HH Sir Godfrey Gregg D.Div

I want to look at the Lord’s prayer

The Lord’s prayer (how Jesus taught us to pray) contains a line that says “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. An essential part of praying is submission to God’s will. God values qualities such as humility and brokenness.

God hates arrogance and presumption.

I would much rather pray, “Lord if it is your will, please work things out in your sovereignty so that I can get this job. Show me what I need to do in order to put my faith into action.” That’s humility before God and utter dependence on him. It also displays an understanding of how God works. “I decree and declare that this job is mine” sounds a bit more arrogant because it presumes authority that we do not really have. It also does not seem concerned whether this job is indeed God’s will. I would much rather pray the way Jesus taught me to pray, even if certain cliques in the church think I am less spiritual than they are. That’s OK, I would rather be scriptural. It is still possible to pray persistently and violently without resorting to decreeing and declaring.

Another reason I prefer to pray in the traditional way is that I don’t see anyone in the bible praying “declarations”. It’s just not there. Many of Paul’s prayers are recorded in his epistles. I cannot think of a single place where he decreed and declared anything. God gave him a thorn in his flesh – a messenger of Satan to buffet him. On three occasions he pleaded with God to remove it. But God refused and that was the end of it. Paul never decreed and declared that the thorn would be removed. He never spoke to it, he merely petitioned God. If this were someone other than Paul, they would have been castigated for their lack of spiritual maturity evident through their poor vocabulary. When he understood that it was not God’s will for it to be removed, he left it at that. God did not deliver him but gave him an understanding of the situation – understanding which helped Paul deal with the trial.

The devil cannot possess Christians, but he can attack us in other ways. If the devil is “buffeting” you, first pray for God to lead us not into temptation, i.e. examine if there is any unconfessed sin in your life. Then pray to God to deliver you from the evil one. If God chooses not to, then ask for understanding of what he is trying to accomplish. This is how Jesus taught us to pray, and notice how far removed it is from decreeing and declaring.

This is an opportune time for us to get back to praying and pray the way that Jesus taught us to pray according to His word. This is our moment and time to do what is right and get back in our lane and walk right.