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TimLivi 08-08-121 Living the Lord's Prayer David Timms Bethany
House, 2008, 238 pp., ISBN
978-0-7642-0506-4 |
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David Timms chairs the Graduate Ministry Department at
Hope International University in Fullerton, California. He has been a church planter, pastor and
trainer of pastors for twenty-five years.
Introduction "Jesus lays out what we commonly call the Lord's
Prayer, and in it He provides the greatest Christian teaching of the
centuries on spiritual formation."
"More than a prayer, the Lord's Prayer outlines the most
fundamental features of the deeper Christian life." (20) "The Prayer has the capacity to remold
our lives entirely." (21) Chapter
1. Our - Committing to Community "People may have six hundred friends on Facebook and
email twenty-five people a day, but rarely discuss matters of personal
importance." (26) "Society
speaks to our ability to organize ourselves as a group of people. Community
speaks to our connectedness to one another.
Society refers to structures
and systems. Community refers to relationships." (26) "In short, we have generally failed to
build community and, instead, settled for society. The upshot of this failure is social
isolation." (27) "Our…speaks
of a shared experience and a shared ownership." Grace can only flourish when it encounters offence;
"forgiveness requires conflict; healing emerges from hurt; and strength
arises from struggle. Thus, the
pathway to true spiritual formation demands long-term engagement with others
in community." (30) "When productivity becomes the driving force of our
own lives, we begin to view and evaluate other people in terms of their
productivity. Without even realizing
it, we value people not as human beings but as workers or performers. We grow blind to their humanity and see
them, basically, as machinery." (32)
"Future historians will undoubtedly earmark our age for its
glaring depersonalization." (33) "As long as results trump relationships, we embrace
the cultural shift from human beings to human machinery. And in the process, we deny the most
fundamental reality of our humanity; that we are made in the image of God--the
Lover, the Friend, the Relational One." (34) "Our binds
us together. It becomes the glue
between all believers." (40) Chapter
2. Father - Experiencing Love and
Security "Father. In Aramaic the term is Abba, a term of intimacy and respectful familiarity, a word of
belonging and connection, of family and protection, and of love."
(43) "Father denotes
intimacy. In a healthy family
environment--even in ancient Israel--a father's love formed the center of the
household." (45) "When we call God Father, we affirm something very
foundational about Him and about us.
He protects and nurtures us as His beloved children. His Fatherhood and our childhood are
opposite sides of the same coin." (46) "The security that empowers us to be servant-leaders
has to do with our being the beloved of our Father." (52) "And each time we utter the word
Father in the Prayer, that name opens the door of our fear and insecurity and
invites us outside to freedom." (56) Chapter
3. In the Heavens - Developing a
Cosmic Perspective "Behind what we see exist multiple layers of struggle
in the heavenlies." (Eph 6:12)
The heavenlies lie just beyond our natural vision. (61)
Isaiah's eyes were opened to see a reality behind the visible
reality. In the heavens "challenges us to adopt a cosmic perspective,
to acknowledge the spiritual realm amidst our physical realities." (63) "Jesus literally says, 'Our Father in the heavens…'" "Spiritual maturity involves a growing
awareness of the unseen world and its interplay with the material world in
which we live." (63) "In a day when our familiarity with God has bred
something dangerously close to contempt--that is, an overemphasis on the
nearness (and friendliness) of God--we might restore some respect for His
transcendence." (67) It would be
good to feel awe at the character and glory of the Father. (67) "The phrase Father
in the heavens certainly nudges us back toward a deep sense of our
limitations and His boundlessness, our finite lives and His infinite
existence, our shortsightedness and His all-knowing. Thus, in
the heavens guides us away from over-familiarity and can restore
reverence." (68) "If you read history you will find that the
Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who
thought most of the next. It is since
Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have
become so ineffective in this." (76, quoting C.S. Lewis) "In the heavens. As we pray this short phrase it speaks
equally of the Father's majestic throne room and His amazing closeness--as
close as our own breath." (76)
"The phrase beckons us to a greater cosmic perspective than ever
before." (77) Chapter
4. Hallowed Be Your Name - Pressing
Toward Holiness "Frankly, in a profane world, holiness seems archaic
or quaint at best…." (79)
"We live in a time when the lewd, crude, immoral, and profane
receive center stage…." (80) We need practical instruction. "The first step, according to Jesus,
has to do with holiness--God's holiness; but to exalt His holiness requires a
commitment to holiness on our own part.
We cannot hallow His name without also considering hallowed lives of
our own. Hallowed be your name." (81) "Be holy, for I am holy" (Leviticus 11:44
NASB) "…the Lord intended that
Israel would one day become a 'kingdom of priests' where every person lived
out holiness in both of its basic aspects--set apart of the purposes of God
and living lives of purity and wholeness." (81) "…to set apart the name of God involves acknowledging
His otherness, His greatness, His power, and His character. However, 'hallowed be your name' also
carries a second and much richer connotation: 'Lord, may you be honored by
the way we live.'" (83) "The
idea of hallowing is closely linked to the notion of glorifying… …we 'show forth His character'…with lives
of obedience and surrender." (83)
"We also hesitate to embrace holiness in our day
because it smacks of exclusivity and judgmentalism…. People…hardly delight in self-righteous
religious fanatics….
Holier-than-thou-ness seriously taints any enthusiasm to pursue
genuine holiness." (86)
"However, if Christian spirituality neglects the pursuit of
holiness, it fails entirely." (87) "The irony is obvious. Relativism, which looks like it gives
everyone their own freedom, begets bondage.
Absolutes--the holiness of the Father--lead to life." (93) "When we hallow His name, he confronts everything
destructive and poisonous within us.
His holiness refuses to ignore our unholiness." "Indeed, what we declare of Him He
desires for us, precisely. Hallowed be your name." (95) Chapter
5. Your Kingdom Come - Overturning Our
Kingdoms "To the Jewish mind, the kingdom of Israel was the kingdom of God." "This message aroused their crushed
hopes and fueled their flagging hearts."
"Jesus was about to restore the kingdom." (98) "The essence of Christian spirituality revolves
around participation in our Father's kingdom, not retreat into our own."
(102) "'Your kingdom come' does
not invite the Father to come and watch us, but to come and rule
us." [This] "beckons an
enormous lifestyle upheaval, if we're serious." (103) "Selfish ambition leads to chaos; godly ambition eliminates
our pursuit of personal glory."
"To pray, 'Your kingdom come'…requires that we lay down our own
agenda, our own ambition, and our own dominion. Such a prayer has dramatic
implications. It silences
self-promotion and guides us to more humble service." (106) Chapter
6. Your Will Be Done on Earth As It Is
in Heaven The theme of Jesus' life was the words that open the door
to real vitality, 'not my will, but yours be done.' (115) The two-year old within us rules us until
we surrender everything to the
Father. (115) "Our occasional prayer is 'Your will be done,' but
our common desires is 'My will be done.'" "Is our drivenness and competitiveness
a symptom of a surrendered life or our spiritual immaturity?" (116) 'Your will be done' means 'We want what you want, and we
receive what you give.' (117) "Thomas Merton once wrote: 'Your life is shaped by
the end you live for. You are made in
the image of what you desire." (126)
"Ultimately, whatever drives us the hardest shapes us the
most." "The challenge before
us is to distill those desires into a single one--the desire for God."
(126) "Ultimately, life is not what we make of it but what He
makes of it." (131) Chapter
7. Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread -
Learning Dependence and Simplicity We have so much food that obesity is a major national
health concern. (133) "Prayer for
our physical and material needs sometimes becomes the only way we pray, and it focuses our attention solely on
us." (133) "This short, earthy request corrects any effort on
our part to separate the sacred and the secular." (135) We believe in both secular and spiritual
but we separate them as if sickness only comes from germs and success from
hard work. (135) But this separation undermines our
Christian walk. (136) "Everything we do in the physical
realm has spiritual connections." (137)
When we compartmentalize our lives we fail to live with
integrity, wholeness. We fall short of
the all-encompassing abundant life Christ intends for us. (139) This brief petition jolts us awake. It exposes our independence and raises a
question: Does our lack of daily need
contribute to a daily neglect of
the Father?" (141) Chapter
8. Forgive Us Our Debts As We Also
Have Forgiven Our Debtors "Sin undermines our intimacy with Christ. Always has, always will. Our denial of it, indifference to it, or
tolerance of it limits the depths to which we can know Him and the
Father." "In our pursuit of
godliness, ruthless surgery on our sin becomes foundational." (149)
"Our own guilt before God burdens us, but so does the
relentless condemnation we cast on others--in our marriages, families,
workplaces, churches, and neighborhoods.
Both scenarios destroy us." (151) "Confession of sin cannot be casual. Repentance cannot be flippant." (162) Chapter
9. Lead Us Not Into Testing, But
Deliver Us From the Evil "Temptation usually
carries connotations of something that crosses a moral line…." "A test, however, relates more to our
faith. Much like Abraham, we may feel
that various trials and hardships test whether or not we will trust the
Father." (166) "In our
spiritual journey, we can sidestep some of the testing by living lives of
deep trust and obedience. These two
words--trust and obedience--form the heart of the biblical idea of faith. When we begin to trust ourselves, we may
need a test; not that God may pass or fail us, but that we might see our need
to restore our trust in Him. When we
choose the path of disobedience, we may need a test so that we might better
gauge the depth or shallowness of our faith and make corrections." (167-8)
"Nevertheless,
the greatest enemy we face does not live in others but in our own
breast. This enemy poses our greatest
threat. Yes, we must speak out against
oppression, injustice, and immorality.
But let's also look within and pray for transformation. Transformation lies at the heart of what
Jesus teaches in the Prayer." (172) Sin's power lies in secrecy. "The journey to freedom involves not
only steps to put on Christ but also steps to put off sin. That means naming it, not to shame each
other but to shore each other up. It
means confession of the darkness that we harbor in our souls. And we shall be free indeed." (175) "One of the main hindrances to dealing with sin is
that our attitude toward it is more self-centered
than God-centered. We show more concern with our own victory
over sin than the fact that our sin grieves the heart of God."
(178) "How much better to desire
God above everything, quit dwelling on our failure, and make some obedient
life choices that will please Him rather than pain Him." (179) Chapter
10. Yours Is the Kingdom, the Power,
and the Glory - Abandoning Our Pursuit of Control and Fame "Anyone who prayed this Prayer was reaffirming their
confidence in the supremacy and sovereignty of God over all human
institutions, governments, and empires." (185) "Our pursuit of power and glory inevitably produces
conflict and discontent." (190) "The Prayer of Jesus slices
straight to the core of such corruption: 'For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory,
forever.'" "Real release
happens when we give up the dream of personal fame and glory. It's counterintuitive, but it's the kingdom
way." (191) "None of us find it easy to release control of our
lives. Yet this closing phrase of the
Prayer beckons us to do just that." (195) "The Prayer insists, right down to this last phrase,
on…surrender. We move forward most in
our walk with God when we abandon both success and significance and embrace
surrender." (197) "…and He
takes our lives--what we have and what we lack--and accomplishes His
purposes." (198) Chapter
11. Amen - Living With a Yes Amen has great significance. At the least it declares a powerful and
confident Yes to the Father. (201)
"It expresses acknowledgment, agreement, commitment, and
confidence." (203) "At the throne of God we are immersed in God's yes, a
yes that silences all our noes and calls forth an answering yes in
us…Amen!" (203, quoting Eugene
Peterson) "Amen. Yes.
And this word morphs into a core value by which we choose to
live." (204) "Truly the Prayer expresses a lifestyle, not just a
vocabulary." "It motivates a
pursuit of holiness and the surrender of our own kingdoms."
(216-17) |
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