The Universality of Prayer — Stephen Kaung

The Lord’s Prayer and Its Divine Order

The Gospel according to Matthew chapter 6, we'll read from verse 9 through verse 13. Thus therefore pray ye, our Father, who art in the heavens, let thy name be sanctified. Let thy kingdom come, that thy will be done, as in heaven, so upon the earth.

Give us today our needed bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but save us from evil. We have been sharing together on the so-called Lord's Prayer.

We mentioned at the very outset that this is the prayer that our Lord Jesus taught his disciples to pray. And yet we call it the Lord's Prayer, because we do believe that our Lord Jesus would never teach us anything that which he himself does not practice.

So evidently it is the Lord's Prayer. It is the prayer that our Lord Jesus prayed while he was on earth. And it is the prayer that he wants his people to join with him in praying. We mentioned that this Lord's Prayer is based upon a relationship, because it begins with our Father who art in the heavens.

We can pray because he is our Father. And when we pray in this manner, it is more than because he is our Father, but because we as his children have grown up. And we begin to understand his thought. And we begin to share with his burden.

So that's the reason why you find when we first believe in the Lord Jesus, we do pray. At the moment we all say we cry out, our Father. Prayer is natural to us. It is our right. It is an enjoyment to us as God's children.

But we will notice that in the beginning when we pray, we pray as babes in Christ. And as babes in Christ, of course, all that we are interested in with our Father is to receive something from him. Our prayer is rather self-centered, self-interest, but this is the initial stage of our being God's children.

But as we grow up in the Lord, as we are disciples to Christ, as we begin to be under the discipline of the Holy Spirit, as we learn to know him more, then our Lord Jesus said, our prayer shall have a change.

In other words, our prayer should not be centered upon our needs, but our prayer should be centered upon God's purpose. We should not be self-centered in our prayer life. We should be more God-centered in our prayer life.

So in a sense, this Lord's Prayer that our Lord Jesus teaches his disciples to pray, is not everyone who is a child of God is able to pray in this manner. We may have recited this prayer from our childhood.

We may know the words intimately, but oftentimes we just repeat the words. But we do not really understand what we are praying. We do not enter into that prayer as we should. And because of that, that prayer doesn't mean much to us.

But we must remember that this is a prayer that our Lord Jesus teaches his church to pray. He teaches those children of God who have become the disciples of Christ. Those who are grown up to understand the Father, and to stand with the Father in his purpose.

And it is upon that we pray our Father who art in the heavens. We mentioned at the very beginning that in the original Greek you'll find it is our Father who art in the heavens. It is in plural number.

And we believe that it tells us that our Father who is not only in the third heaven where his throne is, but our Father is in the second heaven where the stars are, and our Father is in the first heaven where the air is.

In other words, no matter what happens in whatever heaven it may be, there is our Father, and there is he with us. A sparrow falls into the ground not without your Father's permission. But in the original, we do not have the word permission.

We say it, not a sparrow will fall into the ground without the Father. In other words, not only the Father permits that sparrow to fall, but as that sparrow falls, he actually comes down with that sparrow.

He has never left us nor forsaken us. So brothers and sisters, we do see that our Father is the Father in the heavens. He is in control over all things. No matter what happens to us, there he is with us.

And it is to this Father that we are praying. In the Lord's Prayer you'll find the primary subject of prayer is not our need. It is our Father's need. In other words, we stand on the side of our Heavenly Father and pray, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, and Thy name be hallowed.

It is His name, His kingdom, and His will. Now we know that the will of the Father prevails in heaven. He has all these angelic hosts executing His will. And we know His kingdom is supreme in the heaven, because there in the heaven He rules supreme.

Everything is under Him, and everything there in heaven takes up His character. And also we know in heaven His name is always. Wherever in the Bible you'll find people see the heavens open, and caught a vision of heaven.

You will hear the cry of the living beast, the seraphim, the cherubim. They are crying out, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty. There His name is always honored. There His name is unchallenged. There His name is respected, stands alone, above everything unique, special.

That is the name of our Lord Jesus in heaven. But unfortunately, we find this is not true on earth yet. One day it will be true. One day His name shall be hallowed on earth as it is in heaven. One day His kingdom will come upon this earth as it is in heaven.

And one day His will will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We know it is coming, and is coming very rapidly. But today, we find it is not yet universally true. And unfortunately, it is not even universally true in the church.

No, no, the church is where His name should be hallowed. The church is where His kingdom really is. And the church is where His will is being done. That is what God wants the church to be. That is what the church ought to be.

But unfortunately, we find that as the church of God, as His people, oftentimes His name is not honored. On the contrary, we find we bring disgrace. Sometimes we put His name's evil to ourselves, to other people, even to a thing.

We make Him common. We profane Him. And that is a very unfortunate thing. And for this reason, we need to pray this prayer, that His name be honored, hallowed, in the midst of the church. And then, of course, through the church, His name will be honored throughout the whole universe.

And the same thing is true with His kingdom. Are we really characterized by His character? Wherever He rules, His character will be characterizing us. But is it true with us? Are we manifesting the character of God?

Instead, we manifest our own character. How we need a transformation, how we need a kingdom to be supreme in our lives. And for this reason, again, we have to pray, Thy kingdom come. Not only His kingdom will come one day in the future on earth, but we pray that His kingdom will be a reality in us today.

And the same thing with His will. His will is done in heaven. And we are supposed to be a people who do His will. But oftentimes we do our own will. And we need to pray that not my will, but Thy will be done.

So, in other words, brothers and sisters, as God's people, as the church of God, we need to stand with God and pray this prayer. And if we do pray in this manner, it shows that we do stand for God's glory.

We do stand for God's right. We do stand for Him. And as we pray, the Holy Spirit first will begin to work in our lives. And make all these real in us. Now, we mention also that whenever the Holy Spirit works in our lives, the cross will be the mark.

You cannot find the working of the Holy Spirit without leaving the mark of the cross. How our self-life must be crucified in order that He may increase and we decrease. So, this is the centrality of prayer.

The very center of the Lord's prayer. And hopefully that we may take it to heart. Now, this morning we will come into what we call the universality of prayer. In other words, after we have prayed Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven, Thy name be hallowed, then the Lord Jesus said, we shall continue to pray.

Daily Bread, Dependence, and the Needs of the Church

Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. In this Lord's prayer, you find a divine order. And that divine order is, we need to pray for His name, His kingdom, His will first.

And then we pray for our need, for us, for ourselves. Now, often times we find in our prayer, we reverse the order. Or we just have the last part and never really touch the first part. In our prayer, we always put ourselves first.

Our needed bread. Our sound soul. A good spirit. And this is what we really are interested in. We are so self-centered people. And we need to deliver from that. And put God first. You know, in our Christian life, a priority is a very important thing.

Life is so complicated. Life is filled with so many things. There are so many businesses that we have to attain to. And our time is just limited, so short. That's the reason why you'll find priority is a very important factor in our Christian life.

If we do not have the right priority, we find that we will be led astray. But if we really set the priority right, then the direction of our life will be correct. Now, unfortunately, we find among God's people, we do not set our priority right.

And because of that, how much we do suffer. And how much God suffers because of us. You know, in the so-called Sermon on the Mount, you'll find our Lord Jesus said, before you ask these things, your Father has already known.

In other words, our Heavenly Father, He knows what we need. Before even we ask. And that's the reason why the Lord Jesus said, do not worry. Do not be careful. Do not be anxious about your life, what you should eat.

Do not be careful about your body, what you should drink, what you should be close with. These are the things that the nations, the Gentiles, they seek after. But certainly not you, because your Heavenly Father knows that you need these things.

Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness, and all these things shall be added. You know, you cannot blame the world, the nations, the Gentiles, to seek after these things. What they should eat, what they should drink, what they should be close with, they have to seek after these things.

Why? Because there is nobody else to take care of them. And if they don't seek for them, they won't have them. But this is not true with us, who are God's children. We have a Heavenly Father, and our Heavenly Father knows that we need these things, and certainly He will take care of us.

And therefore, it is not right for us to seek these things. You know, with the people of the world, they are not contented with just having their necessity met. They want to live a luxurious living. They want something more than is necessary.

And because they want something more than is necessary, they are never contented, satisfied, and that's the reason why they fall into all kinds of temptations, and they lie down in sorrows. But we, as God's children, the Bible tells us that Godliness with contentment is great gain.

In other words, we know that our Heavenly Father will supply all our needs, and we are contented to have our meat net. We are not trying to live in such a luxurious way of life, because we are pilgrims and strangers upon this earth.

Now, if this earth is our permanent home, then we have to decorate it in such a way that we really enjoy to the uttermost. But as strangers and pilgrims, we are just passing by. You may be here today, you may not be here tomorrow.

This is not our home, and because of that, Godliness with contentment is great gain. Seeking first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto us. These things should be added.

These things should not be sought. You know, if we seek the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness first, these things will be added to us. Now, sometimes you think that, why is it that these things are not added?

It is because you are not seeking the Kingdom of God first. You know, there is an example in the Old Testament. You find the children of Israel, a remnant came back from Babylonian captivity. Now, why did they came back?

During the seventy years of Babylonian captivity, you know the Jewish people that were slaves, captured, carried into a foreign country. But even in that foreign country, they live a good life. You know, they began to settle down, and they are good in making money, always.

And there you find they began to have their businesses, to build their houses, and they began to enjoy their life in the strange land. And also you find under the the Babylonian rule, and under the Persian rule, actually they were given a certain degree of liberty, of religious freedom.

Now, if they were not given religious freedom, probably they would not feel that comfortable. But they were given a large amount of religious freedom. They were able to worship God in the land of captivity.

Actually, their captivity healed them of their idol worshiping. And in the land of captivity, they wanted to worship God. But of course, there was no temple. There was no altar, no sacrifice. They couldn't do that, because the temple must be built in Jerusalem on the site that God has chosen, where his name was put there, and you could not offer sacrifices anywhere else.

But there in the land of captivity, they had the freedom to worship, and they wanted to worship. So they invented a most ingenious religious invention, and that is the system of synagogue. You know, the system of synagogue is the most ingenious invention.

Why? Because in the synagogue, you can do anything you want to. You can read the Torah, you can read the prophets, you can sing songs, you can pray prayers, and you can exhort one another. There is perfect liberty in the synagogue.

You know, any Jewish man can stand up and ask a question, or stand up and give an address. You know, it's free. And better than that, if you don't agree with anybody, you just get hold of another nine men of leisure.

That is, another nine Jewish men who have time and who are willing to devote some time for God, you can have your own synagogue of your taste. And you find that as a good way to worship God. You know, you can worship God according to your taste.

Now, isn't that wonderful? So no wonder, after they lived in Babylon for seventy years, when God gave them the opportunity to return to Jerusalem, to rebuild the temple, very few cared to go back. They were God's chosen people.

But there, in the land of captivity, they lived for themselves. They were not an irreligious people. They were very religious. But they lived for themselves. And here you'll find a remnant. They answered the call of God.

They returned to Jerusalem. In other words, you'll find a people who really returned to live for God. They did not live for themselves. They lived for God because Jerusalem was a ruin at that time. There was nothing there.

But they went back to rebuild the temple. In other words, they went back for God's name, for His kingdom, for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. And what a glory it is. But even with that people, when they met a little opposition, they gave up.

They gave up building the temple. They said, this is not the time to do that. It is not convenient. They do not give up completely building the temple. They just say, it is not convenient. We'll wait for a more convenient time and we'll do it.

Time must be occupied. If they are not building the temple, they have to build something and what do they do? They build their own houses. And if you read Haggai, you'll find the houses they built were not just huts.

They built panel houses. You know, they want to live very well. So they began to build their houses. And during those 10 to 15 years, they left the temple there lying in waste and they began to build their houses.

And did they enjoy their lives? If you are in Babylon, you may. But if you are in Jerusalem, you will not. Because here you'll find when the Prophet Haggai was sent by God to them, you know what the Prophet Haggai told them?

He said, consider. You just consider. You sow much, you gain little. You drink, but you are not satisfied. You are clothed, but you do not get a wash. You earn wages, but you earn wages and put in a bag with holes.

In other words, they who are supposed to live for God and when they begin to live for themselves, they did not have the privilege of really enjoying life. God will not allow them to do that. Now that's the mercy of God.

Is it true with God's people today? If you care very little for God, you may be able to love the world and live a pretty comfortable, even luxurious life. But if you love the Lord, and if you do understand that your life belongs to the Lord, and you have to live for Him, and you do have the intention, the heart to do so, and yet somehow your priority is wrong.

Somehow you are trying to build your own houses and leave the house of God in ruin. You know what will happen? You will never be satisfied. Thank God He does not allow you to. Because He wants you to live completely for Him, for His kingdom, for His name, and for His will.

So brothers and sisters, we need to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. You know with the children of Israel, that is true. After they resume the building of the temple, then the Lord set the day and said, now from this day onward it will be different.

You will have abundance. God will open the window of heaven and pour down His blessing, and how true it is. So do not seek for the things. These things, the Gentiles, the unbelievers, they seek after these things.

But these things are below our dignity. Not for us to seek these things. We seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and these things shall be added. And He always adds, if we seek first. Now if this is the case, probably we will have this question.

Now why is it then that the Lord teaches us to pray, give us this day our daily bread? Now isn't it true that He knows what we need beforehand? Is it not true that He will add these things to our soul?

You don't need to ask for these things. Now why should we want us to ask for these things? I think there are several reasons. Number one, the reason why He still wants us to ask, give us this day our daily bread.

It is because He wants us to cultivate a kind of spirit. A spirit of dependence. A spirit of humility. You know, sometimes we may think now, we seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness first. And because we are doing that, we don't need to take care of our daily bread.

You know, He will add unto us. We are too spiritual to bother with these physical material things. And as we are taking that kind of attitude, in a sense we become so spiritually proud, if there is spiritual pride.

You know, we can't be in such a way. We think that now we depend upon our spirituality to get our daily food. Instead I'll depend upon God to give us our daily food. And God doesn't like that. He wants us to always have a sense of dependency.

How we depend upon our Heavenly Father for. Number two, I think the reason is, He said, give us this day our needed. You know, this is the prayer of the church. In other words, the Lord's Prayer is not a personal prayer.

The Lord's Prayer is a corporate prayer. You may not have the need for your daily bread today. But somewhere, your brothers and sisters, members of the body of Christ, may be in need of a daily bread.

And because of that, we cannot be so selfish that when we have our need met, then we just do not pray anymore. We have to remember that we are members of the one body. Brothers and sisters, in the Lord's Prayer, it creates within us a body conscious.

We are not only thinking of our needs. We are thinking of the need of our brothers and sisters throughout. And you know that there's always such a need to pray. We live in such a hostile world. And the world is a sinful world.

And because of that, we find that many places all over the world, there will always be some famine, some hunger, some need. So when we have our need met, thank God for that, do not forget our brothers and sisters in other places in the world.

So that is the reason why we always need to pray this prayer. Number three. Why do we need to pray for our daily need? It is because we have an enemy upon this earth. And this enemy is always trying to starve us.

You know, he tries to wear us out. If not spiritually, then physically. This is one of the ways of the murderer. Satan is the murderer. So you find that we live in this hostile world. And the enemy is always trying to oppress us, to deprive us even of our daily need.

He will make situations so difficult. And it is difficult. You know, for the people of the world, they can do many things that we cannot do. And because we cannot do these unrighteous things, we will find sometimes difficult to make a living.

The enemy is trying to deprive us of our very maintenance. And for this reason, we need to pray. And through prayer, we overcome the enemy. Through prayer, we find that the enemy is not able to deprive us, to wear us out, to starve us to death.

So that is the reason why we need to pray this prayer. And the fourth reason is, when we pray this prayer and have our prayer answered, then it will increase our praises, thanksgiving. You know, when you find your daily met in a marvelous way, then you know no one can do that but your Heavenly Father.

And for that, you are thankful. And you praise God. You glorify His name. So I do believe that there are many reasons why, even after the Lord says, seek ye first, and then all these things shall be added unto you, He still wants us to pray for our daily bread.

Give us this day. God is the supplier of all our needs. Now, brothers and sisters, God is love. You know, before God created man, He created first the things that man would need. You know, He first created the trees, bearing fruit, before He created man.

Because the man He created needed to eat. And there you find all the wonderful fruit in the Garden of Eden. There was plenty, no lack of food. God always provides for His own. And you find that because man sinned, the earth was cursed.

And man had to labor, to toil, for his living. Now the earth still grows wheat, corn, but the earth grows also thorns and thistles. So you have to sweat in order to make a living. And in a sense that's very good because if man is too leisure, he tends to think.

So God puts him to work. So busy, he has no time to think of sin. You know, and here you find he is working for a living. Now even if the earth is cursed, you find there is still plenty upon this earth.

Now why is it today we find food becomes a big problem in the world? It is not because God does not give plenty. It is because of the greatness of the sins. You know, it is the sin of man that deprives people of food.

God always gives plenty. There should be plenty. But here you find on this earth there is hunger, maybe one-half, one-third of the world population lives in hunger, in starvation. Now this ought not to be.

Why? Because this world is under the evil one. You know, and we live under that kind of hostile environment. So we do thank God that he always gives. You know if you read Psalm 104. Psalm 104 is a beautiful psalm.

It tells of how God created all things. And after he has created all things, how he gives food to all things. You know, it says that all look to God when he gives their needs. You know, God is the giver.

And we need to always remember that he is the giver of our daily bread. You know, the world thinks that they earn their bread by their own labor. But we ought not to think that way. We know better. We know that it is true we have to labor.

It is God's will for us to do so. But even if we labor and God does not bless, there will be no food. Or even if you got the food and you don't have the appetite, now you cannot eat. So we do know who is the giver of every good.

And we look to God for our daily food. You know, when we thank God at meals, it is not a ritual. It is not a form. Why is it that when we take meals we give thanks? Because we know who gives us our daily bread.

And we are thankful. And this is what it ought to be. Give us today, brothers and sisters, God wants us to live one day. He says, do not be anxious about tomorrow. Because tomorrow has its own evil. You know the words, every day has its evil.

We live on this evil world. And every day has its evil. Its trials, its temptations, its testings, its tribulations of all kinds, its problems. Every day has something there. So do not borrow tomorrow for today.

Now it makes it unbearable. The Lord wants us to live one day at a time. Just trust. Now that doesn't mean that we cannot plan. You know, it doesn't mean that God wants us to be careless, irresponsible.

Now there are some people in this world who are like that. They live one day at a time, that's true. Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. So why bother tomorrow? Enjoy today. You know, that is not the kind of life God wants us to live.

You know, we can plan. But of course, we know that we can plan. But God is irresponsible. In other words, in the book of James, you find some people say, now I will today or tomorrow go to a certain city and stay there for a year and do business and gain a lot of money.

The Lord says, you do not know where you will be tomorrow. All you need to do is, if the Lord wills, then I will go there. Brothers and sisters, that should be always our attitude. Our attitude is, if the Lord wills.

Our attitude is, we live daily before the Lord, trusting Him that He takes care of tomorrow, as He takes care of today. Now, this kind of life will deprive us, take away from us anxiety. You know, the problem today is people live in a constant pressure of security, of anxiety.

What will happen tomorrow? What will happen ten years from now? We try to accumulate enough for your lifetime, but you do not know how long you will live. Whether ten years will be enough or twenty years will be enough.

And then you find a parable that our Lord Jesus said, that man, he said, well, I have so much and I prepared all things that I need. And he tells his soul, he said, now soul, just rest and enjoy yourself.

You have enough for your whole life. But the Lord said, tonight, you will go. So, brothers and sisters, we need to see, give us today. Don't worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow, we'll take care by God. Today, God will take care of you.

So you are asked for today. Give us this day, our needed. In other words, God promises to give us all that we need. But God has not promised us to give us more day. So do not try to get more. You know, may I say something?

Modern civilization is very convenient in one sense. But in another sense, it really is not conducive to spiritual life. Why? Because it's too complicated. You know, we live with so many things that are not needed.

And actually, these unneeded things are the things that entangle. Now, if we can live a sinful life, you'll find that our life will be much purer, easier, and spiritually conducive. So that is what our Lord Jesus wants us to do.

When we pray, give us this day, our daily bread. On the one hand, it creates in us a spirit of looking to God for our physical need. We know He is our supplier. On the other hand, it gives us a consciousness of the body of Christ.

And at the same time, it does help us to live. You know, this is not just a prayer that you pray. You know, when you pray, it affects you first. Now, do not think that prayer changes God. Prayer never changes God.

Prayer changes you. Now, if a prayer does not change you, it is a prayer of the lips. It is not a prayer of the heart. So, when we pray this prayer, even though it relates to physical things, material things, and we need these things.

Now, when we cannot live without food, God, our Lord Jesus said, man does not live by bread alone. You know, He does not say, man does not live by bread. He does not say, He says, man does not live by bread alone.

You know, so we do need bread. But, sometimes the Bible uses the word soul to represent man. Seventy souls enter into Egypt. In other words, seventy men, people, enter into Egypt. So, soul is the seed of our personality.

But unfortunately, you find when men sin, sin enters into man's soul and reigns within him. You know, in Romans it says, sin reigns in you. That is in our soul. Our personality is contaminated, is poisoned.

You know, therefore you find self becomes the soul life. No, the soul life is self. And self is the nature of sin. Therefore, everything that comes from our soul expresses ourselves. What we think, how we feel, how we decide, all expresses that selfish, corrupted, sinful I.

Now, that is how fallen we are. But thank God, we find our Lord Jesus came into this world to save us. He saved our whole being. Not just our body, not just our spirit, but also our soul. You know, that is the reason why in the scripture you do find this term, salvation of the soul.

For instance, in 1 Peter chapter one, I think it's verse nine, salvation of the soul. And you find in Hebrew, the saving of the soul. Now, sometimes we mix up these things, soul and spirit, you know. Because we do not see the difference between soul and spirit.

Now, for an unbeliever that is true. Because his spirit is dead. So far as God is concerned, soul within his soul and body, that's all. You know, when I was in China, a missionary lived with us, we called her grandma.

She brought my father to the Lord, and we do thank God for that, and he lived with us after she retired. And whenever something happened, he said, oh, my soul and body. You know, it becomes an expression, you know, where is the spirit?

Now, people do not know they have a spirit. They think they are just soul and body, that's all. But anyway, you'll find that when you are born again, what is born again? Born again is the rebirth of your spirit.

He that is born of the spirit is spirit. He that is born of the Holy Spirit is the new human spirit. And that is the reason why the Holy Spirit can dwell in that new spirit quite out of a father. Now, when we are born again, it is deep down within us, our spirit is born, is renewed, comes into life with God.

We are a faith. A relationship is made with the Heavenly Father. Because God is spirit, and we have a human spirit renewed that can contact and commune with God. Now, that is what we call being saved.

But after we are saved, now how about our soul? Our soul. Sometimes we say, you have a new spirit, but an old soul. Or to put it another way, you have a new heart, but an old mind, old brain. Now, isn't that true?

We find many Christians today, they are saved. Thank God for that. In their heart, you know, they have believed the Lord Jesus with their heart. The Lord is, dwells within them. No doubt about that. There's every evidence they are the Lord.

But unfortunately you'll find that their mind or their brain is just as old as it was before. In other words, they still think the same way. They still evaluate things in the old way. Their outlook hasn't changed.

You know, they love the things of the world just like the people of the world love them. And they have not much desire for the things spiritual. They still desire the things worldly. And they do not desire the things spiritual.

In other words, you'll find they still carry with them old mind and old brain. Their soul need to be transformed. You see, transformation in the scripture refers to the soul. When our soul is transformed, our soul is being saved.

Now, I will not get into that too much because I will take you to tomorrow. But anyway, you'll find that there is our soul. Now, when we believe in the Lord Jesus, you know what the Lord Jesus did? When he died on the cross, he not only bore our sins in his body, and through the shedding of his blood, our sins are remitted, forgiven.