Matthew 6:9-13 Complete Jewish Bible
9 You, therefore, pray like this:
‘Our Father in heaven!
May your Name be kept holy.
10 May your Kingdom come,
your will be done on earth as in heaven.
11 Give us the food we need today.
12 Forgive us what we have done wrong,
as we too have forgiven those who have wronged us.
13 And do not lead us into hard testing,
but keep us safe from the Evil One.
[a]For kingship, power and glory are yours forever.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
These verses come to us from Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount, which begins in Matthew chapter 5. With his disciples gathered around him, Jesus sat down on the mountainside and began teaching the crowds that had come to hear him teach.
In this sermon, Jesus covered a wide range of topics, from Jewish law to anger, giving to the needy, prayer, and more.
Jesus started his teaching about prayer in Matthew 6:5. Here, he explains that prayer is an intimate conversation we have with God, our Father in heaven.
And even though God knows exactly what we need even before we ask him, he still wants us to naturally, intentionally bring our needs and requests to him.
So Jesus instructs us to get out of the public eye and hide ourselves away in a quiet, private place. When we hide ourselves away, Jesus tells us that we can be confident that God, our Father in Heaven sees us, hears us and 100% listening.
Then, as we pray, we are to recognize and acknowledge that God, our Father is in heaven. His sovereignty is absolute and He is not bound by any earthly rules.
He is not influenced by worldly trends or politics. He is outside of everything and able to accomplish infinitely more than we could ask or think (Ephesians 3:20).
Ephesians 3:14-21 Easy-to-Read Version
The Love of Christ
14 So I bow in prayer before the Father. 15 Every family in heaven and on earth gets its true name from him. 16 I ask the Father with his great glory to give you the power to be strong in your spirits. He will give you that strength through his Spirit. 17 I pray that Christ will live in your hearts because of your faith. I pray that your life will be strong in love and be built on love. 18 And I pray that you and all God’s holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ’s love—how wide, how long, how high, and how deep that love is. 19 Christ’s love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with everything God has for you.
20 With God’s power working in us, he can do much, much more than anything we can ask or think of. 21 To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus for all time, forever and ever. Amen.
Hiding away in a quiet, solitary place to pray such prayers as Jesus taught may appear insignificant. It may even feel “too simple”, as though no power could possibly come from such an unseen, quiet action. But the very opposite is true.
As the Apostle Paul teaches in Ephesians 3:14-21, It is there God, who calls himself your heavenly Father, wishes to meet with you. He comes down from heaven, all the way to your hidden, secluded space, to listen to your prayers.
Right now, God is encouraging us to go into that private place of ours, that “war room” and tell God our Father in Heaven exactly what is on your mind or heavy on your heart here on the earth. While you do so, remind yourself of who He is.
He is the creator of everything, He is the redeemer of your soul, and He is the author and perfecter of your faith. He is ABBA God, who longs to meet with you.
Do not be shy about it. Give him 100% of it. He wants to hear it. Trust Jesus’ words your Father knows exactly what you need, and that he sees everything.
Psalm 139:1-18 Complete Jewish Bible
139 (0) For the leader. A psalm of David:
(1) Adonai, you have probed me, and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I stand up,
you discern my inclinations from afar,
3 you scrutinize my daily activities.
You are so familiar with all my ways
4 that before I speak even a word, Adonai,
you know all about it already.
5 You have hemmed me in both behind and in front
and laid your hand on me.
6 Such wonderful knowledge is beyond me,
far too high for me to reach.
7 Where can I go to escape your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I climb up to heaven, you are there;
if I lie down in Sh’ol, you are there.
9 If I fly away with the wings of the dawn
and land beyond the sea,
10 even there your hand would lead me,
your right hand would hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Let darkness surround me,
let the light around me be night,”
12 even darkness like this
is not too dark for you;
rather, night is as clear as day,
darkness and light are the same.
13 For you fashioned my inmost being,
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I thank you because I am awesomely made,
wonderfully; your works are wonders —
I know this very well.
15 My bones were not hidden from you
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes could see me as an embryo,
but in your book all my days were already written;
my days had been shaped
before any of them existed.
17 God, how I prize your thoughts!
How many of them there are!
18 If I count them, there are more than grains of sand;
if I finish the count, I am still with you.
God, Our Father, Who Art in Heaven — Heaven on Earth
Matthew 6:9-13 Amplified Bible
9 “Pray, then, [a]in this way:
‘Our Father, who is in heaven,
[b]Hallowed be Your name.
10
‘[c]Your kingdom come,
Your [d]will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
11
‘Give us this day our [e]daily bread.
12
‘And forgive us our [f]debts, as we have forgiven our debtors [letting go of both the wrong and the resentment].
13
‘And do not [g]lead us into temptation, but deliver us from [h]evil. [i][For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]’
In Matthew 6:9-13 Jesus taught us to pray:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
To seek God’s kingdom coming to earth is to declare our great need for God’s presence, provision, love, and redemption.
As Christian’s, from where ever we are living, moving, having our being, we have each been given a divine mandate of the very highest importance from our King of kings and Lord of lords. Our daily burden is; we are each to carry the kingdom of God with us everywhere we go and release this kingdom through everything we do and say. We are called by Savior Jesus to bring heaven to earth.
Matthew 16:19 Jesus tells his disciples, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
What would it look like for the people of God to release the kingdom of heaven everywhere they go? What would it look like for even just a few of us to truly say yes to the calling of God on our lives to live for more than just worldly pleasure and comfort, to step outside of ourselves and live with an eternal perspective?
You, me, we, are made to make an eternal impact far greater than we can ever see ourselves imagining. God has placed within you keys to the doors of heaven, and he longs to use you to release his love, grace, peace, mercy, and redemption to others in desperate need of him. He longs to call you out from the daily grind of life into a higher pursuit of seeing the earth transformed by his goodness.
Seeing heaven come to earth all starts with our declaring our need of God. It all starts with drawing a circle around ourselves and allowing God to transform each of us from the inside out. We are not called to minister unto others in our own strength or wisdom. We are not called to figure out how to best love people.
We aren’t even called to muster up a desire to bring God’s kingdom to earth. All the weight of eternal impact rests on the shoulders of God, our heavenly Father.
All that is required of us is to take time to let God love us, fill us with the desires of His heart, follow His guidance, leadership to the fulfillment of those desires.
Matthew 14:13-21 Amplified Bible
Five Thousand Fed
13 When Jesus heard about John, He left there privately in a boat and went to a secluded place. But when the crowds heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities. 14 When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt [profound] compassion for them and healed their sick.
15 When evening came, the disciples came to Him and said, “This is an isolated place and the hour is already late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!” 17 They replied, “We have nothing here except five loaves and two fish.” 18 He said, “Bring them here to Me.” 19 Then He ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and He took the five loaves and the two fish and, looking up toward heaven, He blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people, 20 and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up twelve full baskets of the leftover broken pieces. 21 There were about 5,000 men who ate, besides women and children.
God wants us to take our five loaves of bread and two fish and exponentially multiply it to feed the souls of thousands. (Acts 2:37-47)
Acts 2:37-47 Amplified Bible
The Ingathering
37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart [with remorse and anxiety], and they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what are we to do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent [change your old way of thinking, turn from your sinful ways, accept and follow Jesus as the Messiah] and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ because of the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise [of the Holy Spirit] is for you and your children and for all who are far away [including the Gentiles], as many as the Lord our God calls to Himself.” 40 And Peter solemnly testified and continued to admonish and urge them with many more words, saying, “[a]Be saved from this crooked and unjust generation!” 41 So then, those who accepted his message were baptized; and on that day about [b]3,000 souls were added [to the body of believers]. 42 They were continually and faithfully devoting themselves to the instruction of the apostles, and to fellowship, to [c]eating meals together and to prayers.
43 A sense of awe was felt by [d]everyone, and many wonders and signs (attesting miracles) were taking place through the apostles. 44 And all those who had believed [in Jesus as Savior] [e]were together and had all things in common [considering their possessions to belong to the group as a whole]. 45 And they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing the proceeds with all [the other believers], as anyone had need. 46 Day after day they met in the temple [area] continuing with one mind, and breaking bread in various private homes. They were eating their meals together with joy and generous hearts, 47 praising God continually, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord kept adding to their number daily those who were being saved.
Say yes to partnering with the Holy Spirit, allow God to use us to change the world by bringing His kingdom to earth through simple acts of love, obedience.
Isaiah 55:7-13 Complete Jewish Bible
7 Let the wicked person abandon his way
and the evil person his thoughts;
let him return to Adonai,
and he will have mercy on him;
let him return to our God,
for he will freely forgive.
8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
and your ways are not my ways,” says Adonai.
9 “As high as the sky is above the earth
are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For just as rain and snow fall from the sky
and do not return there, but water the earth,
causing it to bud and produce,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater;
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth —
it will not return to me unfulfilled;
but it will accomplish what I intend,
and cause to succeed what I sent it to do.”
12 Yes, you will go out with joy,
you will be led forth in peace.
As you come, the mountains and hills
will burst out into song,
and all the trees in the countryside
will clap their hands.
13 Cypresses will grow in place of thorns,
myrtles will grow instead of briars.
This will bring fame to Adonai
as an eternal, imperishable sign.
Please, Take some significant and quality time in your private and quiet place in guided prayer to allow God’s Living word, His Holy Spirit to teach and empower to inspire you, releasing you into the calling of bringing heaven to earth today.
Guided Prayer:
1. Meditate on the calling to bring God’s kingdom to earth.
Allow Scripture to lay a foundation for powerful works of God’s Spirit to pour out through your life.
“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:19
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16
2. What keys has God given you to release his kingdom?
What spiritual gifts has he given you? What ways do you best love people? How is He using your gifts now, has He used you in the past to reveal his full love?
Galatians 5:17-23 Complete Jewish Bible
17 For the old nature wants what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit wants what is contrary to the old nature. These oppose each other, so that you find yourselves unable to carry out your good intentions. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, then you are not in subjection to the system that results from perverting the Torah into legalism.
19 And it is perfectly evident what the old nature does. It expresses itself in sexual immorality, impurity and indecency; 20 involvement with the occult and with drugs; in feuding, fighting, becoming jealous and getting angry; in selfish ambition, factionalism, intrigue 21 and envy; in drunkenness, orgies and things like these. I warn you now as I have warned you before: those who do such things will have no share in the Kingdom of God!
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 humility, self control. Nothing in the Torah stands against such things.
3. Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you how to bring heaven to earth today.
Ask Holy Spirit to fill you up that you might pour out. Ask Holy Spirit to tear down any strongholds that would keep you from loving Him and others well.
Being used by Father God to bring heaven to earth is meant to be a part of the normal, daily Christian life. We are called to more than simply working a job, going to school, hanging out with friends, and trying to enjoy life. No matter what job you work, God wants to bring the kingdom to earth through you.
No matter who your friends are or where you find yourself, God wants to bring the kingdom to earth everywhere around you. If you will say yes every day to the adventure of being used by God, your life will soon begin to take on a whole new purpose so much more fulfilling than anything you’ve previously experienced.
May you each live to see God’s kingdom come to earth through your life today!
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 8 Complete Jewish Bible
8 (0) For the leader. On the gittit. A psalm of David:
2 (1) Adonai! Our Lord! How glorious
is your name throughout the earth!
The fame of your majesty
spreads even above the heavens!
3 (2) From the mouths of babies and infants at the breast
you established strength because of your foes,
in order that you might silence
the enemy and the avenger.
4 (3) When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and stars that you set in place —
5 (4) what are mere mortals, that you concern yourself with them;
humans, that you watch over them with such care?
6 (5) You made him but little lower than the angels,
you crowned him with glory and honor,
7 (6) you had him rule what your hands made,
you put everything under his feet —
8 (7) sheep and oxen, all of them,
also the animals in the wilds,
9 (8) the birds in the air, the fish in the sea,
whatever passes through the paths of the seas.
10 (9) Adonai! Our Lord! How glorious
is your name throughout the earth!
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 