DN Applying the Disciples' Prayer 3/31/2006
- From: Peter G. Chase <pchase1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2006 01:32:43 -0500
DRAWING NEAR
March 31
Applying the Disciples' Prayer
"Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.
Amen" (Matt. 6:13).
The implications of the Disciples' Prayer are profound and far
-reaching. An unknown author put it this way:
I cannot say "our" if I live only for myself in a spiritual,
watertight compartment. I cannot say "Father" if I do not
endeavor each day to act like His child. I cannot say "who art
in heaven" if I am laying up no treasure there.
I cannot say "hallowed be Thy name" if I am not striving for
holiness. I cannot say "Thy kingdom come" if I am not doing all
in my power to hasten that wonderful day. I cannot say "Thy will
be done" if I am disobedient to His Word. I cannot say "in earth
as it is in heaven" if I will not serve Him here and now.
I cannot say "give us . . . our daily bread" if I am dishonest
or an "under the counter" shopper. I cannot say "forgive us our
debts" if I harbor a grudge against anyone. I cannot say "lead
us not into temptation" if I deliberately place myself in its
path. I cannot say "deliver us from evil" if I do not put on the
whole armor of God.
I cannot say "thine is the kingdom" if I do not give to the King
the loyalty due Him as a faithful subject. I cannot attribute to
Him "the power" if I fear what men may do. I cannot ascribe to
Him "the glory" if I am seeking honor only for myself. I cannot
say "forever" if the horizon of my life is bounded completely by
the things of time.
As you learn to apply to your own life the principles in this
marvelous prayer, I pray that God's kingdom will be your focus, His
glory your goal, and His power your strength. Only then will our
Lord's doxology be the continual song of your heart: "Thine is the
kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen" (v. 13).
Suggestions for Prayer:
Ask God to use what you've learned from the Disciples' Prayer to
transform your prayers.
For Further Study:
Read John 17, noting the priorities Jesus stressed in prayer.
Drawing Near, Copyright c 1993 John F. MacArthur, Jr.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
http://www.gty.org
~~~
John 17 (NKJV)
17:1 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and
said: "Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son
also may glorify You,
2 "as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should
give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.
3 "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true
God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
4 "I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which
You have given Me to do.
5 "And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the
glory which I had with You before the world was.
6 "I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out
of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have
kept Your word.
7 "Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are
from You.
8 "For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and
they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from
You; and they have believed that You sent Me.
9 "I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom
You have given Me, for they are Yours.
10 "And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified
in them.
11 "Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and
I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You
have given Me, that they may be one as We are.
12 "While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name.
Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except
the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
13 "But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world,
that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves.
14 "I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them
because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
15 "I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but
that You should keep them from the evil one.
16 "They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
17 "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.
18 "As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the
world.
19 "And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be
sanctified by the truth.
20 "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will
believe in Me through their word;
21 "that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in
You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that
You sent Me.
22 "And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may
be one just as We are one:
23 "I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one,
and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved
them as You have loved Me.
24 "Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me
where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me;
for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
25 "O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have
known You; and these have known that You sent Me.
26 "And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that
the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."
~~~
These devotions are posted with permission from John MacArthur's
first (1993) devotional work, _Drawing Near_, and they are also sent
out daily for free to several folks via e-mail.
In addition, John's second (1997) devotional, _Strength for Today_,
is also available free via e-mail only. _Strength for Today_ follows
the same format as what you have seen here from _Drawing Near_, but
with different monthly themes.
If you would like to receive daily devotions via e-mail from either
of these series, just let me know (via e-mail), and I will gladly add
you to the list(s) of your choice.
You can hear John MacArthur daily via the Internet by visiting:
http://www2.oneplace.com/Ministries/Grace_to_You/
and
http://www.gty.org.uk/
You may email John MacArthur in care of Grace to You at:
letters@xxxxxxx
NOTE for those of you reading via newsgroups: If you wish to reach
me, please contact me via e-mail for quickest results.
In Christ,
Peter
Peter G. Chase :: Columbus, Ohio, USA
pchase1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
STOP! Who do you think Jesus is?
http://www.gty.org/Gospel
http://www.gty.org/
http://www.nwbible.org/
To forgive is to set a prisoner free, and to discover that the prisoner was you. -Alistair Begg
.
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