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Friday, December 6, 2024

The Lord's Prayer: Outline for Transformation into the Image of Jesus

 




For years, I prayed the Lord’s Prayer as it is written in the Bible. Then I discovered that the Lord’s Prayer is an outline for the Holy Spirit to bring to my remembrance scriptures that I had read and were in my mind and heart to fill in the content of the outline. I never asked what is this petition telling me to do? The scriptures the Holy Spirit brings to my remembrance are how to fulfill God’s purpose which is to be conformed into the image of His Son Jesus Christ that He might be the first born of many brothers and sisters (Romans 8:28-29).

When I first started writing this blog, I wrote down the scriptures the Holy Spirit brought to my remembrance. Then the next day the Holy Spirit would give me more scriptures for the same petition. Instead of writing a blog, I was writing a book which revealed to me that all the scriptures in the Bible fit into one or more of the petitions in the Lord’s Prayer. The Lord’s Prayer is the Bible. As I continue praying the Lord’s Prayer daily and filling in new scripture verses the Holy Spirit brings to my remembrance to obey, I am continually being transformed into the image of Jesus.

Since there are so many scriptures for each petition, I’m only giving two for each petition as an example but remember there are many others for the Holy Spirit to bring to your remembrance as you pray the Lord’s Prayer. But the Holy Spirit can only bring to your remembrance the scriptures that you have read or heard and are in your mind and heart.

If you haven’t read through the Bible and have it in your mind and heart, you will never fully understand God’s will for your life. There are many one-year Bible plans for reading through the Bible which doesn’t take much time each day. The Gospel of Matthew has twenty-eight chapters I highly recommend that you start by reading a chapter a day and complete it in a month.

 Then you will be able to start praying the Lord’s prayer, and the Holy Spirit will be able to bring to your remembrance scriptures to fill in the outline to obey and fulfill God’s purpose for your life as you start reading the One-year Bible to get more of God’s Word into your mind and heart.

In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 NKJV).

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1-4,14 NKJV).

Hallowed be Your name.

“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain” (Exodus 20:7NKJV).

Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!” And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying, “Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!” Then the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever” (Revelation 5:11-114) NKJV).

 

Your kingdom come.

“. . . the kingdom of God is. . . righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17 NKJV).

 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:21-23 NKJV).

Your will be done on earth as is in heaven.

 “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1Thessalonians 5:16-18 NKJV).

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:1-2 KJV).

 Give us this day our daily bread.

“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4 KJV).

Jesus said. “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eats of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:51).

And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.

“And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses” (Mark 11:35 NKJV).

But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:15 NKJV).

And do not lead us into temptation.

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13 KJV).

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various temptations, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. Let endurance have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4 WEB).

But deliver us from the evil one.

“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death” (Revelation 12:11 NKJV).

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the [wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—” (Ephesians 6:1018 NKJV).

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen” (Matthew 6:13 NKJV).

Notice that Jesus says of the Father, "For Yours is the kingdom." The kingdom is in the present tense. Jesus is the first begotten of the Father. First begotten has to do with heirship. Jesus as the only heir of God the Father is given all that belongs to the Father. When we are adopted by the Father after our justification by faith in Jesus, we become fellow heirs with Jesus, and He shares the kingdom and the power and the glory forever with us (Romans 8:17).







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