"The Lord's Prayer" Series Introduction Kathryn Kuhlman

Today, I'm going to read a very familiar portion of the Word of God to you. And immediately when I say it's from the sixth chapter of Matthew, you know that this chapter contains the Lord's Prayer. And the Lord's Prayer is the most important of all the Christian documents. It was very carefully constructed by Jesus himself. with certain very clear ends in view. It's a most important document. But we do not dare take it out of context. And that is the reason why I shall begin reading with the very first verse of this sixth chapter of Matthew. Take heed that ye do not your alms before men to be seen of them. Otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Now here is a very clear -cut statement. Stop just a minute. Analyze this. Take heed. heed that ye do not your arms before men, to be seen of them. Otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore, when thou doest thine arms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth, that thine alms may be in secret, and thy father, which seeth in secret himself, shall reward thee openly. And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, Enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret. And thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions as a heathen do. Don't pray the same thing over and over. over, it isn't a matter of saying prayers. Use not vain repetitions as the heathens do, for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them, for your father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him. Now comes that important part of this entire chapter. It's not really the Lord's Prayer. It's the prayer that He taught you and He taught me to pray. And it's most important, again I say, this prayer is the most important of all the Christian documents. It was carefully constructed by Jesus. After this manner, therefore, pray ye. And here it is. Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. But it doesn't stop there. For... If ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. You know, of all his teachings, this prayer, is by far the best known, the most often quoted. There are literally thousands and thousands who quote it every Sunday. It's indeed the most common denominator of all the Christian churches. Every one of them, without exception, uses the Lord's Prayer. It's perhaps the only ground upon which they all meet. Every Christian child is taught the Lord's Prayer. If your youngster goes to Sunday school, that youngster is always taught the Lord's Prayer. Any man, any woman who knows absolutely nothing about the Word of God, whenever you speak of the Lord's Prayer, perhaps he does not quote it correctly. or perhaps only a sentence or two, but he can quote even those few words. And any Christian who prays at all says it almost every day. Its actual use probably exceeds all other prayers put together. Undoubtedly, everyone who is seeking to follow along The way that Jesus lived should make a point of using the Lord's Prayer, using it intelligently. I repeat, using it intelligently every day. Now, in order to do this, we should understand that the prayer is carefully constructed. As a whole and constructed by Jesus himself. You know, many people just rattle through it like a train just going through a small railroad station. It's just a matter of words to them, something that they've memorized. Forgetful of the warning that Jesus gave us against vain repetitions. And of course... No one derives any profit from that sort of thing. It isn't just saying the Lord's Prayer. It isn't just repeating the Lord's Prayer. If every Sunday morning you just repeat the Lord's Prayer with your mind a thousand miles away, probably on last week's business or planning the business for the new week or thinking about the one standing next to you. No. Even the Lord's prayer can be a vain repetition. This great prayer, the most important of all the Christian documents, is a compact formula for the development of the soul. It's designed with the utmost care. for that purpose, so that those who use it regularly with understanding, and I come again, with understanding, will experience a real change of soul. I mean exactly that. You cannot. have a real spiritual understanding of this, the prayer that Jesus taught you and taught me to pray, and pray it every day without having something happen to you. It's just like that. The only progress is this change, which the Bible refers to as the born -again experience. this wonderful experience of regeneration. You cannot have a clear, thorough knowledge of this prayer and pray it constantly without having this marvelous experience happen to you, this experience of regeneration. It's like that. After all, it's the change of the soul that matters. just a mere acquisition of fresh knowledge received intellectually. That will never change a soul. That will never give you this wonderful experience of regeneration. The Lord's Prayer is especially designed to bring this change about and when it is Used regularly, it does that very thing. Now, the more one analyzes the Lord's Prayer, the more wonderful is its construction to be seen to the individual. It meets everyone's need just at his own level. if that only provides a rapid spiritual development for those who are sufficiently advanced to be ready. But in its superficial meaning, it supplies the more simple -minded and even the more materially -minded people with just what they need at the moment if they pray this prayer sincerely. It all depends... on how you pray it. It all depends on the spiritual revelation that you have received. It all depends on your own sincerity. And it's just like that. When we get into this prayer, you'll understand what even the first two words mean. Our Father. You cannot even pray those two words without having something happen to you inside. If you are absolutely sincere when you pray those two words and you have the spiritual meaning of those two words. Now, This greatest of all prayers was designed with still another purpose in view, quite as different as either of the others. Jesus foresaw that, as the centuries went by, his simple, primitive teaching would gradually become over. laid by all sorts of external things which really have nothing whatsoever to do with it. He foresaw that men who had never known him, relying, white sincerely no doubt, upon their own limited intellects, would build up theologies. and doctrinal systems, obscuring the direct simplicity of the spiritual message, and actually erecting a wall between God and man. It's the easiest thing in the world for even doctrine to build up a wall between the Heavenly Father and man. It's the easiest thing in the world. Theology can separate man from God because many of these things are just intellectual. But it's the simplicity of the spiritual message. Oh, the simplicity of the relationship between man and God. The simplicity between the individual and his heavenly Father. And God designed this prayer in such a way that it would pass safely through those ages without being tampered with. He arranged it with such skill so that it could not be twisted or distorted or adapted to any man -made systems. So that in fact it would carry the whole whole Christ message within it and yet not have anything on the surface to attract the attention of the restless type of man or woman. And so it turned out through all the changes of Christian history, through all the changes of man's thinking through intellect, through all the generations since the time that Jesus himself gave it. This prayer has come through to us uncorrupted and unspoiled. As simple as when Jesus gave it to us through his own lips. As powerful as God himself. As powerful as all of the promises of the word combined. Read it again. The sixth chapter of Matthew.