20 Days With the Lord’s Prayer Day 15: He deserves the glory.

“In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭9‬-‭13‬ ‭NKJV‬

Many of the psalms share a certain formula: Give glory to God; present complaint or need; again give glory to God.

Psalms 73 begins like this:

“Truly God is good to Israel, to those whose hearts are pure. But as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone. For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness. They seem to live such painless lives; their bodies are so healthy and strong. They don’t have troubles like other people; they’re not plagued with problems like everyone else.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭73‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The psalmist expands on his complaint through several more verses, yet ends with these verses:

“My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever. Those who desert him will perish, for you destroy those who abandon you. But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭73‬:‭26‬-‭28‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This particular psalm is a psalm of Asaph. But the most famous psalmist, David, employs this formula often as well. David approaches God with reverence, pours out himself before the Lord, then returns praise and glory to God.

If you are familiar with the book of Job, you will have perhaps noticed the same formula in Job’s complaint to the Lord.

When the first set of tragedies happened in Job’s life, this was his response:

“He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!” In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.”

‭‭Job‬ ‭1‬:‭21‬-‭22‬ ‭NLT‬‬

When tragedy hit his own physical body, Job was suffering greatly, such that his wife told him he should curse God and die. Yet Job responded with this:

“But Job replied, “You talk like a foolish woman. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” So in all this, Job said nothing wrong.”

‭‭Job‬ ‭2‬:‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Then, of course, we know that Job‘s three friends, also known as Job’s “comforters,” came and accused him of being a sinner.

During this whole discourse, Job vehemently defended himself and argued with the Lord. However, he did not become disrespectful to God. Ultimately, after the Lord revealed His greatness to Job, he ended with intense repentance and lavish praise to the Lord.

““I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you. You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’ It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me. You said, ‘Listen and I will speak! I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.’ I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.””

‭‭Job‬ ‭42‬:‭2‬-‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

What we can learn from this pattern, ubiquitous in the word of God, is that we should always go before the Lord respectfully, making mention of His greatness.

Psalms 100 well expresses this principle.

“Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth! Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy. Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭100‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

As well, we should be mindful to never go before the Lord with our complaint or our request and end off without giving Him glory, without extolling His greatness.

As we come near the end of the Lord‘s Prayer we see the prayer turning back to giving glory to God. For today, we simply look at the two words: “For Yours.”

Yes, having asked the Lord for several things, we are to turn back the focus on His greatness.

Next time we will explore this further.

Peace to you.

Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!