[Study Aired July 11, 2022]

Exo 16:19  And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning. 
Exo 16:20  Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them. 
Exo 16:21  And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted. 
Exo 16:22  And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. 
Exo 16:23  And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. 
Exo 16:24  And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein. 
Exo 16:25  And Moses said, Eat that today; for today is a sabbath unto the LORD: to day ye shall not find it in the field. 
Exo 16:26  Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none. 
Exo 16:27  And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none. 
Exo 16:28  And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?
Exo 16:29  See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.
Exo 16:30  So the people rested on the seventh day. 
Exo 16:31  And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. 
Exo 16:32  And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commandeth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt. 
Exo 16:33  And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations. 
Exo 16:34  As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept. 
Exo 16:35  And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan. 
Exo 16:36  Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.

In this session, we will continue to learn more details about manna sent from heaven to the people of Israel to eat. The focus of Exodus chapter 16 is the eating of manna. In last week’s study, we dealt with certain aspects of the eating of manna. Today’s study continues the discourse on instructions about the eating of manna. Chapter 16 does not focus on behavior or conduct; it deals only with eating – how we must take in the word of the Lord. Eating is a key underlying concept in the word of the Lord as it reflects on our relationship with the Lord. In Genesis 2:16-17, eating was first mentioned in the scriptures. Thus, it governs the meaning throughout the scriptures.

Gen 2:16  And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 
Gen 2:17  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

The Lord’s intention is for man to eat the tree of life, which is Christ. We know that Christ and His words are synonymous. Thus, God wants us to take in His words in order to live. The manna also represents Christ who is the bread from heaven. However, on a negative note, manna represents physical food which nourishes only the flesh, which when we eat, we end up dying. 

Joh 6:58  This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

Deu 8:3  And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.

In this age, it is only the Lord’s elect who are given to eat of the tree of life. However, in the fullness of time, all humanity will also be eating the tree of life. In Revelation 22:2 we see that on either side of the river, which flows from the throne of God and the Lamb, is the tree of life or Christ who is the manna, which is for the healing of the nations.

Rev 22:1  And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 
Rev 22:2  In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.   

Rev 22:14  Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

Exo 16:19  And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning.
Exo 16:20  Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them.

Not being able to eat all the manna gathered in the morning causes the left-over manna to breed worms and stink by the next morning. Not being able to eat all the manna means not living by every word of the Lord. That is the same as taking away from the word of the Lord.

Rev 22:18  For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 
Rev 22:19  And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

The consequence of not living by every word of the Lord is that the word of the Lord becomes polluted, as signified by the worms and foul smell of the manna the next day. This polluted word of the Lord causes us to become spiritually dead. As shown in the verses below, worms and foul smell are closely related to death.

Job 21:26  They shall lie down alike in the dust, and the worms shall cover them.

Isa 14:11  Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.

Joh 11:39  Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.

Exo 16:21  And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.

We are to spend time daily, denoted by every morning, studying (gathering) the word of the Lord. Our spiritual experience yesterday may not be adequate to meet the challenges of another day. We therefore need to feed daily on Christ as His mercies are new every morning to help us at our point of need.

Lam 3:22  It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 
Lam 3:23  They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

The gathering of the manna is done by every man according to his eating. In other words, we have been given different capacities to absorb the words of the Lord. As we mature in Christ through His judgment of our old man, we are able to take in more of the word of the Lord (manna).

Rom 12:3  For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Rom 12:4  For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: 

In verse 21, we are told that when the sun becomes hot, the manna melts. This means that we do not wait until we have trials or tribulations (sun waxing hot) before we seek the Lord. If we do that, we will end up empty handed (manna melts). What we have gathered in the morning is what takes us through our fiery trials.

Exo 16:22  And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.

While we are in this flesh, signified by the sixth day, we, the elect, are the witnesses of Christ (two omers), and to do that, we need to gather twice as much bread. That means we must study the word to show ourselves approved as a workman who rightly divides the word of truth.

2Ti 2:15  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 

Act 1:8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Exo 16:23  And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, Tomorrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. 
Exo 16:24  And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein. 

The sabbath is the day of rest for God’s people after laboring for six days. Spiritually, it signifies the period in our walk where we come to see that it is the Lord who does the work and therefore, we cease from our own strivings and depend on the Lord totally for everything for the rest of our walk in Him.

Heb 4:9  There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. 
Heb 4:11  Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

What we need to understand is that this sabbath rest will be fully realized externally, in the elect in the next age when the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ.

Rev 14:13  And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

The baking and the seething of manna on the sixth day refer to the processing of the word of the Lord to make it easier for us to assimilate in this age. The baking and seething are the works of our brothers and sisters who labor in the word of the Lord on our behalf, to make it understandable (eat). This all takes place in the camp of the Israelites. What this means is that it is within the body of the elect that the Lord has gifted His people to enlighten our understanding of the word of the Lord through what every joint supplies.

Eph 4:8  Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 

Eph 4:11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 
Eph 4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 
Eph 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Eph 4:14  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 
Eph 4:15  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: 
Eph 4:16  From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

In verse 23, we are also told that whatever is left of the manna on the sixth day must be kept for the morning. In the morning of the seventh day, none of the left-over manna stank or got infected with worms. When we come to find rest in Christ, we shall eat the leftover manna which refers to the word of the Lord that we did not understand. Eating here means we shall understand and apply it to our walk with Christ. Externally, the morning here refers to the dawn of a new age which starts with the first resurrection. At the first resurrection, we shall be made perfect!! Whatever we did not understand of the word of the Lord (the left-over of the manna) will be made plain to us. Paul puts it this way: That in this age, we are seeing through a glass, but in the fullness of time, we shall know fully!!

1Co 13:12  For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

Exo 16:25  And Moses said, Eat that today; for today is a sabbath unto the LORD: today ye shall not find it in the field. 
Exo 16:26  Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none. 
Exo 16:27  And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none.
Exo 16:28  And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? 

On the seventh day, which is the sabbath, we are to eat all the left-over manna. This left-over manna shall complete our understanding of the word of the Lord in the next age. Verses 25 and 27 also reveal to us that in the next age (the sabbath), manna shall not be found in the world. That is to say that the truth of the word of the Lord shall not be found in the world (field). What this means is that there shall be no salvation for mankind during the next age when the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. Internally, Verse 27 means that if we do not find rest in the Lord and we try to use our own effort or strength to serve the Lord, we shall not find Christ who is the manna in this life. The false doctrine of man having his own will, which we learned in Babylon and the world, will never give us the rest we need. We will try to use every effort to know Christ but will not find Him.

Rom 9:16  So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

Heb 4:4  For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. 
Heb 4:5  And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.
Heb 4:6  Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: 
Heb 4:7  Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. 
Heb 4:8  For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. 

Verse 28 shows us that refusing to rest in Him constitutes breaking of the Lord’s commandment and therefore sin. During our time in Babylon, we were taught that as long as we are not engaging in overt sins, we are righteous. The very fact that we consider ourselves as righteous through our own effort is iniquity before the Lord!!

Eze 33:13  When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.

Exo 16:29  See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.
Exo 16:30  So the people rested on the seventh day.

As indicated, the seventh day is the time in our walk where we come to rest in the Lord. We cease from our own strivings and depend wholly on the Lord for everything. If we ignore this rest by trying to use our own effort in this walk with Christ, we shall end up not abiding in our place. The place referred to in this verse is our family which is the body of Christ or the church of the firstborn. Some of the departures of our brothers and sisters are because they have not found rest in Christ. This was what happened to the Galatian church which Paul talked about.

Gal 3:1  O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
Gal 3:2  This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 
Gal 3:3  Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh(our own works)? 
Gal 3:4  Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.

Exo 16:31  And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.

Here we are given further characteristics of Manna. A key characteristic of manna is that it was a mystery. In fact, the word manna means, “What is it?” None of the children of Israel knew what manna was. In the scriptures, manna is described by likening it to several things. This is because manna is mysterious. It was in the New Testament that we came to see that manna is actually Christ who came down from heaven as bread to feed the people of God. As the real manna, Christ is mysterious. He is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. In this life, we are limited by the flesh to understand Christ fully. That is why Paul stated that in this age, we see Christ through a dark glass. However, in the age to come, we shall see Him as He is.

1Co 13:12  For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

Manna is like coriander seed. This means that as seed, the words of Christ are full of life. In other words, Christ or His words come as seed which is small but full of life. The word or Christ being a seed, has the potential to grow within us. This means that our lives in Christ is a process which takes time for Christ to fully grow within us. The smallness of the seed means that if we are looking for the spectacular, in terms of signs and wonders, we shall surely miss the truth or the words of the Lord. That was what had led all of us astray during our time in Babylon. We were taught that as long as we were seeing the signs and the wonders, the Lord was in our midst. However, we did not know that the glory of the Lord had departed – Ichabod!! There are many Christians who are expecting a mighty movement of the Holy Spirit to bring about revival all over the world.

Unfortunately, this will never happen. We are not going to experience any Pentecostal movement. Christ is moving mightily in His people, the elect, but in a small way such that we can easily overlook His presence. 

1Sa 4:21  And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband.

Another characteristic of manna is that it is white. The color white on a positive note signifies the light of the truth or righteousness as shown in the following verses:

Mat 17:2  And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. 

Rev 19:8  And to her [Christ’s bride] was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

Ecc 9:8  Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.

Isa 1:18  Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

The whiteness of manna signifies that the word of Christ leads us to righteousness. It also serves as a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. In other words, the word of the Lord gives us direction or guides our walk in this life.

Psa 119:105  NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

The manna tasted like wafers made with honey. Honey is sweet, and in the scriptures, the description of the way we receive the word of the Lord when we are enlightened is sweetness. The sweetness relates to how we see the whole plan of the Lord unfold in our lives; His mercies toward His elect and what is in store for us as His elect in this age and the powers of the world to come.

Heb 6:4  For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
Heb 6:5  And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 
Heb 6:6  If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

Eze 3:1  Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. 
Eze 3:2  So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll. 
Eze 3:3  And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness. 

In Numbers 11:8, the taste of processed manna was compared to that of fresh oil or of oil cake. The processed manna is the word of the Lord broken down in such a way for us to understand. As we are aware, oil signifies the Holy Spirit. When we eat Christ as manna, we taste of the spirit of the Lord. In other words, Christ comes within us as spirit as we feed on Him, and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. We are no longer in bondage to sin.

Num 11:8  And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.

2Co 3:17  Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 

Exo 16:32  And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commandeth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt. 
Exo 16:33  And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations. 
Exo 16:34  As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept. 

These verses are the commandment of the Lord given to the people of Israel when the Lord fed them with manna. The manna was to be kept as a memorial before the Lord for the coming generations. The Lord commanded Moses to keep an omer of manna in a pot before the Lord for future generations. Later, the manna was placed in a golden pot and put in the ark along with the tables of the covenant and Aaron’s rod, with the ark before the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle. 

Heb 9:4  Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;

As we are aware, the ark was placed in the Holy of Holies and was therefore out of sight from the people of Israel including the Levites, except the priest appointed for service in the Holy of Holies (the elect). This manna in the pot is therefore the hidden manna spoken of as a reward for those who overcome.

Rev 2:17  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

In verse 33, we are told that this hidden manna is to be kept for future generations. These future generations refer to the elect who are given access to manna which is now hidden. As we have indicated, the manna is Christ and His words. The hidden manna represents the truth of the words of the Lord which are hidden and only available to the elect in this life. In the fullness of time, when we are blessed to be part of the first resurrection, we shall have full access to this hidden manna as we now see only in part.

1Co 13:12  For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 

Rev 22:4  And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. 
Rev 22:5  And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

Verse 33 says that the omer full of manna was placed in a pot. The manna represents Christ and His words. Therefore, the omer full of manna placed in a pot signifies the treasure of Christ in our earthen vessels.

2Co 4:7  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. 
2Co 4:8  We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 
2Co 4:9  Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
2Co 4:10  Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. 
2Co 4:11  For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

We are told in verse 34 that Aaron laid up the pot, with the omer of manna before the presence of the Testimony, to be kept. The Testimony refers to the law of God, the ten commandments. The Testimony, therefore, represents Christ. Those who have access to this hidden manna, the elect, are always before the presence of the Lord where there is the fullness of joy and times of refreshing. In addition, His hand leads us and upholds us!!

Psa 16:11  Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

Act 3:19  Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; 

Psa 139:7  Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 
Psa 139:8  If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. 
Psa 139:9  If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 
Psa 139:10  Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

Exo 16:35  And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan. 

As we have indicated, the manna has both a positive and a negative meaning. Jesus showed us the positive and the negative aspect of manna as follows:

Joh 6:58  This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live forever.

The manna represents Christ and the truth of His words. It also represents the polluted word of the Lord that we were eating in Babylon. We had spent significant time of our lives in this journey of faith in Babylon eating manna which brought us to death. The time that we spent in Babylon is signified by the number forty. Forty signifies the period in our lives in Babylon where the Lord tries us and finds us wanting. It is the time that we come to see that we are a people who are always erring and have not known the ways of the Lord. Immediately, we become aware of this, and we leave the wilderness of Babylon to enter the church of the first born (signified by Canaan), the physical manna which brings death when we eat, ceases.

Psa 95:8  Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: 
Psa 95:9  When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.
Psa 95:10  Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways: 

Exo 16:36  Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah. 

An ephah is an ancient Hebrew unit of dry volume measure, equal to approximately one bushel which is roughly equal to about 35 liters. As stated in verse 36, an omer is a tenth of an ephah. In Numbers 18:26, it can be seen that the tenth part denotes a special portion that is reserved for the priesthood. This indicates that the hidden manna was not for the congregation in general (Babylon and the world at large), but for the priests exclusively. 

Num 18:26  Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up an heave offering of it for the LORD, even a tenth part of the tithe.

May the Lord grant us the grace to continue feeding on Him (Manna) and to be obedient to Him as we see the day approaching!! Amen!!

Video Links

“The Lord’s Prayer”

Hello all. Today’s topic has an interesting place in my mind and heart because the Lord has given me some real life experiences in my life that have led me to question and look deeper into His Word in order to find out what it was I was saying when I prayed what is typically referred to as the Lord’s prayer.

Today, I hope to share with you all what it is the Lord has revealed to me regarding what it is we are to keep in mind when we are praying.

We should always be very conscious of what we are saying and praying especially when you learn what it is we are actually praying “when thou prayest”.

(Mat 6:5) And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

(Mat 6:6) But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

(Mat 6:7) But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

(Mat 6:8) Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

In Mat 6, right before Jesus tells us how we are to pray, he gives us these statements and admonitions. This is hugely important when we are taking in the very moment the Lord instructs us on how we are to address Him with prayer. There is a very specific order of importance in the wording which the Lord gives us if we are able to see it. Before we get to that though, we need to put ourselves in the shoes of Christ’s disciples that day and understand what was just told to them.

Ok, let’s move on to the actual prayer reference in both Matthew and Luke.

(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.

Isn’t it just amazing that throughout the scriptures, the Lord gets right to the point and keeps it short and sweet. I want to break down each of these five verses into what I believe the scriptures reveal as being the proper order for us to understand just what it is we are praying for and about. All of this could very well be something you have all come to the conclusion on, and if so, this will just be a second admonition. If not, I believe we all will receive a blessing by just understanding how it is our Lord told us to pray.

1) Hallowed be thy name

In Mat 6:9 we have:

(Mat 6:9) After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

First and foremost we ALWAYS address our Father as such, our FATHER. We have but ONE FATHER and He is IN HEAVEN. It is also slightly important that we give him His respect. Actually, it is VASTLY IMPORTANT that we come to Him HUMBLY! We have a Father and we have a Master!

(Mal 2:10)  Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?
(Mat 23:8) But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.

(Mat 23:9) And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.

(Mat 23:10) Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.

 (Lev 22:31)  Therefore shall ye keep my commandments, and do them: I am the LORD.
(Lev 22:32)  Neither shall ye profane my holy name; but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel: I am the LORD which hallow you,
(Lev 22:33)  That brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD.

We CANNOT call on the Lord in prayer without calling him properly. When we make any telephone call to a person, we have to dial the proper number, and this is no different with calling on the Lord in prayer. When you address me, I will only know you are talking to me when you call me by my name. In order for us to be calling on the name of the Lord we MUST be keeping His commandments or we ARE NOT calling on the name of the Lord. We are in fact calling on “another jesus” if we are not keeping His commandments.

           (Luk 6:46) And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say

(Mat 7:21) Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

(Mat 7:22) Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

(Mat 7:23)  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

“I never knew you” is the same as saying, you never called on me, you called on someone else with another name. You might have said Lord, Lord but that is not my name. Calling my name is DOING THE THINGS I SAY which is what I came to do … the WILL of the Father!

What exactly are we doing when we pray as Christ instructed and “hallow the name of the Father?”

Well, the word used as “hallow” here in Greek is G37:

G37

αγιαζω

hagiazo

Total KJV Occurrences:29

sanctified, 16

Joh_10:36, Joh_17:19, Act_20:32, Act_26:18, Rom_15:16, 1Co_1:2, 1Co_6:11, 1Co_7:14 (2), 1Ti_4:5, 2Ti_2:21, Heb_2:11, Heb_10:10, Heb_10:14, Heb_10:29, Jdg_1:1

sanctify, 6

Joh_17:17, Joh_17:19, Eph_5:26, 1Th_5:23, Heb_13:12, 1Pe_3:15

sanctifieth, 4

Mat_23:17, Mat_23:19, Heb_2:11, Heb_9:13

hallowed, 2

Mat_6:9, Luk_11:2

holy, 1

Rev_22:11

The same word used in Mat 6:9 as hallowed is used as mostly sanctified, santify and sanctifieth everywhere else in Greek. It is used as hallowed in Matthew and Luke and as Holy once in Revelation. Mostly it is used as santify or sanctification so we must sanctify the name of the Father. How do we do that?

We can look at the first time “hagiazo” is used to get a clearer picture of this and that is in Joh 10:36. In Joh 10:36 we see this:

(Joh 10:36) Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?

(Joh 10:37) If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.

(Joh 10:38)  But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.

The Father sanctified or holied Christ to be sent into the world. We known that because just as Christ testified to here Christ’s works were what showed the Father was in Him and He was in the Father. His works are the Will of the Father, which Christ testified over and over as being why He was sent. We only need to look at one more example to know what the spirit reveals about “hallowing the name of the Father”, and the verse we can look at is Joh 17:17 and what it used there as sanctify.

(Joh 17:15) I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

(Joh 17:16) They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

(Joh 17:17)  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

(Joh 17:18) As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.

(Joh 17:19) And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

Here we can clearly see that Christ says we are not of the world but we are sent INTO THE WORLD, and because Christ is sanctified we are also sanctified but HOW are we sanctified?

We are sanctified through the TRUTH. What is the truth, THY WORD IS TRUTH!

So, when we “hallow thy name” when we pray, we are sanctifying the name of the Father by keeping His commandments which is KEEPING THE WORD OF GOD. We keep it by setting it aside as something very important to us. We do exactly what the scriptures say we do, but we also have to confess that is what we are doing. We MUST confess the true name of Jesus Christ and that can only be done by “living every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” and acknowledging that we are doing so. If we DO NOT acknowledge it as such, then we DENY that we have to “keep the sayings of the prophecy of the book”– JESUS CHRIST, which  is what we all do at our appointed time – we add to and take away….

(Deu 8:3)  And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.

(Mat 4:4)  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

2) Thy Kingdom Come

That is the first way we can even start to pray to the Lord. We must be doing the things which He says to do, the Will of the Father in Heaven. Huh! Isn’t it amazing how that works because the VERY NEXT verse in Matthew states just that progression:

(Mat 6:10) Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Amen! The first thing we are told by Christ to ask for after acknowledging who are Father is and that WE are his children, is to ask for His kingdom to come. Where is that kingdom to come? In earth as in heaven!

In and on my FLESH as in my MIND. Earlier in Mat 5 we are told:

(Mat 5:3) Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
(Mat 5:4) Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.(Mat 5:5) Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

So where is the kingdom of heaven and what is the earth? Is Christ giving us a geography lesson here? Well, it is a spiritual geography lesson.

Before I continue, I just want to make sure everyone understands that I will always, Lord willing, be representing that Word as exactly what it is primarily – SPIRIT. All the words Christ spoke are spirit and they are life, and that is exactly how I will present these verses as being – SPIRIT.

(Joh 6:63) It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

Christ is NOT talking about the earth here as the planet we walk on and he is not talking about heaven here are the firmament above the earth that we refer to as the sky. He is speaking of these two things as spiritual matters and words. So, we must address them as such. Earth here is is vastly different than that, but frist we must acknowledge what is coming in earth as in heaven and that is “THY KINGDOM COME”.

Where is the kingdom? I am sure you all know, but in case you don’t lets do a recap.

(Mat 6:33) But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

(Mat 12:28) But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. 

(Luk 17:20)  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:

(Luk 17:21) Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

So, if the kingdom of God is within you, when you pray as Christ instructed you are praying that the kingdom of God come WITHIN YOU. That should be crystal clear given the above scripture. When we pray they will be done in earth as in heaven we are praying that as OUR HEAVENS are GOVERNED by the mind of Christ, let the Lord’s will be done ALSO IN OUR EARTH  – US – OUR FLESH.

We are of the earth, the dust of the ground. Our earth is what is given to us naturally, and our physically body will go back to it. However, our earth is also naturally our CARNAL mind that will be destroyed with the brightness of His coming… IS, Was and Will be, each and every time another part of our earth is consumed.

Paul puts it this way early in his ministry:

(Gal 5:16) This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

(Gal 5:17)  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

See, when we pray thy kingdom come, what we really are asking for is DEATH to come to us and our flesh – AND IT WILL in due time. What Christ really did here by telling us to pray in such a manner was show us just how contray the earth is to heaven. They are polar opposites, so we are told to pray that the will of the Father be done on earth as in heaven simply to make sure we are always aware of what is going on, and that is why it is the next most important thing that we are told to do when we pray.

3) Our Daily Bread

(Mat 6:11) Give us this day our daily bread.

We just went over how important it is to sanctify the name of the Father, and we do that by keeping His commandments which translate into keeping His doctrines and having the mind of Christ. Praying that we are given our daily bread is once again acknowledging just how dependent we are on our Father in this whole process. If we die daily, if our earth is DYING DAILY, then we must all realize that through this death of the flesh comes Life and that only by the truth, the Word of God. We saw earlier that the TRUTH the Word of God is what hallows us, so we are essentially praying that Christ be given to us as our head EVERY day.

(1Co 15:31)  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
(Rev 19:13)  And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
(Luk 22:19)  And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. 

Our body, the church of the living God, the BODY of Christ is what we are given and are asking to be given each and everyday. We are asking, to be given the Christ the body…. and neglecting this fact is neglecting what Christ says to do in Luk 22:19 ….. we are to “do this in remembrance of me”. If we are not caring for our brothers and sisters in Christ, then we simply are not doing so in remembrance of Christ and his Christ.

We die daily to ourselves and we ask to give ourselves as a living sacrifice to Christ or rather to His body – to one another!

(Gal 2:20)  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

(Rom 12:1)  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

(Rom 12:2)  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

(Col 1:24)  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

(Col 1:25)  Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;

(Col 1:26) Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:

(Col 1:27)  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

We truly fulfill the Word of God by making known the mystery that is in us, Christ and if Christ is in us then so to is His body, Christ’s Christ. That is what we are asking for when we pray “give us this day our daily bread”.

4) Forgiveness

           (Mat 6:12) And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

I want to point out that our debts are our sins, and we are all guilty of sin. We again acknowledge this by praying that we be forgiven for those sins as WE forgive the sins that are committed by us. It Isa 100 times easier to due this when you acknowledge that God the Father is sovereign and He is working all things. The KJV has this as debts, but it is indeed sin, as can be proven with just the KJV. Here is the Greek:

G3781

οφειλετης

opheilete s

Total KJV Occurrences:7

debtors, 3

Rom_8:12, Rom_15:27, Mat 6:12

debtor, 2

Rom_1:14, Gal_5:3

owed, 1

Mat_18:24

sinners, 1

Luk_13:4

In Luk 13:4 we have:

(Luk 13:4) Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?

Here you can see that sinners is translated as debtors in Matthew. You can look at various translations and they have it correctly listed as sin and the forgiveness of that sin. How important is forgiveness? We are told a few verses after Mat 6:12:

(Mat 6:14) For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
(Mat 6:15) But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. 

Being given the ability to forgive is such a gift from God and it is not something that we naturally do, and I know everyone of you will attest to that. However, it is something we MUST pray for because as our flesh is warring against or spirit, we must remain diligent in making sure we do what the Lord commands. We have sinned so that our debt is in the billions yet our tendency is to not forgive those that owe us next to nothing in comparison to what we owe the Lord. So, we must pray for this gift to be given to us daily.

5) Evil

(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.

What seems to be the most important thing to us is one of the least important to the Father in His order of things that He inspired Christ to give to us as an example. Yes, it is the LORD who causes us to be LEAD into TEMPTATION and it is the LORD who DELIVERS us if that is what He chooses to do. Believe it or not, but we in and of ourselves would give into temptation EVERY single time if the Lord didn’t step in and deliver us from OURSELVES.

(Isa 45:7)  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
(Pro 16:1)  The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.

(Pro 16:3)  Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.

When the Lord tells us to pray a certain way, it is for good reason. He already knows our entire makeup and thinking because He formed us and he Knows all of our days, so He knows what we need to acknowledge about Him. We need to acknowledge just how much we are NOTHING and just how much He is everything! He does this so that we will know we need Him!

(Psa 107:5)  Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.

(Psa 107:6)  Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.

It is the Lord who creates evil, so it is the Lord who wants us to cry out to be delivered from the evil. Our Father wants ALL THE CREDIT because it is due to Him and Him alone.

The last part of this verse, “For thine is the kingdom, and power and the glory forever, Amen” is not actually in Luke as how Christ told the disciples to pray. This particular line is in some of the older manuscripts and in some of the oldest it is not. This is something I need to further study for myself, so I will not comment on this completely except to say that it is not in Luke in any manuscript, and Luke is where we as disciples are told “when ye pray”…. And they are not told to pray this last part of the verse that is given in Matthew.

Conclusion

I hope that I have been used today to show you what has been revealed to me about how we are to pray. There is a specific order of acknowledgement that goes along with how and what we pray for.

We are too:

1. Hallow or sanctify the name of our Father
2. Pray the Kingdom will Come in Us
3. Be given the body of Christ, the Christ daily as we are a living sacrifice for this purpose
4. Forgive in all instances – without exception if we hope to be forgiven
5. Acknowledge with prayer that we ARE caused to be lead into temptation but when we are we are DELIEVERD by the Father and NOT by our own doings.

I hope this was of some value to you all.