The Prayer of the Christian (Part 6) Today's Three-minute Bible Study Print, Study and Apply Title: The Prayer of the Christian (Part 6) -------------------------------- Date: 11/15/2000 Keyword: "prayer" "praying" Welcome to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand strong in the face of sexual temptation. Passage: Matthew 6:7-13* 7. And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9. Pray then like this: Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11. Give us this day our daily bread; 12. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors; 13. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Question Is it possible to live a pure life? If yes, why? If no, why not?   Practical help This is the last study on The Lord’s Prayer as found in Matthew. I hope it has helped you see that prayer is vital to your life and has more to do with establishing God’s will in you than it does with getting Him to do what you want. Some people think that God leads them into temptations like pornography because they don’t pray verse 13 enough. Basically, they distrust God. But Jesus didn’t distrust His heavenly Father, so what did He mean by this verse? I think it means we should recognize that, without God, we are helpless to resist evil. We should not look for temptations and confrontations with evil. Instead, we need to follow where God leads. If He takes us near temptations, then we will hide behind Him and trust that He will escort us past that situation without harm. If, as you grow spiritually, you begin to gain a confidence that you are becoming "stronger" to resist temptation, then be warned. You could be heading for a big fall. Instead, don’t play with fire. Recognize that in this life you will always need God — and that you will always need prayer because it connects you with Him. eXXit homepage Index of three-minute studies Copyright 2000 by eXXit *"Scripture taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1957, 1971 by the Division or Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA.