Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-01-22
Sunday School Lesson

the extra ordinary sweat of blood,
which indicated a breaking down of
the physical nature, were conquered.
While He craved the disciples sym
pathy and support, each time that He
returned He found them sleeping
when they should have shared with
Him the hours of suffering. sorrow
and struggle. Alone He fought the
battle, but His request for their pres
ence justifies our seeking the fellow
ship of prayer when we are called
upon to face the end of our days or
master any of the many difficulties
of life. The same disciples that slept
while He prayed were among the
number who had asked Him to teach
them how to pray.
The Disciples Prayer.
The prayer that He gave in answer
to that request has been called the
Lords prayer. His plea for us is
recorded in the Gospel of John, while
the model that Jesus gave to His dis
ciples has been repeated by millions
throughout the centuries and been
used as a form of prayer. In sim
plicity, directness and comprehensive
ness it gives men in IS words
everything that men should seek in
prayer. Following the divisions of
the Ten Commandments, this model
prayer has two divisions, those that
face Godward and those that face
selfward. In the first, we are taught
to pray for our Fathers honor, do
minion, service; and then for our
preservation, pardon, protection"
This prayer reverses the common
order of our petitions. Men are in
hn hoE - 70
senting their own needs first. By it
we are taught to postpone all selfish
requests and put first the thought
of God, His personality, purpose and
power. Jesus opened a new concep-
ton of Jehovah when He taught
them Gods relation to them, by urg-
ing that they approach Him as Our
Father" 1t taught them the brother
hood of man. 1t pointed out that the
Fathers home was ours for we APP
proach Him as children full of con-
fidence and trust in His power and
desire to bless
The first petition that faces God
ward calls for the reverence of His
name. 1t condemns the use of His
name in prOfane oaths. The prayer
for the coming of the Kingdom of
God was an ancient one of the He
breWs. Jesus gave it human, uni
versal and spiritual conception. In
this one can find the Masters social
ideals. He seeks a new kingdom that
starts with the spiritual life of
the believer. The Kingdom of God
with Christ as the King depends
upon a changing of the character of
men to secure the changed social
order. The coming of His Kingdom
is. assured when all men do His will.
When through a conservation of all
Christians to doing the will of the
Father a new age is ushered into
the affairs of men, the dreams of all
social reformers of the past will be
surpassed by the new order.
The fourth petition puts a limita-
ton upon human ambition and de-
sire. 1t calls a halt upon the active
American. whose zeal and anxiety to
live today tomorrow life has given
us the social disease. Americanitis
The request for strength for today's
needs does not call for us to quit
personal effort, but recognizes how
for our daily food we are dependent
upon Gods gifts. The prayer for
forgiveness is the easiest to under
stand but the hardest to pray. 1t is
impossible for one to have the spirit
VI PAhSCI IL lie uOSS not rove MS
brother. The plea for help in hours
of temptation calls for us to seek to
avoid temptation. but to fight to
conquer them when we meet them
with help from above. If we are try
ing TO do His will, we can depend
that God will take care of us.
An eminent preacher has well said
that God can do in and through a
man who prayS what He cannot do
in and through a man who does not
pray, just as a teacher can do for a
boy who studies what he cannot do
for boy who refuses. Prayer is
one form of cooperation with God
by which we give Him the oppor-
tunity of doing in us what He has
wanted to do. perhaps, for years.
Let us ask, seek and knock in faith
until God answers our prayers in ac-
cordance with His will and for His
glory.