39
T h e
K i n g ' s
B u s i n e s s
January 1930
| International £esson L E S S O N OU T L IN E A N D E X P O S IT IO N
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C H IL D R E N ’ S D IV IS IO N
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By J. E. Jaderquist —
..—..— .-By Mrs. Gordon Hooker
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V. 8 . Therefore be not. Because pa gan practices are useless and absurd. For your Father. The gods of the heathen are vanities; your God is your Father. Knoweth. Then why pray at all? some will ask. If we have desires, and if we know Him as Father, it will be as natural to pray as it is to breathe. II. The Model Prayer (9-13; cf. Luke 11:1-4). V. 9. A fter this manner. Jesus gave His disciples a model prayer. It is not to be merely repeated. The language may sometimes be changed, but the manner and spirit of this prayer should pervade all prayer. Remember again that Jesus is contrasting true prayer with the prayer o f the actors,” or o f the Gentiles. Pray. Present t e n s e—pray habitually. Our Father. He is Father o f all in a limited sense by right o f creation; in the full sense, only o f those who are Christ’s. In heaven. His home and ours (cf. John 14:1-3). Hallowed. Sanctified, held sa cred. Thy name. Taking His name in vain in profanity is a failure to hallow or worship His name; but so, too, is every form of irreverence. V. 10. Thy kingdom. In a limited sense, His kingdom is here now. We pray for a future kingdom which will be ushered in when the King comes (Rev. 11:15). Thy will. Believers should em ulate angels in making the will of God the supreme choice and the law of life (Psa. 103:21; Heb. 1:14). Each of these three first petitions implies the rest; the third is the climax. V. 11. Give us . . . bread. The first three petitions are concerned with God’s glory, God’s worship and God’s will. After putting God’s interests first, one may ask for the supply o f temporal needs. V. 12. Forgive us our debts^, That is, moral debts. PrayOt for God’st!’wi.ll to be done awakens a sense of indebtedness. We owe worship which we have not giv en, time misspent, talents misused, etc. As we forgive. Feeling our own short coming we become charitable, forgiving others as He has forgiven us. This does not mean that we earn forgiveness by showing charity. V. 13. . Bring us not. Do not expose us to trial. This is a prayer for the timid recruit as well as for the seasoned veter an. We ought to be heroes of faith, able to rejoice under the pressure of sever est trials (Matt. 5:10-12; cf. James 1:2; Rom. 5:3). Peter was told on one oc casion, “ Thou const not follow me now." Perhaps he forgot to pray this prayer, “ Bring me not into temptation.” Deliver us from evil. Or, from the evil one. Note that all the way it is moral, not physical, evil which is in mind (cf. 1 Pet. 5 : 8 ; Eph. 6:11-12). III. Counsel against Covetousness (19- 21; cf. Luke 12:22-34). V. 19. Treasures upon earth. Anything material and perishable. This does not
ing each class: (1) Their idea o f the meaning o f prayer. (2) To whom they prayed. (3) Their motive in prayer. (4) Where they prayed. (5) Did they have answers to prayer? * * * L esson E xposition I. True Prayer (5-8). V. 5. When ye pray. The disciples’ prayers are contrasted with those of the Pharisees. Not as the hypocrites. We need not read into the word “hypocrite” all
February 2, 1930 Putting God’s Kingdom First Lesson: Matthew 6:1-34. (Lesson T ex t : Matt. 6:5-13; 19-21; 31-33.) * * * L esson in O utline I. Lessons in Prayer (5-8). 1 . Be not as the hypocrites (5). a. Their motive—to be seen of men. b. Their places for prayer—syna- gogues, street corners. Their reward. c. 2 . Prayer in secret ( 6 ). a. The place—inner chamber. b. The isolation—“ S h u t door.” the c. The address—“ Pray to Father.” thy d. The reward. 3. Be not as the Gentiles (7,8)
that it has come to mean in English. The idea is that the Pharisees were ac tors, e n g a g e d in stage play. They love to pray. The present tense in the Greek makes pos
sible as a free translation, “They are wont to find pleasure in praying” (cf. Matt. 23: 6 , 7). Standing. The usual a t t i t u d e in p r a y e r . In the synagogue and . . streets. They had reduced prayer to an elaborate system. Since there were stated hours set aside daily for prayer, they could make it convenient to be located in the most public places at the time of prayer. Seen o f men. Jesus did not con demn public prayer (cf. John 6:11), but He did condemn a desire to display piety. V. 6 . But thou. The true disciple, as distinguished from the actor. When thou prgyest. Not merely at stated periods or seasons and not bound by set rules, but when moved by the Holy Spirit. Thine inner chamber. Any secret place. Note the repetition of the pronoun— thy closet, thy door, thy Father, emphasizing the iso lation o f the soul with God. Shut thy door. Exclude all except thy Father. Seeth in secret. Or, in the secret place. Perhaps there is an allusion to the holy of holies (cf. Heb. lQ:19-22). Men who never pray in secret will never learn how to utter real prayer in public. Shall rec ompense thee. The hypocrites received their reward when they were seen o f men. True prayer in the secret place is reward ed openly (cf. Matt. 7:7; 1 John 5:14,15). V. 7. Use not vain repetitions. In the Greek, one word, from which the unus ual English word “battology” comes. The first idea of the word is stammering. The stammerer uses repetitions. The Gentiles pray thus, e. g. Baal’s priests, “ O Baal, hear us” (1 Kings 18:26) ; the Ephesians, “ Great is Diana o f the Ephesians" (Acts 19:34). (Cf. the repetitions o f many ayes and paternosters o f the Rpman Catholics, the Tibetan prayer wheels, etc.) The Gentiles. The Galileans to whom Jesus was speaking, lived near Gentile territory and would readily understand His mean-, ing. Much speaking. They thought they could weary the gods into submission to their will. This is not equivalent to that importunity in prayer which ,Jesus com mends (cf. Luke 11:5-8).
a. Avoid “vain repetitions.” b. Avoid “much speaking.”
4. Trust the Father. a. He sees ( 6 ).
b. He knows ( 8 ). c. He will recompense ( 6 ).
II. The Model Prayer (9-13).. 1. Prayer for God’s interests (9-10).
a. His worship. b. His kingdom.
. cu .Jlis will. 1 2. Prayer: for temporal needs (11). 3. Prayer for spiritual needs (12, 13). a. Forgiveness. b. Deliverance. III. Treasure in Heaven (19-21). 1. A safe place. 2. The right place (cf. Col. 3:1-3).
IV. A Trustful Spirit (31-33). 1. Be not anxious (31).
2. Be unlike Gentiles (32). 3. Trust your Father (32). 4. Seek first the kingdom (33). * * * A pproach to the L esson
Note the transition from the discussion of false interpretations of the law (5 : 21 - 45), to wrong religious practices. The subjects considered were almsgiving ( 6 : 1-4), prayer (6:5-15), fasting (6:16-18). Recall that the Master had in mind the scribes and Pharisees, who in all their re ligious observances were moved by a de sire "to be seen o f men." In the lesson about prayer, compare the practice o f three classes mentioned: Pharisees, Gentiles, disciples. Seek an swers for the following questions concern
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