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HC Q125. Prayer and the Lord's Prayer
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Q125. What is the fourth petition?

A. Give us this day our daily bread. That is: Provide us with all our bodily needs so that we may acknowledge that Thou art the only fountain of all good, and that our care and labour, and also Thy gifts, cannot do us any good without Thy blessing. Grant therefore that we may withdraw our trust from all creatures, and place it only in Thee.

See also in WLC: Q178 See also in WSC: Q98
Ps. 104:27-30
[27] These all look to you, to give them their food in due season. [28] When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. [29] When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. [30] When you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.
Ps. 145:15-16
[15] The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. [16] You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
Matt. 6:25-34
[25] “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? [26] Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? [27] And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? [28] And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, [29] yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. [30] But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? [31] Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ [32] For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. [33] But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. [34] “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Acts 14:17
[17] Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.”
Acts 17:25
[25] nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
Jas. 1:17
[17] Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
Deut. 8:3
[3] And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.
Ps. 37:16
[16] Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked.
Ps. 127:1-2
[1] Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. [2] It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.
1 Cor. 15:58
[58] Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Ps. 55:22
[22] Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.
Ps. 62:11
[11] Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God,
Ps. 146
[1] Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul! [2] I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. [3] Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. [4] When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish. [5] Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, [6] who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; [7] who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free; [8] the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous. [9] The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. [10] The LORD will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD!
Jer. 17:5-8
[5] Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD. [6] He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. [7] “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. [8] He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
Heb. 13:5-6
[5] Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” [6] So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”
See also in WLC
Q178
See also in WSC
Q98

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Q124: What is the third petition? Q126: What is the fifth petition?

Prayer and the Lord's Prayer

Prayer as the chief part of thankfulness, and the Lord's Prayer

Q116. Why is prayer necessary for Christians?

A. Because prayer is the most important part of the thankfulness which God requires of us. Moreover, God will give His grace and the Holy Spirit only to those who constantly and with heartfelt longing ask Him for these gifts and thank Him for them.

Q117. What belongs to a prayer which pleases God and is heard by Him?

A. First, we must from the heart call upon the one true God only, who has revealed Himself in His Word, for all that He has commanded us to pray. Second, we must thoroughly know our need and misery, so that we may humble ourselves before God. Third, we must rest on this firm foundation that, although we do not deserve it, God will certainly hear our prayer for the sake of Christ our Lord, as He has promised us in His Word.

Q118. What has God commanded us to ask of Him?

A. All the things we need for body and soul, as included in the prayer which Christ our Lord Himself taught us.

Q119. What is the Lord's prayer?

A. Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our debts, As we also have forgiven our debtors; And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Q120. Why has Christ commanded us to address God as Our Father?

A. To awaken in us at the very beginning of our prayer that childlike reverence and trust toward God which should be basic to our prayer: God has become our Father through Christ and will much less deny us what we ask of Him in faith than our fathers would refuse us earthly things.

Q121. Why is there added, Who art in heaven?

A. These words teach us not to think of God's heavenly majesty in an earthly manner, and to expect from His almighty power all things we need for body and soul.

Q122. What is the first petition?

A. Hallowed be Thy Name. That is: Grant us first of all that we may rightly know Thee, and sanctify, glorify, and praise Thee in all Thy works, in which shine forth Thy almighty power, wisdom, goodness, righteousness, mercy, and truth. Grant us also that we may so direct our whole life-- our thoughts, words, and actions-- that Thy Name is not blasphemed because of us but always honoured and praised.

Q123. What is the second petition?

A. Thy kingdom come. That is: So rule us by Thy Word and Spirit that more and more we submit to Thee. Preserve and increase Thy church. Destroy the works of the devil, every power that raises itself against Thee, and every conspiracy against Thy holy Word. Do all this until the fulness of Thy kingdom comes, wherein Thou shalt be all in all.

Q124. What is the third petition?

A. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. That is: Grant that we and all men may deny our own will, and without any murmuring obey Thy will, for it alone is good. Grant also that everyone may carry out the duties of his office and calling as willingly and faithfully as the angels in heaven.

Q125. What is the fourth petition?

A. Give us this day our daily bread. That is: Provide us with all our bodily needs so that we may acknowledge that Thou art the only fountain of all good, and that our care and labour, and also Thy gifts, cannot do us any good without Thy blessing. Grant therefore that we may withdraw our trust from all creatures, and place it only in Thee.

Q126. What is the fifth petition?

A. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. That is: For the sake of Christ's blood, do not impute to us, wretched sinners; any of our transgressions, nor the evil which still clings to us, as we also find this evidence of Thy grace in us that we are fully determined wholeheartedly to forgive our neighbor.

Q127. What is the sixth petition?

A. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. That is: In ourselves we are so weak that we cannot stand even for a moment. Moreover, our sworn enemies-- the devil, the world, and our own flesh-- do not cease to attack us. Wilt Thou, therefore, uphold and strengthen us by the power of Thy Holy Spirit, so that in this spiritual war we may not go down to defeat, but always firmly resist our enemies, until we finally obtain the complete victory.

Q128. How do you conclude your prayer?

A. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. That is: All this we ask of Thee because, as our King, having power over all things, Thou art both willing and able to give us all that is good, and because not we but Thy holy Name should so receive all glory for ever.

Q129. What does the word Amen mean?

A. Amen means: It is true and certain. For God has much more certainly heard my prayer than I feel in my heart that I desire this of Him.