Short articles of the, "Yes Jesus" Book on prayer. # 51

 

Jesus said, “This, then, is how you should pray:

“Our Father who art in Heaven”

 

If a son asks a father for something, saying, “My father,” he alone will be the recipient of the answer to his prayers. It has been recorded that sons have to compete with their brothers to get an advantage one over the other.

Cain murdered his brother Abel because he competed with Abel and God accepted Abel but Cain was rejected. God’s will divides people and makes true friends and true enemies. 

The civil rivalry between brothers is as old as walking on foot. The descendants of Abraham were Ishmael (the Ishmaelite Arabs) and Isaac (the Israelites or the Jews) who are true enemies to this day. The descendants of Isaac, Esau (Herod the Edomite) and Jacob (Jesus of Nazareth) were true enemies, and Herod sought to kill Jesus, his enemy. 

Our Lord’s Prayer in John 17 is designed for unity among believers in order to do away with the competition among brothers for advantage one over the other. When believers compete, there is no spiritual growth. When elephants fight, the grass dies.

Jesus wants His disciples to come to God in prayer in groups of at least two or three, even more, but first having reached an agreement about what they would ask of God according to His will, having renounced their own will and praying according to God’s terms and conditions: “Our Father who art in Heaven.” “Our,” not “My Father”. Basically, prayer promotes unity and sweet fellowship pleasing to God.

This fellowship of love is the only way for believers to be known as the disciples of Jesus. “By your love for one another they will know that you are my disciples.” This is to say that we will be known as a community of believers who have renounced their wills, died to themselves, and are living in discipline according to God’s will.

Our short testimony is to say together: Our Father who art in Heaven. # 51

This is the teaching elder on duty in matters of Prayer.

 

Gerry Gutierrez.