A boxer prays to God and asks God to help him win his fight.
A nation at war unites in prayer for God to give them Victory
A Person is sick and prays  fervently for God to make him well

What is the common factor in all these prayers?
All these prayers are for ourselves.
In these prayers God is used as a tool to achieve what we want.
Is that what prayer is about?

When Jesus was on earth on one occasion he said that we should pray a certain way.
The prayer that he gave has come to be called “The Lord’s Prayer”
What is the “Lord’s Prayer”?

This is the “Lord’s Prayer” in different Bible translations. Notice that the King James Version has extra words at verse 13 which the others omit. This is because the additional words  in the King James Version was considered to have been added to the original text as shown by a comparison with more ancient manuscripts.
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King James translation
Mat 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Mat 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.
Mat 6:12  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Mat 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

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The Good News Bible
Matt 6:9  This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven: May your holy name be honored;
Mat 6:10 may your Kingdom come; may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Mat 6:11 Give us today the food we need.
Mat 6:12  Forgive us the wrongs we have done, as we forgive the wrongs that others have done to us.
Mat 6:13  Do not bring us to hard testing, but keep us safe from the Evil One.’

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The New World Translation
(Matthew 6:9-13) 9 “YOU must pray, then, this way: “‘Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified. 10 Let your kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth. 11 Give us today our bread for this day; 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the wicked one.’

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How should we pray this prayer?

The founder of Christianity, Jesus gave this instruction so what did he expect from us? Did he expect us to recite the prayer word for word? No! Why not? Because he specifically said we must not do that? And yet the majority of mankind do exactly that.

Matthew 6:7-8) . . .But when praying, do not say the same things over and over again, just as the people of the nations do, for they imagine they will get a hearing for their use of many words. 8 So, do not make yourselves like them, for God YOUR Father knows what things YOU are needing before ever YOU ask him.

How do we use the prayer then? The prayer shows us that God expects us to be interested in what he wants rather than what we want. Is God our slave and are we the most important persons in the universe? Surely we were created to fulfil God’s purpose. This does not mean that God in his undeserved kindness does not consider our needs and how we feel, but surely it is what he wants that is the important thing. What does he want? The “Lord’s Prayer” helps us to see what Is important to God. He wants us to consider the things that are important to him with the same relative importance as he does. The fact that Jesus recommends this prayer shows that he is in perfect agreement with this instruction.

(John 7:16-17) . . .Jesus, in turn, answered them and said: “What I teach is not mine, but belongs to him that sent me. 17 If anyone desires to do His will, he will know concerning the teaching whether it is from God or I speak of my own originality.

The most important thing to God is the sanctification of his name.

Why should he consider this to be so important?

When an artist produces a work of art he signs it with his name. It represents his work. When an artist becomes famous for his work his name acquires more meaning. It represents art at its best. People search for other works produced by the artist. His name stand for the highest quality of work and so any works of art produced by him will fetch large sums of money because of their value.

Because we were created in the image of God, although now imperfect we still reflect some of these qualities.If we are honest and reliable, we don’t want our names to be associated with bad things. Because God’s name has been blackened by the many lies told about him , and because of the kind of person he is, it is important for his name to be cleared of these untruths.

There is even a greater reason for his name to be cleared of all reproach. This is because the unity and harmony in the universe depends on the kind of person that he is and what his name stands for.

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How God runs the Universe

We need to realize that the way God runs the universe is important to our discussion. Although all powerful God does not rule his creation in a dictatorial way. Consider the patience and considerate way God deals with his servants as demonstrated by his handling of a situation in the days of the wicked King Ahab.
Ahab wanted the prophet Mechaiah to prophecy good things but Mechaiah insisted on prophesying only what God wanted him to prophecy. As other prophets were misleading Ahab, Mechaiah explained what was happening in the spirit world.

(1 Kings 22:19-23) . . .And he went on to say: “Therefore hear the word of Jehovah: I certainly see Jehovah sitting upon his throne and all the army of the heavens standing by him, to his right and to his left. 20 And Jehovah proceeded to say, ‘Who will fool A´hab, that he may go up and fall at Ra´moth-gil´e·ad?’ And this one began to say something like this, while that one was saying something like that. 21 Finally a spirit came out and stood before Jehovah and said, ‘I myself shall fool him.’ At that Jehovah said to him, ‘By what means?’ 22 To this he said, ‘I shall go forth, and I shall certainly become a deceptive spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ So he said, ‘You will fool him, and, what is more, you will come off the winner. Go out and do that way.’ 23 And now here Jehovah has put a deceptive spirit into the mouth of all these prophets of yours; but Jehovah himself has spoken calamity concerning you. . .

So Mechaiah was actually telling Ahab that these other prophets were false prophets and that  God was permitting Ahab to choose whom he wanted to believe. Our purpose for examining the scripture is to see how God handled the matter.
The scripture shows God inviting his spirit sons to participate in solving a problem and willing to take suggestions. Of course Jehovah did not need their advice but he patiently allowed them to suggest something and even followed their suggestion. Can you imagine how that spirit son must have felt? Here he was being permitted by God the supreme Creator of the universe to make a suggestion and Jehovah even allowed him to carry out the assignment. This is an example of how Jehovah handles his creation. Is it any wonder that these spirit sons loved him and we can learn to love such a wonderful personage.

God created all his intelligent living creatures with the ability to appreciate his fine qualities. This bond is the reason for his creation operating in unity. Therefore God’s name is important to him. It stands for the kind of person he is. Although he requires obedience from his creation he makes sure that he is worthy of their love and appreciation. He personally sets the example of right conduct in love and justice and expects his creation to imitate his ways. This holds the universe together. So above all God’s name has to be sanctified and cleared of all reproach.

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The need for God’s name to be cleared.

Think of all the lies spread about God. He has been accused of consigning wicked persons to everlasting torment. He would never do such a thing because it is not in harmony with justice. Justice balances the punishment with the crime. If you need proof of what the Bible actually says about hell then consider the article “What happened to hell?” on my site.

Think how Satan accused God of withholding good from Adam and Eve.

(Genesis 3:2-5) . . .Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat. 3 But as for [eating] of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘YOU must not eat from it, no, YOU must not touch it that YOU do not die.’” 4 At this the serpent said to the woman: “YOU positively will not die. 5 For God knows that in the very day of YOUR eating from it YOUR eyes are bound to be opened and YOU are bound to be like God, KNOWING good and bad.”

Both Adam and Eve knew what was bad when God told them to refrain from eating from the tree of knowledge of good and bad.  So what did the tree actually symbolize? God’s right to decide what was good and bad. Satan lied to them, contradicting God’s warning that they would die if they chose to go their own way without his direction. Our scientists tell us that everything in the universe runs down. Adam and Eve were not immortal. They were created to be dependent on God for their lives. They had to eat and breathe. If they were to live indefinitely God would have to look after them. That fact shows that if those needs were not supplied they could die. But it went further; they needed God to sustain the life force in their bodies and why should he do that if they chose to disobey him. Would you or I uphold any guarantee if the terms of the guarantee were not adhered to. Why should we expect God to be different.

Satan knew that he could not sustain their lives, but he lied to get their vote like many politicians today. He did not care that they and their offspring would suffer because of their disobedience. Other articles on my site have shown that Satan evidently considered God’s high morality as a weakness on God’s part and that if he was put in a position where he might have to bend his principles this would expose this weakness to all. In this case he knew that it was God’s purpose to populate the earth with perfect obedient people and no doubt considered that if Adam disobeyed God then Jehovah would be put into an impossible situation. If he let them die then how would he be able to fulfill his purpose? But he was wrong. Everything that Jehovah has done since then has been in harmony with his righteous principles and this has worked to the vindication of Jehovah’s sovereignty and proved that he is worthy of our worship.

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What God expects from us?

God  wants us to appreciate what he has done for us and for us to take his side of the issue. He wants us to act as his faithful witnesses, bearing witness before the entire universe as to the kind of God he is. We uphold his holiness and sanctify his name before all by means of our loyal behavior and by what we say and do to clear his name of all the reproach that has been heaped on his name. Many lies have been promulgated, by those who claim to represent him, and we are witnesses to Jehovah’s side of the issue.

(Isaiah 43:10-13) 10 “YOU are my witnesses,” is the utterance of Jehovah, “even my servant whom I have chosen, in order that YOU may know and have faith in me, and that YOU may understand that I am the same One. Before me there was no God formed, and after me there continued to be none. 11 I—I am Jehovah, and besides me there is no savior.” 12 “I myself have told forth and have saved and have caused [it] to be heard, when there was among YOU no strange [god]. So YOU are my witnesses,” is the utterance of Jehovah, “and I am God. 13 Also, all the time I am the same One; and there is no one effecting deliverance out of my own hand. I shall get active, and who can turn it back?”

Jesus was right when he said that our prayer should reflect our heart’s desire for God’s name to be cleared of all reproach.

How would you like God to view you as his friend? Imagine the honor that, that would bestow upon you. Abraham enjoyed such an honor and if we are loyal to God he will also view us as his friend.

(Isaiah 41:8) . . .“But you, O Israel, are my servant, you, O Jacob, whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend;

However what is the name that we must sanctify?

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Why Remove God’s Name from his Word?

Did you know that according to Young’s Analytical Concordance God’s name appears in the Hebrew text of the Bible 6823 times. in the King James version of the Bible it appears as Jehovah 4 times and the rest as either LORD or GOD.. Why the inconsistency?

The forward to the Revised Standard Version of the Bible answers.
“For two reasons the Committee has returned to the more familiar usage of the King James Version: (1) the word ‘Jehovah’ does not accurately represent any form of the Name ever used in Hebrew; and (2) the use of any proper name for the one and only God, as though there were other gods from whom he had to be distinguished, was discontinued in Judaism before the Christian era and is entirely inappropriate for the universal faith of the Christian Church.”

Thus their own view of what is appropriate has been relied on as the basis for removing the personal name of its Divine Author from the Holy Bible.

In my opinion, it sounds to me as if these men think they feel that God is inadequate and needs help with his Bible. From their point of view, obviously he does not know that “there are other God’s from which he has to be distinguished” nor is he aware that the use of the name is “inappropriate for the universal faith of the Christian church”

(Revelation 13:3-8) . . .And I saw one of its heads as though slaughtered to death, but its death-stroke got healed, and all the earth followed the wild beast with admiration. 4 And they worshiped the dragon because it gave the authority to the wild beast, and they worshiped the wild beast with the words: “Who is like the wild beast, and who can do battle with it?” 5 And a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies was given it, and authority to act forty-two months was given it. 6 And it opened its mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme his name and his residence, even those residing in heaven. 7 And there was granted it to wage war with the holy ones and conquer them, and authority was given it over every tribe and people and tongue and nation. 8 And all those who dwell on the earth will worship it; the name of not one of them stands written in the scroll of life of the Lamb who was slaughtered, from the founding of the world . .

I have explained the meaning of this passage in other articles on my site so that I am not going to discuss the details in full. However I want the reader to note a few things.  John wrote the Revelations concerning the future and this doubtless includes  our time,

1. The people of the earth are spoken of as worshipping the Dragon and the Wild Beast, so these constitute other Gods from which Jehovah is to be distinguished.
2. When they say that there is the one and only God, they completely contradict the Bible, which speaks of the God of this “system of things.”

(2 Corinthians 4:3-4) . . .If, now, the good news we declare is in fact veiled, it is veiled among those who are perishing, 4 among whom the god of this system of things has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, that the illumination of the glorious good news about the Christ, who is the image of God, might not shine through.

1. I doubt whether these scholars can identify the wild beast of revelation so they are probably rendering worship unknowingly to it, so their reason for removing the name of God is based on ignorance.
2. As God’s name appears in the original Hebrew more often than any other name or any title. They have admittedly followed the example of the adherents of Judaism, of whom Jesus said: “You have made the word of God invalid because of your tradition.”—Matt. 15:6

Does that sound as if the English translators of the Bible that handle God’s name in this way, are honoring the Holy Name of the Heavenly Father?
Are they being obedient to the founder of Christianity, Jesus Christ? Do you think that he would approve of what they are doing?
Do you see what is actually happening?

God’s word has been censored by the religious clergy of Christendom. Do you agree with this practice? Can you trust them to teach you about God?
There presumption will lead to their undoing.

(Psalm 119:21) . . .You have rebuked the cursed presumptuous ones, Who are straying from your commandments. . .

(Psalm 119:78) . . .Let the presumptuous ones be ashamed, for without cause they have misled me.. .

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Testing Religious Criticism

However let us test their arguments to see how valid they really are. Jehovah is the popular English rendering of the original Hebrew Name of God that is called the Tetragrammaton and which is literally transliterated as JHVH or YHWH. The Hebrew text was written employing only consonants. To understand what that means we sometimes use abbreviations like Bldg. for building. Well the whole Hebrew text was originally written using only consonants. The readers memorized the vowels so you can see that this was quite a mental feat for these ancient peoples. How many modern people could do that today?
However the scribes in later times realized that if something was not done the pronunciation of the Hebrew text would be lost and so they devised a system of indicating what the vowels were by a series of points.  The Hebrew manuscript that included these vowel points were known as the Masoretic text and that is why it became convenient to translate our English versions from that particular ancient manuscript.

Archaeology discovered a number of letters written on pieces of pottery at the ancient city known as Lachish.
Letter number IV contains the statement: “May YHWH [that is, Jehovah] let my lord hear even now tidings of good. . . . we are watching for the fire signals of Lachish, according to all the signs which my lord gives, because we do not see Azekah.”

This is proof positive that God’s name was so freely used by the ancient Israelites that it was even used freely in correspondence between one another.

At some time later the Jews left off using God’s name.  In keeping with this practice the scribes inserted the vowel points of the Hebrew words LORD and GOD in the Tetragrammaton instead of the original vowels, to remind the reader to use the substitute words. After time past the memory of the original vowels were lost, and because of  not knowing what the original vowels were, the actual pronunciation of the name has been lost and so this is the lame excuse for not including the divine name in the English translations of the Hebrew text.

Is this a valid reason?

Are we to consider that Jehovah himself could not foresee what would occur. Was it not presumptuous on the part of the translators to feel that they had the right to change what God had done?
Every language has its own unique pronunciation of names. The pronunciation varies according to language so therefore the fact that the pronunciation of God’s name is not accurately known today is really unimportant. Even the name Jesus is not the pronunciation that the early Christians used, when speaking of Jesus. It is pronounced differently in different languages even today. God understands this and therefore does not hold it against his worshippers for not knowing exactly how his original worshipers actually pronounced the name in Hebrew. Jehovah is a popular English pronunciation that has been in use for centuries. If my name is John and an Afrikaner called me Jan would I take offence? No! So this protestant translation is just using a weak excuse to leave out the name. What they are actually doing is showing a lack of respect for God and his word. Furthermore Jesus had no qualms about rejecting tradition as a reason to remove the name of God from the Bible. As to what is appropriate for the Christian church, who are these clergymen to lay down that rule, unless the Christian church that they represent is not the true Christian church that Jesus organized, but one of  their own creation.

(Matthew 15:6-11) . . .’ And so YOU have made the word of God invalid because of YOUR tradition. 7 YOU hypocrites, Isaiah aptly prophesied about YOU, when he said, 8 ‘This people honors me with their lips, yet their heart is far removed from me. 9 It is in vain that they keep worshiping me, because they teach commands of men as doctrines.’” 10 With that he called the crowd near and said to them: “Listen and get the sense of it: 11 Not what enters into [his] mouth defiles a man; but it is what proceeds out of [his] mouth that defiles a man.”

Is this not what the translators of the Revised Standard Version and other similarly translated versions have done? They teach commands of men as doctrines. Jesus called them hypocrites and Jesus considers their worship to be in vain.

To show how God views presumption listen to what he said to ancient Babylon.

(Jeremiah 50:29) . . .According to all that she has done, do to her. For it is against Jehovah that she has acted presumptuously, against the Holy One of Israel. . .

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Our Salvation is tied up with the name

Why is this an issue?

Because our very salvation is tied up with our knowledge and use of that Name.
One of the things that Jesus stressed in prayer was that he had made his father’s name known to his disciples, so this was evidence that he did not agree with the Jewish tradition of that time.

(John 17:6) . . .“I have made your name manifest to the men you gave me out of the world.. . .

Notice how Jesus was following his own counsel in the prayer that he recommended as a pattern for our prayers.

(John 17:4) . . .I have glorified you on the earth, having finished the work you have given me to do.. . .

He honored God’s name .
The New World Translation has not followed the example of the Bible Translators that have taken God’s name out of his word, but they have followed Jesus’ example by restoring the divine name to every place where the 6823 occurrences in the Hebrew scriptures show that they have existed.

Now let us examine the scriptures when the name is restored and see how enlightening in becomes.

(Exodus 3:15) . . .This is what you are to say to the sons of Israel, ‘Jehovah the God of YOUR forefathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, has sent me to YOU.’ This is my name to time indefinite, and this is the memorial of me to generation after generation.

When Pharaoh opposed Jehovah, Jehovah showed what his purpose was relative to his name. God is proud of his name and wants everyone to know what he has done. Other articles on my site show that this is important to the running of the universe.
(Exodus 9:15-16) . . .For by now I could have thrust my hand out that I might strike you and your people with pestilence and that you might be effaced from the earth. 16 But, in fact, for this cause I have kept you in existence, for the sake of showing you my power and in order to have my name declared in all the earth.. . .

(Isaiah 42:8) . . .I am Jehovah. That is my name; and to no one else shall I give my own glory, neither my praise to graven images.

(Isaiah 43:6-7) . . .Bring my sons from far off, and my daughters from the extremity of the earth, 7 everyone that is called by my name and that I have created for my own glory, that I have formed, yes, that I have made. . .

(Jeremiah 23:27-29) . . .They are thinking of making my people forget my name by means of their dreams that they keep relating each one to the other, just as their fathers forgot my name by means of Ba´al. 28 The prophet with whom there is a dream, let him relate the dream; but the one with whom my own word is, let him speak forth my word truthfully.” “What does the straw have to do with the grain?” is the utterance of Jehovah. 29 “Is not my word correspondingly like a fire,” is the utterance of Jehovah, “and like a forge hammer that smashes the crag?”

(Ezekiel 20:44) . . .And YOU will have to know that I am Jehovah when I take action with YOU for the sake of my name, not according to YOUR bad ways or according to YOUR corrupted dealings,. . .

You can perform this simple experiment yourself. Read the above scriptures for yourself substituting the words LORD or GOD and see if the actual use of the divine name is not a distinct improvement to your understanding of the text.

The fact is that we have to use the name honorably to honor or sanctify God’s name. I certainly can put no trust in men who feel that they can tamper with God’s word with impunity. Can they be trusted to teach me the truth about God?

According to the New World Translation.
(Matthew 6:9-13) 9 “YOU must pray, then, this way: “‘Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified. 10 Let your kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth. 11 Give us today our bread for this day; 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the wicked one.’

So the most important matter according to the Lord’s prayer is that God’s name must be sanctified, cleared of all reproach and honored and credited with all that Jehovah has done and is doing for our salvation.

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How about the Christian Greek scriptures?

When the writers of the Christian Greek scriptures wrote in Greek they often quoted passages from the then existing Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures known as the Septuagint. As the copies of the Septuagint that we have do not use the name of God it was thought that that was why the Bible writers had not used the name. However our understanding changed when it was discovered that earlier copies of the Septuagint did use the name. It then became obvious that copyists of the Christian Greek Scriptures did exactly the same with the Christian Scriptures as was done with the Septuagint. They tampered with the text.

How do we know this?

Because Jesus told his father that he had made his father’s name known to his followers and because of his attitude toward tradition it is unthinkable that his disciples would have allowed a Jewish tradition to cause them to leave out the divine name.  This was sufficient reason for the translators of the New World Translation to restore the name to every place where a quotation from the Hebrew Scriptures used the name. It seems that there has been a consistent attempt by apostates to remove God’s name from his word. This reminds us of the following scripture. God does not want us to forget his name and the “Lord’s prayer” took this into account.

(Jeremiah 23:27-29) . . .They are thinking of making my people forget my name by means of their dreams that they keep relating each one to the other, just as their fathers forgot my name by means of Ba´al. 28 The prophet with whom there is a dream, let him relate the dream; but the one with whom my own word is, let him speak forth my word truthfully.” “What does the straw have to do with the grain?” is the utterance of Jehovah. 29 “Is not my word correspondingly like a fire,” is the utterance of Jehovah, “and like a forge hammer that smashes the crag?

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Let Your Kingdom Come

Next the prayer focuses on the expression “Let your kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth”

We may well ask why Jesus included this request for God’s kingdom to come and cause God’s will to be done on earth as it was done in heaven?

The reason is, that this is the instrument that God is going to use to fulfil his original purpose and finally clear his name of all reproach. Jesus as God’s anointed king is going to accomplish all this and once again Jehovah expects us to feel the same as he does about his kingdom. The setting up of God’s kingdom should be dear to us, because it will clear God’s name and restore harmony to the universe.

It is obvious that Jesus did not feel that God’s will was being done on earth if we were to pray for it to come in the future.
Furthermore this request showed that God’s will would never be done on earth until God’s kingdom came.

The clergy of Christendom have taught all sorts of nonsense regarding the kingdom of God. It has been explained as something that happens in your heart based on a misunderstanding of  the following scriptures from the KJ. version.

Luk 17:20 Some Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come. His answer was, “The Kingdom of God does not come in such a way as to be seen.
Luk 17:21 No one will say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’; because the Kingdom of God is within you.“

As the scribes and Pharisees were the ones asking the question it is most unlikely that Jesus was saying that the kingdom of God was within their hearts as they were his opposers.

As the Greek word translated “you” in the KJ. Version is plural the 1965 version of the “Bible in Basic English” translates it as:-

Luk 17:21  And men will not say, See, it is here! or, There! for the kingdom of God is among you

The NW Translation translates as follows:-

(Luke 17:21) 21 neither will people be saying, ‘See here!’ or, ‘There!’ For, look! the kingdom of God is in YOUR midst.”

The word “YOUR” in capitols indicates that it is the plural form.

Both of these translations are more correct because Jesus, God’s king designate was in their midst and he represented the kingdom of God, but it certainly was no feeling in the hearts of the scribes and Pharisees.

To understand what the kingdom is we need to see what the prophet Daniel said about it

(Dan 7: 13-14) “I kept on beholding in the visions of the night, and, see there! with the clouds of the heavens someone like a son of man happened to be coming; and to the Ancient of Days he gained access, and they brought him up close even before that One. 14 And to him there were given rulership and dignity and a kingdom, that the peoples, national groups and languages should all serve even him. His rulership is an indefinitely lasting rulership that will not pass away, and his kingdom one that will not be brought to ruin.

From this scripture the kingdom of God is revealed to be rulership in the hands of Jesus Christ. It is actually a gift given to Jesus by Jehovah as a reward for his services. It is also the instrument that God is going to use to reverse all the bad effects of Satanic rule over mankind.

Jesus referred to Satan as the “ruler of this world” and therefore we can see that relief can never come to mankind no matter how many political parties, or how many different types of government people may hope will bring relief to mankind. The futility of this exercise has been amply proven by the failures of these systems for thousands of years.

(Ecclesiastes 8:9) . . .All this I have seen, and there was an applying of my heart to every work that has been done under the sun, [during] the time that man has dominated man to his injury.

(Jeremiah 10:23) 23 I well know, O Jehovah, that to earthling man his way does not belong. It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step. . .

The Lord’s prayer is Jesus’ recommendation to us not to look to human endeavors or human governments for relief but to place our hope upon the arrival of God’s kingdom.

Daniel 2:44) . . .And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin. And the kingdom itself will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite

Jesus as God’s king designate founded the Christian Congregation and gave it the responsibility of serving as a faithful and discreet slave that was supposed to feed the spiritual food at the proper time to the household of God.

(Matthew 24:45-47) . . .Who really is the faithful and discreet slave whom his master appointed over his domestics, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Happy is that slave if his master on arriving finds him doing so. 47 Truly I say to YOU, He will appoint him over all his belongings. . .

Notice the responsibilities that the  Christian Congregation was expected to fulfill.

(Ephesians 4:11-16) 11 And he gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelizers, some as shepherds and teachers, 12 with a view to the readjustment of the holy ones, for ministerial work, for the building up of the body of the Christ, 13 until we all attain to the oneness in the faith and in the accurate knowledge of the Son of God, to a full-grown man, to the measure of stature that belongs to the fullness of the Christ; 14 in order that we should no longer be babes, tossed about as by waves and carried hither and thither by every wind of teaching by means of the trickery of men, by means of cunning in contriving error. 15 But speaking the truth, let us by love grow up in all things into him who is the head, Christ. 16 From him all the body, by being harmoniously joined together and being made to cooperate through every joint that gives what is needed, according to the functioning of each respective member in due measure, makes for the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

Jesus also warned that at the time of his 2nd presence in kingdom power, he would find a faithful and discreet slave class that would be doing this work. He would then appoint this slave to supply the entire household of God with the spiritual food at the proper time. He also said that he would also find an unfaithful slave that would be neglecting his responsibilities and these he would reject.

(Matthew 24:45-47) . . .Who really is the faithful and discreet slave whom his master appointed over his domestics, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Happy is that slave if his master on arriving finds him doing so. 47 Truly I say to YOU, He will appoint him over all his belongings. . .

(Matthew 24:48-51) 48 “But if ever that evil slave should say in his heart, ‘My master is delaying,’ 49 and should start to beat his fellow slaves and should eat and drink with the confirmed drunkards, 50 the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect and in an hour that he does not know, 51 and will punish him with the greatest severity and will assign him his part with the hypocrites. There is where [his] weeping and the gnashing of [his] teeth will be.

The Christian Congregation took the message of the kingdom to the world at that time during the first century of our common era. What was the message of the kingdom at that time? It was the message that God’s king designate Jesus Christ had arrived, started the Christian congregation and died as a ransom sacrifice for mankind.
It was predicted that at his 2nd presence the true Christian Congregation would once again deliver a message about the kingdom.

(Matthew 24:14) . . .And this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come.

What would the present  good news be?
That Jesus had received his kingdom authority and that his kingdom was now ruling in the midst of his enemies. After the warning message was given, the kingdom would proceed to destroy this wicked world  and preserve those that heeded the message into a new world under the kingdom of God.

Satan’s rule was to be replaced with the kingdom of God.

By establishing these priorities in the Lord’s prayer Jesus was showing that the two most important matters were God’s name and the rule of God’s kingdom. This was more important than our daily needs for the day and was a request for God to help us prove faithful. Notice how this harmonizes with what Jesus taught.

(Matthew 6:25) . . .“On this account I say to YOU: Stop being anxious about YOUR souls as to what YOU will eat or what YOU will drink, or about YOUR bodies as to what YOU will wear. Does not the soul mean more than food and the body than clothing?

(Matthew 6:31-32) . . .So never be anxious and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or, ‘What are we to drink?’ or, ‘What are we to put on?’ 32 For all these are the things the nations are eagerly pursuing. For YOUR heavenly Father knows YOU need all these things.

(Matthew 6:33-34) . . .Keep on, then, seeking first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these [other] things will be added to YOU. 34 So, never be anxious about the next day, for the next day will have its own anxieties. Sufficient for each day is its own badness. . .

(Matthew 7:24-29) . . .“Therefore everyone that hears these sayings of mine and does them will be likened to a discreet man, who built his house upon the rock-mass. 25 And the rain poured down and the floods came and the winds blew and lashed against that house, but it did not cave in, for it had been founded upon the rock-mass. 26 Furthermore, everyone hearing these sayings of mine and not doing them will be likened to a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand. 27 And the rain poured down and the floods came and the winds blew and struck against that house and it caved in, and its collapse was great.” 28 Now when Jesus finished these sayings, the effect was that the crowds were astounded at his way of teaching; 29 for he was teaching them as a person having authority, and not as their scribes. . .

If we are genuine in our use of the “Lords Prayer” we should be awake and look forward to a visit of the preachers of the established Kingdom of God because this is the provision that Jehovah has made for his servants.

(Malachi 3:16) . . .At that time those in fear of Jehovah spoke with one another, each one with his companion, and Jehovah kept paying attention and listening. And a book of remembrance began to be written up before him for those in fear of Jehovah and for those thinking upon his name.

So what do you think? Will God answer prayers for one to win a boxing match or perhaps answer prayers for victory in favor of some political Government other? Surely if we genuinely pray for what God wants and act in harmony with our prayers, then Jehovah will certainly answer such prayers by bringing his kingdom which will cure all mankind’s ills.

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