For a faithful Pastor to go into the world and preach the Gospel is an answer to all seven petitions of the Our Father, all in one, small, frail, yet ever-so-potent vessel.
Hallowed be Thy Name: A faithful Pastor teaches "all things whatsoever I have commanded" in truth and purity and thus brings the forgiveness of sins to poor sinners through the living Christ, keeping us mindful of the sure and certain testimonies proclaimed from Above from the beginning of time to the end of time. Unless God places and calls men in the world to teach these things rightly we would all be lost forever.
Thy Kingdom Come: A faithful Pastor - a man speaking the Word - is the precise means whereby all that pertains to the Kingdom of Heaven is made known to sinful human flesh; washing, feeding, absolving, with real forgiveness, for he is Christ's very own mouthpiece in a given place and time. The Kingdom of Heaven does not come without faithful Pastors.
Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven: Those who hear and believe the Gospel as preached by a faithful Pastor are completely changed from the inside out, bearing fruits while hidden under the cross, crucifying in themselves by the grace of God in Christ those urges from which they have been rescued - the urges that would damn and kill us forever.
Give us this day our daily bread: A faithful Pastor admonishes us to receive with thanksgiving all the gifts and vocations God the Father in Christ Jesus has bestowed upon us as we labor in this short vale of sweat and tears. To the extent we are encouraged in this and more, daily bread indeed flows forth abundantly, yet would do so even without our prayer.
Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us: The forgiveness of sins is chiefly what a faithful Pastor is all about, for he preaches Christ crucified not as a spectacle or point of philosophical contention, but as Our True Substitute who, because He lives and has proven a perfect sacrifice for our wholly scurrilous nature, has made all things new.
Lead us not into temptation: The faithful Pastor leads the flock to quiet waters to still the soul, showing us in splendid specificity what is right and what is wrong, not only so that we clearly understand our need for a Savior, but so that we know how to serve our neighbor in joy and carry on with full enjoyment of what is good, right, and beautiful in this world.
But deliver us from evil: From Holy Baptism, to the Lord's Supper, to Holy Absolution, and all that pertains to participating in the Body of Christ, the faithful Pastor is ultimately God's chosen instrument in bringing poor sinners out of the sure and certain prospect of damnation into holy perfection through the merits of God's own dear Son.
The grace of God is such that He answers before we even ask. Yet He has taught us to pray this way, and look how He answers! Yes.
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