Do You Say or Pray The Lord’s Prayer? by Karl Heinrich von Bogatzky (1690—1774)

Do You Say or Pray The Lord’s Prayer?

“When you pray, say: ‘Our Father'” Luke 11:2

“You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss.” James 4:3

Many say the Lord’s Prayer* (Matt 6:9-12, Luke 11:2-4), who do not pray it! They (like Augustine, before his conversion, when he prayed for chastity) are afraid lest God should say, “Amen,” or, “So be it,” though they themselves will say so.  

They Say. . .

• “Our Father,” but if He is their Father, where is His honor?
• “in Heaven,” but if they believed it, how dare they sin as they do upon earth?
• “Hallowed be Your name,” yet take God’s name in vain.
• “Your kingdom come,” yet oppose the coming of His kingdom.
• “Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven,” yet will not stand to their words, for “This is the will of God, their sanctification,” but they want none of that.
• “Give us day by day our daily bread,” yet mind not the feeding of their souls with “the bread” (Christ Jesus) “which came down from Heaven.”
• “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us,” but, alas! If God should take them at their word, how miserable were they whose hearts burn with malice and revenge!
• “Do not lead us into temptation,” yet run into it, and tempt Satan himself to tempt them.
• “Deliver us from the evil one,” and yet deliver themselves to evil and give up themselves “to fulfill the lust of the flesh.”

Reader, how often have you been guilty of such vain petitions and repetitions? Wonder not, if you pray in such a manner as this, that you receive nothing. Pray for grace, that you may pray sincerely and successfully.

A Devotion by Karl Heinrich von Bogatzky (1690—1774), Read more Hope for Today Devotions

*From Reasons for Hope* Jesus:  While the Matthew 6/Luke 11 prayer has traditionally been called “The Lord’s Prayer,” it is not Jesus’ prayer.  The words in Matthew 6 and Luke 11 are instruction about how to pray that Jesus gave to His disciples in response to their request that He teach them how to pray. The real Lord’s Prayer is found in John 17, and it’s often called The High Priestly Prayer.  These are the words of Jesus that He prayed to His Father in Heaven.