Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-10-07

rather. They nad never been
taught that before; it had always
| been MY Father before that; but
now He has enlisted them as high
school pupils in the school of prayer
and He takes them up into the class
room with Himself Oh. What q
wonderful gain and promotion when
you can say Our Father!
Heavens ''-"heayen." The first
one is plural, the second singular
/ ''Our Father who art in the heaV-
ems. Thy name-Thy Kingdom-Thy
wilton earth, as in heaven" The
Scriptures speak of three heavens
the air we breathe is the first heav-
en-; the stars are in the second heaV-
en-, bevond our atmosphere; the thiri,
heaven into which Paul was caught
up. where God is most manifest.
When you address God remember
that He is in all of these heavens;
nearer to YOU than the very air of
your nostrilS, and far beyond tho
farthest star. And your first petit
ton is to be that the order of things
that exists in the third heaven where
He is most manifest shall come to
pass on earth, too.
Give us this day our daily
bread Pathology, yet Jesus was
never guilty of this. This day
daily-these mean the same. Now,
here is a fascinating and a wonder
full story. The word for daily"
here is ."epiousion" and is nowhere
else in literature to be found. Christ
coined this word to use just here.
The revisers translate it, Give US
this day our bread for the coming
day'-but that is contrary to all
other Scripture. What did He
mean?
Well, epiousion means literally
Coming upon u.s." and Jesus was
teaching them to pray. Give us this
day our "coming-upon-us bread;
and since He is the bread OF God
which came down upon us, the pur-
pose of this petition is TO pray for
Him to come down upon us. And
that is the only way the first petit
ton will be raalize'l-when Jesus
comes, Gods name will De hallowed
in earth as in the third heaven.
Gods Kingdom will come on earth
as it is now recognized in the third
heaven. Gods will be doAe on earth
as it is now done in the third heaV-
Coming down-upon-us bread which
we are to pray our Father to give
us this day. May God grant it to-
day!
Principles of Forgiveness
"And forgive us our debts--the
word used for debts is striking; it
means heaped up, obligations that
have been piling up mountain high.
Cancel all of our obligations, is the
request that He taught His disci-
pies to make, as we cancel all Of
those we have against others
Just here this Kingdom prayer
and the church of today part COM
pany. 1t puts the prayer on the
basis of law and out of the dominion
of grace. This prayer was given as
model to people who were still UNI
der law. It's only purpose today is
to do what the rest of the law does
bring us to Christ: show us how
utterly impossible it is for us to
keep it, condemn us for not keeping
it, and bring us as suppliants to
the feet of Christ to throw ourselves
entirely on His grace. If we get no
more forgiveness of our unkept OBJ
legations to God than we give to
others, there is no hope flr US. That
little word "as" would send every
one of us to eternal perdition.
No, this part of the prayer is es-
sentially Jewish. essentially for those
who were living under law and not
under grace. And in its great par!
the whole prayer is such. This pray
er is for high school students of
prayer: a little later on Jesus
brought His disciples into the uni
Versity when He told them just be-
fore His crucifiXion "Hitherto Op
to this time) we have asked nothing
IN my name; ask and We shall re-
celve. Whatsoever We ask of the
Rather in my name, that will I do"
Ihls Kingdom prayer was a step to
the higher class of asking in His
name, which involves an apDrecia
ton OF our nothingness and of His
all sufficient grace.
On the other hand, there is this
that must be remembered. can
not pray in His name if I harbor re-
sentiment in my heart against anv
one. The plane of life upon which T
as a Christian must live is. deal
higher than this Jewish PRAYER
am not to ask to be forgiven even as
forgive; but | am to forgive even
as Christ also forgave me. This
means that [ am to go the limit, His
Hahl1' even to paying the whole price
vi reconciliation, yes, even if that
price is nothing less than nv own
life. my ." "
Principle of Safety
And lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from the evil one"
Jesus knew better than any one else
the terrors of temptation. He had
been under the devils fire for forty
days at once besides the very day
temptations that came to Him as
to every human being. This prayer
did not guarantee that any one would
not have temptation, but asked that
one might not be led into the place
Of testing. special testing 1t is
far easier to be delivered from the
devil day by Gay. and that is ,he
force of the but" For special rea.
sons, and in special seasons. it may
hnpn1ooo 40 q