October 15 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading:

Matthew 6:1-15

¹Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
²Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
³But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
⁴That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
⁵And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
⁶But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
⁷But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
⁸Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
⁹After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
¹⁰Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
¹¹Give us this day our daily bread.
¹²And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
¹³And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
¹⁴For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
¹⁵But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Devotional:

Through the years probably the most repeated prayer in the Christian Church has been the one the Saviour taught His disciples to pray, the Pater Noster, the 'Our Father.'

How many who glibly repeat this prayer have taken note of the way in which Jesus uses the possessive adjective our? Look back to verse 6 and see where He tells the believer to pray to 'thy Father.' Then in verse 8 He speaks to them concerning 'your Father.' As He presents the sample or model prayer in verse 9 he bids them pray, 'Our Father.' Do you see that He is nowhere classifying Himself with them as being children of God together in the same sense. He is being scrupulous about this!

More striking still is the scene in the garden outside the empty tomb. He tells Mary not to touch Him. He says, 'I ascend unto my Father and your Father; and to my God, and your God* (John 20:17). Within the Trinity there is God the Father and there is Jesus Christ, the Son. Scripture tells us that Jesus is the only-begotten Son of the Father. At the same time, as one of the persons of the Trinity, Jesus is Himself God! In that mysterious unity and diversity Christ assures us of His eternal Sonship and at the same time of His voluntary submission to the eternal Father.

We cannot be allowed to regard our Father and our God in the same way that Jesus does! We who are sinful creatures can call God 'our Father' only by His grace. We have become His children by adoption, through His act of love in giving His only-begotten Son to die on our behalf.

When the world would vainly attempt to humanize God the Son, Christians must be very careful to maintain the distinction He has drawn. Jesus did not pray the Lord's prayer, but by His life and death He made it possible for us to pray it! Our Father! Pater Noster!