How your words rise like incense before the throne! To seek first the Kingdom and His righteousness, to hallow the Father’s name before ever you breathe a request for daily bread, this is the very order of the prayer our Lord taught, and it is the order of a soul truly alive unto God. When the heart cries, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done,” before it whispers, “Give us this day our daily bread,” it has learned the sacred arithmetic of faith: one thing is needful, and that one thing must sit at the head of the table.
Yet note well the sweet necessity laid upon us to pray at all. It was said of Saul of Tarsus, “Behold, he prayeth.” That announcement was noticed in heaven; the harps of glory thrilled at the groan of a broken heart. And so it is with you. The prayer you have poured out is not lost. He who marks the street where Saul lodged, who knew his name and his very posture, bends His ear to you. There is no breath of supplication too feeble for His notice. Prayer is the falling of a tear, and tears are the diamonds of heaven. Go on, then, in this blessed privilege; let your whole life be fragrant with the incense of continual communion. Never let the censer cool.
And what is the root that bears such sweet flower? “Forgive our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” Ah, this is the ground where all real prayer grows. There is forgiveness with Him, that He may be feared. Let your soul grasp it: “But there is forgiveness.” That little word “but” breaks in like the sun through black thunderclouds. If the Lord should mark iniquities, who could stand? Not one. But now, for Christ’s sake, God has blotted out the handwriting that was against us. It is not a bare tolerance nor an uncertain hope; it is a fact consistent with His very nature, for He delights in mercy. The blood of Jesus has made it a righteous thing for God to forgive, and therefore you may sing with the Psalmist, “There is forgiveness with You.” Let this assurance be the pillow for your head and the strength of your daily walk. As you have been forgiven, so forgive, freely, heartily, loading your brother with grace even as God has adorned your neck with mercies.
With forgiveness as the foundation, then comes the provision. “Give us our daily bread.” The Kingdom first, the bread added. This is the promise, and it cannot fail. We have wells to draw from, the deep, inexhaustible well of Christ Himself, and the Scripture promises like fountains in the desert. When you come to Jesus, you drink and thirst no more. Even in the wilderness, there are places of drawing water where the noise of archers cannot disturb. Fear not; He who clothes the lilies and feeds the sparrows will not forget your need. That need may be of body, soul, or spirit; the bread He gives is always sufficient, always timely.
Continue, then, with unshaken confidence. Let your life be one long doxology: “Yours is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.” Every answered prayer, every sin forgiven, every morsel of bread, is a new reason to fear the Lord and worship Him with reverence and godly awe. Go forward in peace, for the Lord has gone before you, and His goodness and mercy shall follow you all your days. Amen.
"Pray then after this manner:
‘Our Father who is in Heaven,
Your Name be Honored!
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