Jun P. Espina 4 min read
Updated on October 28th, 2022
Christ’s Prayer Philosophy
What is exciting about life in this domain is God’s involvement, even if you think of Him only in your emergencies. It is the meaning of Matthew 6:11: “Give us this day our daily bread.” Christ taught us to incorporate it into our prayer philosophy. The gist of the verse is the word “daily.” God cares for me daily. I love this biblical truth. Jeremiah wrote in Lamentations 3:22-23: “The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.” God is renewing His mercy, tenderness, and consideration for my sinful soul constantly. He is renewing His love for me “every morning.” Great is His faithfulness to me. Some want to spend the rest of their sojourn focusing on their frustrations and anxieties. God is concerned about the negative ones, too. But why should I be unhappy when God loves me?
It is one problem. We are not sure if God really loves us. That is why Christ, God the Son, invited us all to come to Him by faith if we want to know and experience God’s love for us.
Christ’s Prayer Philosophy is Reasonable
The Scottish poet, William Drummond of Hawthornden, wrote that “He that will not reason is a bigot; he that cannot reason is a fool; he that dares not reason is a slave.” I found this quote from “Ask Atheists” (askatheists.com). Perhaps, Drummond was referring to a Christian believer who could not give a reason for his beliefs. Most atheists think Christianity is unreasonable. It was Benjamin Franklin who said, “The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason.” Both these men were brilliant thinkers in their own time, but they were mistaken in believing that Christianity is unreasonable. Christ’s prayer philosophy to pray to the Father concerning everyday concerns like food on the table is rational and thoughtful, since God owns everything and without Him, we can do nothing. (cf. John 15:5)
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When Christ taught us to ask for bread from God daily, He meant complete dependence on our heavenly Father, even with our basic needs. And this teaching is so rational because we are strangers in this world. We don’t know why we are here in this life; why are we not cows or angels? We didn’t know if God would renew His grace and mercy for our next morning’s life—or we would be dead!
When Christ taught us to ask for bread from God daily, He meant complete dependence on our heavenly Father, even with our basic needs. And this teaching is so reasonable because we are strangers in this world. We don’t know why are we here in this life; why are we not cows or angels? We don’t know if God would renew His grace and mercy for our next morning’s life—or we would be dead!
The problem with most people is their demand for a reason to believe in Christianity. God gave us every reason to believe in Him. The apostle Paul wrote: “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” (Rom. 1:20) Unbelief is not reasonable. We can reject God and His promised eternal life by faith in Jesus Christ. But it is absurd to do so; it is foolish to refuse God’s offer for us to live forever in heaven for free. If the Christian is unreasonable for following Christ; well, rejection of Christ is more senseless and irrational!
Christ’s Prayer Philosophy Exalts God
God is involved in our daily lives. He is providing us with everything, from rain to seeds and soil, for us to have breakfast the next day. We cannot create a farm, much less the perfection of nature that we all depend on for survival. The works of our heart and all the organs in our body support that we believe in God. Unbelief makes little sense. Rejection of God and His claims is simply a result of Adam and Eve’s belief in demonic lies. Most of us mock Christ’s claims because of Satan’s doctrine that was embraced by our first parents that we would be like God, knowing good and evil. (cf. Gen. 3:5) We know nothing about good and evil from God’s point of view. After Adam’s fall, Cain killed his brother, Abel. Yes, what people thought as actual knowledge of good and evil was just Satan’s taste and standard of what is good and what is evil. Christ taught the devil is the father of lies and a murderer from the very beginning. We need to trust God through His Son, Jesus Christ, or we would not understand God’s version of right from wrong.
Unbelief makes little sense. Rejection of God and His claims is simply a result of Adam and Eve’s belief in demonic lies.
Christ’s prayer philosophy of bringing to the Father in heaven not-so-urgent matters like our daily bread exalts and glorifies God. Prayer, therefore, is not just a give-me-God facet of the Christian religion. It is rather the language of faith. Observe verse seven of Matthew Chapter Three, where Christ’s model prayer was written:
God is more interested in our heart’s faith attitude than our daily bread and other petitions since our Father knows everything. He is excited by our trust in Him since “I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another.” (Is. 42:8) Second, He is happy when we, believers in Christ, pray constantly. “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, But the prayer of the upright is His delight.” (Prov. 15:8)
“Give us this day our daily bread.” – Matthew 6:11
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