The Lord’s Prayer has been placed before me on two separate occasions in the past week.
One during a posting assignment for my Western Civilization class in response to my opinion of which Beatitude I thought was most significant; the second sighting in preparation for this essay. God does things with specific purposes in mind; I believe His purpose is for me to focus on this portion of Scripture, Matthew 6: 9-13.
I read a writing about the Lord’s Prayer written by St. Cyprian. His full name is Thascius Caecilius Cyprianus and he was born into a wealthy pagan family. Though his conversion is not known, he was baptized sometime between 245 and 248 AD. It is thought that he had received his classical education in Carthage.
St. Cyprian writes much about the Lord’s Prayer. Within his writing, it is easy to see where he holds strong opinions and that he is quite passionate towards Christ and God. He breaks down the Lord’s Prayer almost by verse, explaining his belief and no doubt his way of life around this prayer.
He begins by explaining that the Lord’s Prayer was given to us for the specific reason of communicating with God in a specific manner. To pray in a different manner than what God has taught, St. Cyprian expresses as being ignorant and sinful. Though I do not totally agree that praying outside of the manner in which God gave us is sinful, it is important that we approach God with the love and respect due our loving Father. St. Cyprian includes the character trait of modesty in his writing, which parallels God’s scripture in Matthew 23:12 (NIV) “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and
whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
He continues to say that prayer should emanated silently from the heart with the faith that we claim. That God knows our heart and our needs and that we should not pray with a “noisy petition.” I do believe there is a time to pray allowed, in that when we pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ, lifting them up by needs to God, for them to hear their prayers going to heaven, encourages and adds hope to an otherwise hopeless and difficult situation. We are to plead the promises of God with great expectations.
He spends some time speaking about the scripture referencing the Pharisee and the tax collector and the prayers they offered up to God. He mentions this parable, how Jesus taught us to be humble, come before God with a broken heart, and not exalting oneself before God for deeds done.
St. Cyprian focuses on the plural aspect of the Lord’s Prayer, saying that when we are praying we are not praying so much for self, but for the saints. That we should pray also as the collective body of Christ’s church. In verse nine the prayer states, “Our Father in heaven.” Verse eleven requests to “give us today our daily bread.” Then verses twelve and thirteen reads, “forgive us our debts; deliver us from evil.” Though I do agree with praying for the saints and those around us, I do believe that it is important to pray for our needs. God tells us that we do not have because we do not ask.
He continues to speak about how we call God our Father and that after we are reborn that we are sons and daughters of the greatest Father we could pray for. When we pray, we are to pray in a worshipful, respectful, honorable manner. We pray that the Kingdom in heaven comes to earth.
Being that we are children of God, the body of Christ, the church, we are praying that God’s Kingdom is brought to be, through us. That it is His will, not ours, which is accomplished here on earth. St. Cyprian mentions that we are both heavenly beings and earthy beings. That our flesh is of this earth, but it is our spirit that is of heaven and that there is a continual battle between the two. That it is through prayer we are able to be victorious, which leads St. Cyprian to praying for our daily bread, which is both spiritual and of this earth. He speaks to not letting earthly things, sins of the body, getting in the way of our relationship with God. After praying for substance, we pray for our sins, to help ensure that we continue our life as God’s children. However, it goes even further than that, as we are to forgive those who sin against us, that we will be forgiven by God, as we forgive others. We continue from there and ask for strength from future temptations. St. Cyprian mentions that no power may be against us, unless God permits it. He uses Job as an example, that even Satan had limits with Job. He talks how power is granted us in two ways, either for punishment for sinful behavior, or glory when God is pleased with us.
We do not only ask for strength against temptations, but for God to deliver us from evil. We pray this because we understand that we are weak living here on earth and need the watchful eye of God to watch after us. We pray with the understanding that without our Father, we are nothing here on earth, that we need his mercy and grace for true life and hope of eternal life.
St. Cyprian has many very specific beliefs about the Lord’s Prayer, its meaning and its purpose for believers. Though I do not agree with every point, he makes, never the less he makes some excellent points. We need to be reverent when approaching God. We need to remember our place, that of being His children and that He is our Father. That we need to approach Him humbly and understand He knows our hearts better than we know our own. However, most importantly, that if we want to find the hope that Christ offers, we need to come to God with all our hopes, fears, thanksgiving, and praise for the many blessings He provides us on a daily basis as His children.
One during a posting assignment for my Western Civilization class in response to my opinion of which Beatitude I thought was most significant; the second sighting in preparation for this essay. God does things with specific purposes in mind; I believe His purpose is for me to focus on this portion of Scripture, Matthew 6: 9-13.
I read a writing about the Lord’s Prayer written by St. Cyprian. His full name is Thascius Caecilius Cyprianus and he was born into a wealthy pagan family. Though his conversion is not known, he was baptized sometime between 245 and 248 AD. It is thought that he had received his classical education in Carthage.
St. Cyprian writes much about the Lord’s Prayer. Within his writing, it is easy to see where he holds strong opinions and that he is quite passionate towards Christ and God. He breaks down the Lord’s Prayer almost by verse, explaining his belief and no doubt his way of life around this prayer.
He begins by explaining that the Lord’s Prayer was given to us for the specific reason of communicating with God in a specific manner. To pray in a different manner than what God has taught, St. Cyprian expresses as being ignorant and sinful. Though I do not totally agree that praying outside of the manner in which God gave us is sinful, it is important that we approach God with the love and respect due our loving Father. St. Cyprian includes the character trait of modesty in his writing, which parallels God’s scripture in Matthew 23:12 (NIV) “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and
whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
He continues to say that prayer should emanated silently from the heart with the faith that we claim. That God knows our heart and our needs and that we should not pray with a “noisy petition.” I do believe there is a time to pray allowed, in that when we pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ, lifting them up by needs to God, for them to hear their prayers going to heaven, encourages and adds hope to an otherwise hopeless and difficult situation. We are to plead the promises of God with great expectations.
He spends some time speaking about the scripture referencing the Pharisee and the tax collector and the prayers they offered up to God. He mentions this parable, how Jesus taught us to be humble, come before God with a broken heart, and not exalting oneself before God for deeds done.
St. Cyprian focuses on the plural aspect of the Lord’s Prayer, saying that when we are praying we are not praying so much for self, but for the saints. That we should pray also as the collective body of Christ’s church. In verse nine the prayer states, “Our Father in heaven.” Verse eleven requests to “give us today our daily bread.” Then verses twelve and thirteen reads, “forgive us our debts; deliver us from evil.” Though I do agree with praying for the saints and those around us, I do believe that it is important to pray for our needs. God tells us that we do not have because we do not ask.
He continues to speak about how we call God our Father and that after we are reborn that we are sons and daughters of the greatest Father we could pray for. When we pray, we are to pray in a worshipful, respectful, honorable manner. We pray that the Kingdom in heaven comes to earth.
Being that we are children of God, the body of Christ, the church, we are praying that God’s Kingdom is brought to be, through us. That it is His will, not ours, which is accomplished here on earth. St. Cyprian mentions that we are both heavenly beings and earthy beings. That our flesh is of this earth, but it is our spirit that is of heaven and that there is a continual battle between the two. That it is through prayer we are able to be victorious, which leads St. Cyprian to praying for our daily bread, which is both spiritual and of this earth. He speaks to not letting earthly things, sins of the body, getting in the way of our relationship with God. After praying for substance, we pray for our sins, to help ensure that we continue our life as God’s children. However, it goes even further than that, as we are to forgive those who sin against us, that we will be forgiven by God, as we forgive others. We continue from there and ask for strength from future temptations. St. Cyprian mentions that no power may be against us, unless God permits it. He uses Job as an example, that even Satan had limits with Job. He talks how power is granted us in two ways, either for punishment for sinful behavior, or glory when God is pleased with us.
We do not only ask for strength against temptations, but for God to deliver us from evil. We pray this because we understand that we are weak living here on earth and need the watchful eye of God to watch after us. We pray with the understanding that without our Father, we are nothing here on earth, that we need his mercy and grace for true life and hope of eternal life.
St. Cyprian has many very specific beliefs about the Lord’s Prayer, its meaning and its purpose for believers. Though I do not agree with every point, he makes, never the less he makes some excellent points. We need to be reverent when approaching God. We need to remember our place, that of being His children and that He is our Father. That we need to approach Him humbly and understand He knows our hearts better than we know our own. However, most importantly, that if we want to find the hope that Christ offers, we need to come to God with all our hopes, fears, thanksgiving, and praise for the many blessings He provides us on a daily basis as His children.
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