When I was 23, I worked in an art gallery in Philadelphia. I lived in an apartment in the corner of the dimly lit cockroach-infested bowels of a large, old apartment building. The only other apartment near me was occupied by a small time thug who occasionally asked me if I'd like a new (stolen) TV, or if I'd mind keeping his gun in my place for a few days (no thanks). When coming home to my apartment, I was always afraid that someone would lurch out of the shadows in the basement and stab me.

I had 3 locks on my door.

One evening after work, when I opened the door my blood ran cold. There on top of my couch sat a gigantic cat. It leapt from the couch like a banshee and rocketed past me into the shadows of the basement. Heart pounding, I locked the door behind me. How did this demonic specter get into my apartment?

The next morning after unlatching my 3 locks, I opened the inside door and was about to open the outer door, which had slats, much like a window shutter. Glancing down I saw a dark shape the size of a large groundhog. It was the tomcat, crouching, patiently waiting to dart in when I opened the door...

Sin and temptation are always lurking at the door, waiting for an opportunity to pounce on us. God told Cain "...sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it." (Genesis 4:7)

That's why Jesus told us to pray regularly, "Lead us not into temptation" (Luke 11:4).

When we pray this, we are confessing our weakness to God. We are saying, "Father, I am so prone to sin, I’m asking that you would spare me from being tempted. You know how weak I am. Please don't even let me be exposed to temptation. Please keep me from falling into sin. Please deliver me from the snares of the enemy.”

Don't ever underestimate the power of sin to tempt and entrap you. Don't ever think you are incapable of falling into certain sins. Don’t ever look down on someone else who has fallen into sin and say I would never do that. Apart from God’s grace, we are all capable of any sin. We are prone to wander.

Adam and Eve had no sin nature, no inward tendency to sin, yet they gave in to Satan's enticements. The great serpent has been studying the human race for thousands of years. He knows every trick in the book. He knows every chink in our armor and where we are most prone to sin. Do you think you are smarter than him?

The hymn Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing aptly describes our vulnerability to sin:

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

We are prone to wander from the God we love. So we must regularly pray "lead us not into temptation."

But not only should we pray for ourselves, but for others. Jesus used the plural in his teaching: "Lead US not into temptation." So pray for others. If you're married, ask the Lord to deliver your spouse and children from temptation and sin. Ask God to deliver your pastors from temptation. Ask him to keep them humble and pure. Pray for fellow believers.

In case you are wondering what happened to the cat...

I went to the kitchen, got a large glass of water, then pitched it through the slats of the outer door, drenching him. He screeched like the Wicked Witch of the West, then tore off. But he was back again the next morning, crouching, waiting. After about 4 days of cold showers, I didn't see him again. But from then on, I always checked for him before opening the door.

Last week one of my sons didn't clean up his room. So I kicked him out of the family.

"Get out, and don't come back!" I shouted as I slammed the door. "That's the last time you'll skip your chores around here!" I fumed.

Just kidding. Please don't call the authorities and have me arrested.

When my children fail in some way or sin against me, I don't eject them from the family. That will never happen. But their offenses can strain our fellowship until they ask forgiveness. That's why Jesus taught us in "The Lord's Prayer" that we should pray: "And forgive us our sins..."(Luke 11:4).

But didn't Christ pay for all believers' sins on the cross? Yes, but he still tells us we should regularly ask our Father to forgive us.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

God has adopted us who come to Him through Christ into his family and will never cast us out. But sin mars our fellowship with him. When we confess our sins, God cleanses us afresh by the blood of Christ and removes all unrighteousness, thus restoring our fellowship. Sin is like bugs and dirt on our windshield – it hinders our vision. When we confess our sins, God wipes the windshield clean and we can see him more clearly.

Not only did Jesus instruct us to ask our Father to forgive us, he commands that we forgive others as well: "And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us" (Luke 11:4).

Have you ever been offended at anyone? You know how it is when someone insults you or treats you unjustly. Sometimes you can't stop your mind from churning and rehearsing and replaying the event. "I should have said this. I should have done that. I'm going to buy a book of insulting comebacks. I'm going to study Winston Churchill's witty put downs. Next time I see them I'll say, "Oh yeah? In your face!"

But Jesus said, "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matthew 6:14-15). Forgiving others, even our enemies, is not an option.

Why? Because God has forgiven us our sins against him, which are worse than anyone's sins against us. He's forgiven us a million dollar debt, so we should forgive the one who owes us $5. If we don’t have a heart to forgive others, why should we expect God to forgive us?

But what if someone commits an enormous sin against me?

What helps me is to remember that I murdered Christ. I spit in the face of the infinitely Holy God. I rejected my loving Creator. For my sins to be forgiven it required God's Son to be bloodied and beaten. My sins brought God's wrath upon Jesus' head. No one’s sins against me are that bad.
I deserve to be sinned against, then go to hell for eternity. No matter what anyone does to me, I’ve done worse to God.

So when you are praying and you remember someone has sinned against you, forgive them. You may need to ask God for grace to do this. But you have no other option. Though that person's crime against you returns every 5 minutes like a deer fly buzzing around your head, affirm your forgiveness. Pray again, "Father, in Jesus' name I forgive them! " Even if you have forgive 50 times a day, keep forgiving.

Has someone offended you? Do you need to forgive someone? Ask God to forgive them right now. It's the path to Christ's joy.

I used to think that God was so busy managing the cosmos, he didn't have time for my peewee concerns.

I thought that if I asked him for money to pay the bills, he'd shout down at me, "Can't you see I'm directing the destinies of nations? Away with you and your petty requests."

Jesus taught us that when we pray we should make our Father's honor and kingdom our first concerns. But our Father who is both rich and generous also wants us to bring our daily needs to him.

In Luke 11:3 Jesus taught us to pray, “Give us each day our daily bread". What could be more down to earth than bread?

R. Kent Hughes says, “We are not to use the Niemann Marcus catalog as our daily devotional guide. One of the sweet realities of our prayer life is that God cares about the simple, day-to-day needs of life. He cares whether his children are warm, fed, and housed. He is concerned for our well-being, including those things necessary to maintain a whole, happy family.”

God doesn’t limit us to praying for big things – he invites us to ask him for a new coat or new tires, money for groceries or tuition or vacation.

Here is an amazing truth: God gets glory by meeting our smallest needs. God's sign reads: "No job too big, no job too small."

My friend Bob bought a "new" used truck. His previous truck bed was 7 feet long but the new one was 6. This rendered his 7-foot truck cap 1 foot too long for his new truck. So he prayed about the situation. The audacity - praying about a truck cap. Doesn't God have enough on his mind without being bothered about Bob's truck cap? One day Bob saw a truck pull into the parking lot where he works. He noticed that the cap on that truck's 7-foot bed was a foot too short. So Bob approached the man, whom he'd never met, to ask him if he'd be interested in a swap. Amazingly, both Bob's cap and this man's cap were the same brand and both fairly new. They were able to trade caps and each fit perfectly.

One of the ladies at a "Caring Sisters" party in our church shared how the Lord used her sister in Christ to give her very specific gifts that she had secretly desired, but could not afford. Among them: a pair of earrings on the day she came to church with none on; a new watch when she hoped for one; and a spoon rest after a fleeting desire for one had crossed her mind in her kitchen that week. God gave her a spoon rest! How specifically and tenderly the Lord cares for us! And if he provides these material things, think how eager He is to meet us in our souls. (Thanks to Sarah B for sharing this).

We need daily provisions of wisdom, strength, joy. God invites us to make our requests known to him and bring our needs to him. So seek first God's glory and his kingdom, then ask him for whatever you need each day. And watch him provide!

When we pray, we're tempted to start dumping our needs on God, like a scene from the movie "What About Bob" - "Gimme, gimme, gimme, I need, I need, I need." I'm glad that our Father isn't like the movie's Dr. Leo Marvin, always trying to get rid of us. Our Father, who is both rich and generous, invites us to bring our needs and desires to him.

When Jesus taught the "Lord's Prayer", he encouraged us to seek God's interests first, instead of always beginning with our laundry list of requests. Jesus instructed us to begin by "hallowing" or honoring our Father's Name - to worship him for all that he is and does - and pray that his name be glorified in all the earth. And one of the primary ways God is glorified is by the coming of his kingdom.

That's why Jesus taught us to pray, "Your kingdom come." (Luke 11:2). As God's kingdom comes, he is seen as great, powerful, merciful and glorious.

God's kingdom is his rule. When we pray for his kingdom to come we pray that our Father would bring his rule into the world, particularly into people's hearts and lives. When God saves us, he begins to rule us. And as he rules us, he transforms us into the likeness of Christ, and he is glorified.

Let's pray that the gospel will spread and multitudes of sinners will be saved. Let's ask the Lord of the harvest to raise up laborers. Let's pray for the salvation of our family members and friends. And pray that our Lord will rescue thousands in our localities.

Let's pray that God will bring an end to the wickedness of the wicked. Pray that he will remove governments and leaders that persecute his people and replace them with those favorable to the gospel.

Let's pray for the persecuted church. Pray that God will cause many of his saints to find favor in their captors' eyes and get to return to their families. Pray that our Father will give those who continue to suffer strength, joy, hope and the grace to love their persecutors.

When we pray for these things we are praying for God's kingdom rule to come.

Put God's interests first and he will provide for you.

Jesus said, "Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you" (Matthew 6:31-33).

If we put God and his rule first, he'll take care of our needs like food and clothing. I always figure that if I spend time praying for God's concerns and don't get around to mine, my Father will take care of me. And he's always been faithful.

Our Tuesday post said that we can expand our prayer lives by using the pattern Jesus gave us for prayer, the Lord's prayer.

Each section of the Lord's prayer is like a peg to hang our prayers on. R. Kent Hughes points out that prayer has a vertical aspect and a horizontal aspect. The vertical has to do with God and his concerns, the horizontal with us and our concerns. In Luke 11, Jesus tells us to focus first on God with the revolutionary address, "Father."

Believers are adopted into God's family through Christ's life, death and resurrection. If you have trusted in Jesus for salvation, God is now your Father. And he is eager and willing for you to come to him.

The aim of prayer: God’s glory

Jesus instructs us to pray, “Hallowed be your name.”

God’s name stands for who he is and all that he is. He is infinitely holy, glorious, majestic, just, sovereign, mighty, loving and wise.

When we pray “Hallowed be your name” we are saying: Father, let your name be held holy and treated with reverence in every place. In other words, Father, let your name be honored and worshipped in all the earth. Let everyone on earth see what a glorious God you are. We are asking God to fulfill Habakkuk 2:14: "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." So when we pray "Hallowed be your name" we are praying Father, let the knowledge that you are glorious fill the earth. Let all people know what you are like - infinite in beauty, righteousness, goodness and strength.

God’s glory is infinitely more important than any of our personal needs. So before bringing our own concerns to the table, we should pray that God would fulfill his greatest concern – that his name be glorified for the enjoyment of all people. If we make God's concerns our top priority, he will surely look to our concerns.

Imagine a son who always comes to his father asking for things: "Dad, can I have $5? Can I borrow the car? Can I use your camera? Dad, I need a new ball glove." Most fathers would probably want to bless their sons with these things. But how different it would be if a son came and said, "Dad, what would you desire today? Is there anything on your heart I could go after? Anything I can do for you?" Imagine how pleased that father would be and how eager to bless his son.

So when we pray, let us come to our loving Father, who is rich and eager to bless us. Let us first worship and adore him and seek the advancement of his glory. Then let us ask God to meet our needs and supply our daily bread.

Make God's glory the aim of your prayers today!

Do you get distracted when you are praying? Or do you find that after 5 minutes you’re out of things to pray about?

If you’d like to expand your prayer life, try using the Lord’s prayer as a pattern. Jesus never intended this prayer to be memorized and spouted off word for word in rote fashion. We know this because the version in Matthew 6 is worded slightly differently than in Luke 11. Jesus gave this “prayer” to us as a pattern or outline. You can think of each section as a peg to hang your prayers on. I once heard a man suggest to view each section like a marker in a cross-country race. When you pass each marker, you move into a different theme.

The Lord’s prayer has 2 dimensions – a vertical dimension and a horizontal dimension (R.K. Hughes). The vertical dimension has to do with God and his concerns - his glory, his kingdom. The horizontal dimension has to do with us and our concerns - for food, forgiveness, and strength.

Today we’ll start looking at the vertical dimension.

Who we pray to: Father

And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father…” (Luke 11:2. Compare to Matthew 6 – “Our Father”)

A revolutionary concept

Though the idea of God as Father is in the Old Testament, OT believers didn’t address God directly as “Father”. In all of the Psalms, there is not a single prayer to God as Father. The Psalmists address God as “O Lord,” “O My God,” “O God,” “O Most High.” Even David, the man after God’s own heart, didn’t pray to God as his Father. King David himself didn’t have the intimate relationship with God as Father that we can have through Christ.

Through his life, death and resurrection, Jesus has brought believers into a relationship with God as Father! Through Christ, God adopts us as his own children. We’re in the family!

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (Romans 8:15-17).

Jesus mission was to live and die to redeem sinners, but it also included revealing God as Father.

What a privilege! To know and come to God as our Father!

How close and intimate God desires to be to his children. Although it is appropriate to pray to God as “O Most High,” that doesn’t convey the same sense as “Father”. Before Jesus saved me, I would pray to “God” but he seemed far off and distant. I’m so grateful that Jesus shed his blood to bring me to God as my Father.

As our Father, God is full of tender compassion to us. He is eager for us to come to him. He delights to fellowship with his children and to bless us with good things. As a loving Father he cares for our well-being and desires to hear our requests and meet our needs.

Are you suffering today? Do you need help overcoming sin? Do you desire to be filled with God’s Spirit and joy and strength? Do you need wisdom? Come to your loving Father with all your requests, casting all your cares upon him because he cares for you.

Puritan preacher John Flavel says that it is exceedingly pleasant to see God's providential answers to prayer that come long after we have given up any hope or expectation of an answer (though we should never give up). Job had given up any expectation of better days. Jacob had given up any expectation of ever seeing Joseph again, yet God providentially answered their prayers which they had given up hoping for.

"Cast your bread on the waters, for you shall find it after many days." Ecclesiastes 11:1.

It may be many days before our bread comes back to us - it may be many days before our prayers are answered. But God encourages us to keeping casting our bread on the waters. The promise is that we SHALL FIND IT. And we shall find it AFTER MANY DAYS. So keep casting your prayers upon God. Don't' quit hoping for an answer. It may take a long time, but God will be faithful.

My mother had rheumatoid arthritis for 16 years. We prayed fervently for her in the beginning, laying hands on her and anointing her with oil. But I must sadly admit that after a while, I grew less expectant and less frequent in my prayers for her.

One day Mom became so ill her doctor sent her to the hospital, her potassium levels completely out of whack. He told her she would have to go off all her medications, including those she was taking for rheumatoid arthritis, until they got her stabilized. She was fearful about stopping but had no other choice. After a few days the doctors finally got Mom's potassium levels back to normal. By that time she was feeling so good she decided not to resume her arthritis medication. She never had to take it again. God healed her. Her doctor told her that she was in remission - he wouldn't call it a healing - but he did say that it was rare for a woman in her 70's with rheumatoid arthritis to suddenly go into remission. God answered our prayers that we had prayed 16 years earlier but had given up hope of ever seeing answered.

Don't stop casting your bread on the waters, for you SHALL find it after many days. Don't quit praying for God's kingdom to come. Don't stop praying for your children, relatives and friends to be saved. Never cease interceding for persecuted saints. Don't stop asking God to heal people. Don't stop casting your cares upon the Lord, for he cares for you.

The more bread we cast on the waters, the more will eventually return to us. The more prayers we lift to the Lord, the more he will eventually answer. It may be many days, or many years, but somehow, every crumb we cast on the waters will come back to us. That's God's promise.