The Lord’s Prayer - "And Lead Us..."

The Lord’s Prayer - "And Lead Us..."

As The Lord's Prayer progresses, Jesus teaches us that we should pray for God to lead us. Similarly, in the 23rd Psalm, David writes these words: “He leads me beside still waters." The Lord’s Prayer and the 23rd Psalm are the world’s two most beloved passages of scripture, for both believers and unbelievers, and they each have, at their core, the idea that God leads us.

One of the great hymns of the church is a song entitled "He Leadeth Me.” In writing the words for that piece, Joseph Gilmore was preparing to preach about what it means to follow God. He was in a church in Philadelphia and as he prepared to take the pulpit, the lyrics came into his head, so he scribbled them down on a piece of paper.

"He leadeth me, O blessed thought, O words with heav’nly comfort fraught! Whate’er I do, where’er I be; Still ’tis God’s hand that leadeth me."

He later wrote about that moment: "It was the darkest hour of the Civil War, I did not refer to that fact – that is, I don’t think I did – but it may subconsciously have led me to realize that God’s leadership is the one significant fact in human experience, that it makes no difference how we are led, or whither we are led, so long as we are sure God is leading us."

We all follow someone. There is a commercial that I used to hear over and over during NFL games. It was a girl singing, "I'm just a young girl who's doin' her own thing.”

I have bad news for her. There's no such thing. We all follow someone or something. In fact, I spend most of my day, every day, helping people unravel the mess in their lives that is caused by the thought that they are “doing their own thing.” We were created to follow. The question is not "Are you a follower?" but "WHO are you following?"

Hebrews 12:1-2

"Therefore ... let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross."

Lord, You are the One who knows and the One who understands. Help us to keep our eyes on You as You show us the way. Give us the strength to follow you wherever you lead us and help us to trust when it’s so hard to see where we are going.

Lead us, O Lord.