Category Archives: Devotional Life

The value of developing a relationship with God, The value of having a daily quiet time.

Your Kingdom Come

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Stephen Nielsen's avatarPrayer A to Z

 Here we will cover just three points: the meaning of the petition, the purpose of the petition, and how to pray this petition.

 What this petition means.  God’s kingdom referred to here is a place or a realm of His rule, where He exercises His great plans for us—plans of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17).  When we pray “Your kingdom come” we are praying that His kingdom or His rule would come to us and that we would be a part of it, hence, that we would enjoy all of His plans for us.  Moreover, when we pray this petition we are asking God to put the Spirit of Christ (who is the king and ruler in His kingdom) in us and over us, to reign over us and be Lord over us.  And since the Holy Spirit controls all those in His…

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How to Hallow God’s Name — from Matthew 6:9-13

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Stephen Nielsen's avatarPrayer A to Z

First of all we should discuss why we should hallow His name?  There are several reasons to hallow His name.  Two reasons stand out to me.  First, the most obvious reason is because He deserves it.  He is God and He is holy; therefore we ought to treat Him as holy.  He is the one that is high and lifted up.  Hence we ought to cry out daily (in our mind or even verbally) as the angels do, saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory” (Is. 6:1-3).

A second reason to treat God as holy is so that others around us will treat Him as holy, and likewise, believe and obey Him.  For when we show God (or anyone) respect, others who observe us will tend to follow our example (Heb. 13:7).  But when we disrespect God…

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Hallowed Be Your Name – What It Means To Hallow God’s Name

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Stephen Nielsen's avatarPrayer A to Z

cropped-copy-of-northern-lights1.jpg This first petition in the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) is designed to bring us further into the presence of God, but with the aim that God would be glorified.  Hence, when we pray “Hallowed be Your name,” we are in fact praying as such: “Lord, let Your name be hallowed in me so that I will experience who You are and give You praise; and let Your name be hallowed in my friends so that they also can know You and praise You.”  Therefore, though we are asking God to show Himself to us in all His glory, and though we are seeking to ascend further into the heavenlies to experience the awesomeness of God, the aim is not to get our personal needs met, rather it is that God would be lifted up and glorified.  Hence, in this first petition, Jesus is teaching us that we should start our…

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4 Things that the Lord’s Prayer Address, Our Father in Heaven, Tells Us about Prayer

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Stephen Nielsen's avatarPrayer A to Z

An excerpt from my book Purpose of Prayer.

The proper way to start any prayer is with an address.  I suppose there are several ways to address God when we pray, but the address in the Lord’s Prayer is the best way—since Jesus gives it to us.  Here are…

Four Things that the Lord’s Prayer Address, Our Father in Heaven, Tells Us about Prayer — Matthew 6:9-13

 

1.  That prayer is only for Christians.  The words “Our Father” indicate that this prayer and all true prayer is only for those who can truly call God Father. In a general or physical sense, all people can call Him father, because all people were created by Him (Mal. 2:10).  But here, “Father” is used in a spiritual sense (Gal. 4:5-6).  Hence, Jesus teaches us here that only Christians, those adopted into the spiritual family of God, can truly communicate with God…

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4 Things the Lord’s Prayer Teaches Us About Prayer

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Stephen Nielsen's avatarPrayer A to Z

What the Lord’s Prayer Teaches Us About Prayer — Matthew 6:9-13

1.  It brings to us the way we ought to regard God when we pray.  Hence, when we pray “Our Father” we understand that we ought to regard Him as our father.  Likewise, when we pray “Hallowed be Thy name” we see Him as holy.  When we pray “Your kingdom come” we see Him as a king, our king.  When we pray “Thy will be done” we see Him as our master and teacher.  Then as we pray for daily bread we see Him as our provider.  When we pray for forgiveness we see Him as our savior.  And when we pray for leading and guidance we see Him as our shepherd and protector, the one who goes before us.

2.  It shows us the spirit of true prayer.  At each junction in the prayer Jesus conveys to…

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