MEMORY VERSE: ‘And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.’ Luke 11:9.
LESSON SCRIPTURE: Matthew 6:9-15.
STUDY HELP: That I May Know Him, page 261.
LESSON AIM: To study Christ’s model prayer.
‘What a contrast there is between this model prayer of Christ and the prayers formulated by human teachers! How brief, how expressive, how rich, how comprehensive! Praise and supplication are here mingled. Jesus has given to men a prayer in which every expression is full of meaning, to be studied and brought into practical life. The greatest mind may be charmed with its comprehensiveness, and the humblest intellect can understand its utterances. It is a prayer that expresses the essential subjects that we need to present to our heavenly Father. Parents may teach this prayer to their children, and the Spirit may impress young minds with its truth. The children may gather the fact from this that our precious Saviour so loved them that He did not leave them in ignorance as to how to pray, but gave them a model prayer which they may present to God in simplicity and sincerity of heart. Christ will hear the prayer that He Himself has taught to His disciples. Many times a day we may go as suppliants to God, and repeat this prayer with assurance that it will not fall to the ground.’ Review & Herald, May 28, 1895.
1. To whom did Jesus teach us to pray? Matthew 6:9.
NOTE: ‘He is waiting with pitying tenderness to hear the confessions of the wayward, and to accept their penitence. He watches for some return of gratitude from us, as the mother watches for the smile of recognition from her beloved child. The great God teaches us to call Him Father. He would have us understand how earnestly and tenderly His heart yearns over us in all our trials and temptations. “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pities them that fear Him.” The mother might sooner forget her child than God forget one soul that trusts in Him.’ Signs of the Times, January 19, 1882.
2. How does Jesus teach us to regard the name of God? Matthew 6:9, last part.
NOTE: ‘To hallow the name of the Lord requires that the words in which we speak of the Supreme Being be uttered with reverence. “Holy and reverend is His name.” Psalm 111:9. We are never in any manner to treat lightly the titles or appellations of the Deity. In prayer we enter the audience chamber of the Most High; and we should come before Him with holy awe. The angels veil their faces in His presence. The cherubim and the bright and holy seraphim approach His throne with solemn reverence. How much more should we, finite, sinful beings, come in a reverent manner before the Lord, our Maker! But to hallow the name of the Lord means much more than this. We may, like the Jews in Christ’s day, manifest the greatest outward reverence for God, and yet profane His name continually. “The name of the Lord” is “merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, ... forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.” Exodus 34:5-7. Of the church of Christ it is written, “This is the name wherewith she shall be called, The Lord our Righteousness.” Jeremiah 33:16. This name is put upon every follower of Christ. It is the heritage of the child of God. The family are called after the Father. The prophet Jeremiah, in the time of Israel’s sore distress and tribulation, prayed, “We are called by Thy name; leave us not.” Jeremiah 14:9. This name is hallowed by the angels of heaven, by the inhabitants of unfallen worlds. When you pray, “Hallowed be Thy name,” you ask that it may be hallowed in this world, hallowed in you. God has acknowledged you before men and angels as His child; pray that you may do no dishonour to the “worthy name by which ye are called.” James 2:7. God sends you into the world as His representative. In every act of life you are to make manifest the name of God. This petition calls upon you to possess His character. You cannot hallow His name, you cannot represent Him to the world, unless in life and character you represent the very life and character of God. This you can do only through the acceptance of the grace and righteousness of Christ.’ Prayer, pages 292-293.