spread out my hands to you."
God wants us to spread out our hands
and pray to Him every day. It says
in 1 Corinthians 2:9, "However, as it is
written: "No eye has seen, no ear has
heard, no mind has conceived what God
has prepared for those who love him."
God has prepared for us what we haven't
seen, heard, or conceived. He wants
to answer us when we cry out to Him
every day. Therefore, we need to keep
a relationship with God without ceasing.
Asking for lots of things at a time comes
from greed. When the Israelites asked
for two days worth of manna, the next
morning, it was bad, smelled terrible,
and had worms. Exodus 16:20 says,
"However, some of them paid no attention
to Moses; they kept part of it until morning,
but it was full of maggots and began
to smell. So Moses was angry with them."
God was angry with those who kept
manna until the next day. Since God is
the source of our lives and the storehouse
of our bread, we don't have to pile it up
in other places. God has promised to give
us daily bread from heaven if we pray
each day. That's why He says, "Do not
be afraid, dismayed, but trust in God."
We must not be greedy. Psalm 106;14-15
says, "In the desert they gave in to their
craving; in the wasteland they put God
to the test. So he gave them what they
asked for, but sent a wasting disease
upon them." If we have greed, we will die
spiritually even if God answers our prayer.
James 4:2-3 says, "You want something
but don't get it. You kill and covet,
but you cannot have what you want.
You quarrel and fight. You do not have,
because you do not ask God. When you
ask, you do not receive, because you ask
with wrong motives, that you may spend
what you get on your pleasures."
If a child asks for money to drink and
live a life of debauchery, will his parents
give him money? If he asks for it
for something good, his parents will give
it to him, but why would the parents give
it to him for something bad? If we ask
with greed, physical desire, and craving,
God will not answer our prayers.
However, we should truly ask for daily
bread each day along with His kingdom
and His righteousness. If we ask for
the health, power, and grace that we need
every day, God will give them to us daily.
Mother Teresa, who is called the saint
of the 21st century, took care of 7,000
Indians at the House of Love in Calcutta.
One day, one of the sisters, who was
in charge of the food, came to Teresa,
and said, "Ma'am, we are out of rice
for Friday and Saturday." Teresa said,
"Don't worry. Our Father God will care
for us," She knelt down, and prayed
to God, "Lord! 7,000 patients in the House
of Love are out of food for Friday and
Saturday. Father, please take care of them."
Then, that Friday morning, a truck loaded
with lots of bread came to the entrance
of the House of Love. So, they were able
to enjoy bread on Friday and Saturday.
Where did the bread come from? In fact,
all the schools in Calcutta had to close
because of the sudden order of the authorities,
so the bread for the students had piled up.
They discussed what they would do with it,
and decided to take it to Mother Teresa's
House of Love. As a result of this,
bread was given to the 7,000 patients,
and they ate it on Friday and Saturday.
If necessary, God even takes the bread
of students to feed poor people.
Since God does not let His children starve,
but gives them daily bread, do not be
afraid or dismayed. Since we know that
our earthly parents give us food, God
who made heaven and earth and gave us
His Son will surely give us daily bread.
Please, pray boldly with faith. That's why
the Lord told us to pray for daily bread.
Second, the Lord told us to pray, "Forgive
us our debts, as we also have forgiven
our debtors." Forgiveness is the basic
attitude of Christianity. Jesus died for
our sins, iniquities, filth, curse, despair,
and death, didn't He? When He was
hanging on the Cross, enemies spat on Him,
shook their heads, and swore at Him terribly.
They crucified Him cruelly. However,
what did Jesus say? He said, "Father,
they do not know what they are doing.
Please forgive them." The Lord suffered
so severely. In the movie, "The Passion
of Jesus Christ", the Lord looked horrific
when He was flogged, as He was walking
to Golgotha with the cross, and when He
was crucified on the cross. I was terrified
when I saw the movie, thinking, "How
fierce is sin! Since the wage of sin is
so terrible, if we are to bear our sins
without believing in Jesus, how much
more severe would the suffering be?"
I heard that someone died of a heart attack
while watching this movie, and a murderer
who hid his crime was shocked at
the movie, repented of his sin, and turned
himself in to the police. The movie is
as shocking as this. For Jesus who was
blameless hung on the Cross for sinners,
and forgave them from their sins forever.
The legalists have no cross. They blame,
criticize, and infringe on others. There is
no forgiveness in the law, but only on
the Cross. What does Jesus say, "The one
who has no sin can throw the first stone."
Who has no sin? The Cross is the place
where there is forgiveness. The law
without the Cross accuses, rebukes,
and tramples on others terribly.
Since we are believers in Jesus Christ
with the Cross and forgiven by Him,
we should forgive our neighbors according
to His will. Matthew 5:43-44 says, "You
have heard that it was said, 'Love your
neighbour and hate your enemy.'But I
tell you: Love your enemies and pray for
those who persecute you," It is a very
difficult word to practice. When I read
this word at first, I was very distressed
in my heart. "Lord, can I love my enemy?
I will not hate him, but I won't be able
to love him." However, the Scripture says,
"Love your enemy, and pray for those
who persecute you." This is the attitude
of the Cross, and the grace of Christ.
Since the Lord tells us to love our enemy,
we must forgive him. We can't live
without forgiveness, reconciliation, and love.
Since we are not God, we make many
mistakes, and commit sins, don't we?
Have you seen any husband or wife who
never sins? Have you seen any parents
or children who are perfect? We are all
sinful. A wife should continue to forgive
her husband. So should a husband continue
to forgive his wife. Parents should forgive
their children, be reconciled with them,
and love them. Their children should do
the same regarding the parents. If there is
only the law without forgiveness, we will
blame, criticize, fight, strike, hurt each other,
and be in despair. Matthew 18;35 says,
"This is how my heavenly Father will
treat each of you unless you forgive
your brother from your heart." Thinking
that it would be enough to forgive others
seven times, Peter asked, "Lord, is it
enough to forgive our neighbor seven times
if he does wrong against me?" Looking
at him, Jesus said, "You should forgive
your neighbor seventy times seven."
If we forgive seventy times seven,
it would be 490 times. It means we should
forgive continually. Ephesians 4:32 says,
"Be kind and compassionate to one another,
forgiving each other, just as in Christ God
forgave you." It tells us that we have to
be kind and compassionate to our neighbors,
and forgive them, remembering that God
has forgiven us. It says in 1 Peter 4:8,
"Above all, love each other deeply,
because love covers over a multitude
of sins." Hatred exposes sins, but love
covers over them. We always live in
a common relationship with neighbors.
The Scripture says, "Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors."
We live in groups, so we have to live
together with others. When each of us is
born, we belong to a group. We are born
of our father and mother. Therefore,
from that time, we begin to live our lives
in groups. We live with our father and
mother in this world. We always live
with others. We have our family members,
our family-in-laws, alumni, and neighbors.
We live in groups. We don't live alone.혻혻혻혻
Therefore, when we have good relationships
with people, we can have a good relationship
with God. We should have a good
relationship with our neighbors. That is
the way we can have a good relationship
with God. If we think, "I believe in Jesus
faithfully, but I don't care for others
whether they live or die," the Lord will
say, "I don't know you." When I was
pastoring in Seodaemun a long time ago,
a pastor came to me, and asked me
to hire him for my church. He told me
that he prayed all night. He said that
he prayed and fasted a lot, and would
evangelize very eagerly.혻 He seemed
very zealous. So I asked, "How many
people are there in your family? Then,
he laughed and said, "I have abandoned
my family for the Lord." I was so shocked
that I gazed at him, and said, "I also
abandon you." How could he work for
the Lord after abandoning his family?
The Bible says that those who do not
take care of their family members are
more wicked than unbelievers.
Our existence begins with our family.
We have to live with our family and
our neighbors. So, the Scripture says,
"Love your neighbor as yourself." It says
in Colossians 3:12-14, "Therefore, as God's
chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe
yourselves with compassion, kindness,
humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with
each other and forgive whatever grievances
you may have against one another.
Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And
over all these virtues put on love, which
binds them all together in perfect unity."
The Lord always says, "Forgive others
as I have forgiven you. Unless you
forgive, I will not forgive you." So He
told us to pray, "Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors."
During the Vietnam war, the American
armies bombed a village in Vietnam,
and at once the village began to be
burned. In a famous picture, you may
have seen a girl, who was terrified,
running out of the fire and crying.
I remember the picture clearly. A reporter
from the AP Press won the Pulitzer Prize
for that picture which showed the horrors
of war clearly. The girl in the picture is
Mrs. Kimpuk. When she came to Korea,
she visited me. I talked with her in my
office for hours. At that time, she told me
about her experience. Now she's working
for world peace as an honorary ambassador.
She had 17 operations. She hated America,
its people, and the war. She was filled
with hatred in her heart. She said that
she was bitterly distressed because hatred
made her heart depressed and her body
weak, so that her life was filled with
frustration and despair. It was as if she
were confined in an invisible prison and
couldn't do anything. However, she went
to America, and accepted Jesus Christ
as her Savior. She wept, confessed her sin
of hatred, and forgave America, its armies,
and the war. As a result, she was freed
from the invisible prison. Then, her face
began to shine with happiness, joy,
and love, so she could love her neighbor.
She told me this story. Almost her whole
body was burned with the fire of the bomb.
How painful and troubled she was!
She couldn't help hating America,
its soldiers, and the war. She confessed
that while she was living with that hatred,
she was distressed, tormented, and unhappy.
After forgiving with the power of the Cross,
she was very free like a bird that flew out
of the cage. She was very joyful, pleased,
and cheerful, so her heart and body were
healed and she became very happy.
Her confession was so amazing. One of
my church members sent me a letter.
She went to church very faithfully, attending
the Sunday service, the all night prayer
meeting, and having a service at home.
Her family was very happy. God blessed
them, and they became very rich. However,
her husband became corrupt. He didn't go
to church or read the Bible, but drank,
lived a dissipated life, and gambled. At last
he became bankrupt, and his family had
to rent a very small house. His wife
couldn't help resenting, hating, and cursing
him, so she came to me for counselling.
I told her, "Sister! If you hate and curse
your husband, the hatred will kill you
little by little. Hatred will destroy you,
your mind, your body, and your life."
She asked, "Then, what should I do?"
I answered, "Forgive your husband with
the power of the Cross of Jesus Christ,
and keep praying for him. Don't resent or
complain, saying that your household has
been destroyed because of your husband.
If you complain, it will bring you a counter
result, making your husband frustrated
and corrupt. Therefore, what you have to
do is forgive him under the Cross, and
pray for him." After she went back home,
she forgave her husband his sin, and kept
praying for nine years that he would be
saved and her household would be recovered.
She didn't complain against her husband,
but only prayed for him. After nine years
went by, her husband knelt before her
with weeping, and said, "I've never seen
an angel like you. I wanted you to swear,
blame, rebuke, and curse me. Then I could
have been less distressed, but you only
prayed for me with weeping, and blessed
me without resenting and cursing me.
So, I was too troubled to express it.
Please, forgive me. I am going to church
with you again." After nine years, her
husband went to church, repented of his sin,
and he was changed. God blessed him,
restored his household, and he became
rich again. Today, he may be listening to
this sermon at this service. If his wife
had cursed, rebuked, and hurt him,
he might have been corrupted forever
and given up his life. Forgiveness brings
us great reconciliation and change.
There is no greater power than the power
of forgiveness. Do you think that God had
His Son Jesus Crucified on the Cross
because He was powerless? If He had
been able to change us by commanding
and judging us with the law, He would
have done that. However, since only
forgiveness can change and renew people,
God's Son was crucified and hung
on the Cross. Through His Son, He gave
us forgiveness and reconciliation, and
through them, He changes and renews us.
Third, God told us to pray, "Lead us
not into temptation, but deliver us
from the evil one." Temptation is the bait
of the devil. If we are tempted, we are
hooked by the devil. The devil always
baits the hook of enticement with things
people like. If they are enticed, the devil
will hook them. Once they are caught
by him, they begin to suffer trouble
and distress. Look at Adam and Eve.
they were made perfect, and lived in
the perfect Garden of Eden. God said,
"You are free to eat from any tree
in the garden; but you must not eat
from the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil, for when you eat of it you will
surely die." However, Satan tempted Adam
and Eve with it. He came as a serpent,
and asked Eve, "Did God really say, `You
must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"
Eve said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit
from the trees in the garden, but God did
say, `You must not eat fruit from the tree
that is in the middle of the garden, and
you must not touch it, or you will die.' "
The serpent said, "You will not surely die,"
For God knows that when you eat of it
your eyes will be opened, and you will
be like God, knowing good and evil."
The devil put resentment and greed into
Eve's heart. When the woman saw that
the fruit of the tree was good for food
and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable
for gaining wisdom, she took some and
ate it. She also gave some to her husband.
They rebelled against God, and fell.
"After desire has conceived, it gives birth
to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown,
gives birth to death." If greed comes
into the heart, people will act abnormally,
and the abnormal act will give birth
to death. Look at David. When he fought
in the battle field, he served God,
and everything went well with him.
After he got rich, won the war, and
conquered many countries, he didn't
have to fight in the battle. He sent
the commander Joab to the battle instead.
Late one evening, David got up from
his bed and walked around on the roof
of the palace. From the roof he saw
a woman bathing. The woman was
very beautiful, and David was tempted,
and sent someone to find out about her.
She turned out to be the wife of one
of the Israelite soldiers who he sent out
to battle. She was Bathsheba, the wife
of Uriah. He slept with her. Then she
went back home. Before long, she sent
word to David, saying, "I am pregnant."
In order to conceal the fact, David called
Uriah to sleep with his wife. However,
Uriah was a very faithful soldier. He said,
"The ark and Israel and Judah are staying
in tents, and my master Joab and my lord's
men are camped in the open fields.
How could I go to my house to eat and
drink and lie with my wife?" He slept
at the entrance to the palace with all
his master's servants and did not go
down to his house. David wrote a letter
to Joab, saying, "Put Uriah in the front line
where the fighting is fiercest, so he'll be
struck down and die." Some time later
Joab sent him a message, "I sent Uriah
into the front line of the battle. He was
shot by arrows and killed." Hearing that
message, David said, "Don't let this upset
you; the sword devours one as well
as another." However, the Lord sent
His prophet Nathan to David, and said,
"You have sinned, so you will be judged
by God." Hearing that, David was terrified,
knelt down, cried out, and repented of
his sin. God forgave David's sin, but
because of the sin, the sword remained
on his household. After that, David faced
calamity in his life without ceasing.
He was judged. He repented in Psalm
51:10-12, "Create in me a pure heart,
O God, and renew a steadfast spirit
within me. Do not cast me from your
presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me."
David served God in his life very faithfully,
but he was tempted, committed adultery
with Bathsheba, and killed her husband.
In this way, he committed wicked sins
against God. You know that Mencius's
mother moved her house for the education
of her son three times, don't you?
When she lived near the cemetery, her son
often saw a funeral. So, when an animal
or a worm died, he imitated the funeral
and its song. His mother was surprised
when she saw him imitate funerals so often.
So, she moved her house near the market.
Then, her son imitated the market people,
shouting, "Come on! It's on sale. It's
50 percent off. Come on!" She was
so puzzled that she moved near a school.
Then, her son began to imitate studying.
If we see and imagine something, we'll
be able to follow it easily. Therefore,
if we want to overcome temptation,
we must avoid it. Then, some of you may
say, "Temptation doesn't matter to me.
I can overcome sin." However, no one
can overcome sin. If we see temptation,
we'll be easily attracted by it. That's why
recently we see youths, who are corrupted
by immoral informations on the internet,
doing evil, committing murders, and living
lives of debauchery. Likewise, seeing
the temptation is terrible. I've heard
a testimony from a famous American
evangelist. He was a drunkard and
an alcoholic, but he accepted Jesus, and
was renewed. He decided to quit drinking.
However, when he was on his way home
from work, he had to pass by the bar,
where he had stopped frequently. He thought
that he would be able to go by the bar.
Yet, he suddenly stopped there, and prayed,
"Lord, please help me not to enter the bar.
Lord, please help me." Then, he said to
himself, "It would be O.K. only this time,"혻혻혻혻
and he drank that evening. After getting
home, he prayed, repenting of drinking.
However, the next day, he drank again
on his way back home from work.
He wasn't able to overcome the temptation.
Later, he took counsel with his pastor,
and the pastor said, "Take another way
home even though it is farther. Don't go
by the bar." So, he didn't go by the bar
and he was able to overcome drinking.
Likewise, we must avoid temptation.
If we face it, we may be tempted.
We must avoid bad friends. If we make
friends with bad people, we'll be like them.
We must not go to bad places. If we go,
we will be tempted. We must reject
the greed of temptation, and resist the devil.
Since the devil prowls like a roaring lion
looking for someone to devour in this world,
we must resist him, standing firm in
the faith. The world belongs to the evil one,
and we live in that evil world, which
tries its best to lure us into temptation,
doesn't it? We must resist the devil,
standing firm in the faith. That's why
before leaving this world, the Lord strongly
asked His disciples to drive out demons
in His name. We must drive out demons
all the time. If temptation comes, we must
say, "In Jesus' name, I command you,
go away! By the blood and in the name
of Christ, I command you, go away!"
If we resist the devil strongly, he will flee
in seven ways although he has come
in one way. The Scripture says that we
have authority. Luke 10:19 says, "I have
given you authority to trample on snakes
and scorpions and to overcome all the power
of the enemy; nothing will harm you."
James 4:7 says, "Submit yourselves, then,
to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee
from you." Galatians 5:1 says, "It is
for freedom that Christ has set us free.
Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves
be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."
We must stand firm in the faith, and resist
the devil and temptation in the name
of Jesus, then the devil will flee from us.
Once I counselled one of my church
members. He lived a wealthy life, and was
well educated. However, he confessed that
he hated his wife very much. He hated
the way she walked, the way she spoke
and the way she looked. As a matter
of fact, I knew that his wife was beautiful
and nice, but he disliked her. He said,
"If I were divorced from my wife, I and
my children would be very miserable.
Everything will be messed up. Yet, I can't
stand my wife. I hate her so much that
I don't like to go home. I'm so distressed.
What should I do?" He grieved confessing
that to me. I thought for a moment,
and I was sure that he was captured
by the devil. I said to him, "Brother,
you must be changed first. You can't be
changed by yourself or by psychological
training. I'm sure that you are possessed
by the devil, who is filled with lust and
hates your wife. All you have to do is
to resist the devil in the name of Jesus,
and pray that you will be washed
by His blood, and loved by the Holy Spirit.
You must pray at home every day, saying,
"You, demon, who hates my wife! Go away!
Go away!" You must pray, "Lord, please,
wash me with Your blood, and give me
the gift of love!" Then, I prayed for him,
rebuking the devil strongly, "You, demon
of lust, who desires to destroy this family,
and hates the wife of this man, Go! Go!"
Some time after he went back, he came
to me again. Looking so comfortable,
he said with a big smile, "Pastor, I look
very different, don't I? So, I asked,
"What happened to you?" He said, "As you
told me to do, I kept praying, 'You, demon,
who hates my wife, go away! Go away!
Lord, please, wash me with Your blood,
and give me the gift of love!'" Then,
one day suddenly, as if I awoke from
a dream, a light shone from out of
the darkness, my heart was opened,
changed, and the hatred in my heart
disappeared! As the fog vanished away,
hatred went away, too. I felt comfortable,
and got to love my wife. Now I'm happy,
and so is my wife." The Scripture says,
"Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
Abnormal things are from the devil.
We must drive him out. If not, he will
attack us. Only when we expel him,
will he run away. That's why as soon
as the Lord came to this world and began
His ministry, He drove out demons.
To our surprise, demons entice us into
a trap and lead us astray in our lives.
Martin Luther prayed every morning,
"Lord, please lead me not into temptation,
but deliver me from evil." The devil comes
to steal from, kill, and destroy us every day.혻
That's why the Lord told us that we
should pray, "Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil." Likewise,
the devil tempts and attacks us every day.
We must not disregard him, but pray,
"Lead us not into temptation," and we
must drive out the devil. Whenever we
stand up or sit down, we must expel
the temptation and attack of the devil.
Then, the Lord will set us free, and
give us liberty. When we finish praying,
we should praise God. His kingdom and
sovereignty belong to Him. We should
finish praying, by praising, "For thine is
the kingdom, and the power, and the glory
forever. Amen." We should worship God,
and pray to Him this way all the time.
God told us to pray about His concern,
"Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed
be Your name. Your kingdom come,
Your will be done on earth, as it is
in heaven." After that, He told us to pray
about our desires. We should ask for
our daily bread and all the requirements
we need each day. We should forgive
our neighbor, for He will forgive us
as we forgive our neighbor. We should
always pray not to be led into temptation.
We must drive out the devil. We should
pray, "Lead us not into temptation, but
deliver us from the evil one." We must
resist the devil, for when we do, we will
enjoy good health and all will go well
with us, even as our soul is getting along
well. When we pray about God's concern
first, He will surely answer our prayers.
So, may you pray with unshakable faith.


Now, shall we pray together? Dear God
our Father of great love! We praise You
who are in the highest place. Please, let
Your kingdom always be in our church
and the hearts of the saints, and let
Your will be done completely. Today,
we ask You to give us faith, hope, and
love in our hearts. Bless our daily lives,
heal us, deliver us from temptation, set
us free from the devil, and bless us,
so that we will live victorious lives.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.