Education visionary Towns urges audience to pray the Lord’s Prayer daily
posted on Mar 28, 2011 by Austin MayfieldLiberty University co-founder Dr. Elmer Towns presented a discourse on prayer at the Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary chapel service on Feb. 16. The educational visionary delineated seven petitions in the Lord’s Prayer, encouraging the chapel audience to use the petitions as a model for their own prayer life.
Towns recounted the appearances of the Pater Noster throughout Church history, citing such occurrences as evidence for the prayer’s timeless applicability. From first-century Italian Christians inscribing the Lord’s Prayer on the walls of their houses, to the interactive recitals of the “Our Father” by third-century Christian congregations, Christ’s followers have used His prayer to evoke greater potency in their petitions, Towns said.
The authoritative author then divided the prayer into seven petitions: three “thy” petitions, a “hinge” petition and three “us” petitions.
“The first three petitions are concerned about God,” Towns said. “You get God’s ear when you start off with ‘Hallowed be Thy Name.’” Towns refers to the middle petition as a “hinge” because “it gives us access; it’s the only petition that’s really about your needs,” he said. In referring to the “us” petitions, the author and professor said they are the, “give us, lead us, and protect us requests. Then you move into the prayer’s conclusion.
“Everything you need to ask and everything you need to know is in the Lord’s Prayer—all of Christianity is in those 62 short words,” he said. Towns added that he’s prayed this prayer nearly every morning for 29 years and seen incredible results in the process.
Towns ended his sermon by requesting those present to commit to reciting the Lord’s Prayer every day for the subsequent 30 days. His appeal was well-received and the majority of those in attendance agreed to do so.
The education pioneer co-founded Liberty University with Jerry Falwell in 1971 and was the only full-time teacher in the first year of its existence. Today, the university has over 11,400 students on campus and 39,000 in Liberty University Online. He further serves as dean of the School of Religion. Towns’ visit to the Kansas City-based seminary also afforded him the opportunity to teach a week-long doctoral seminar entitled “Leadership Issues: Faith.”
Midwestern faculty and administrators said they were delighted to host the prominent educator. “I have known Dr. Towns for over 20 years, and he is a visionary,” said Dr. Jerry Sutton, interim dean and vice president of academics at MBTS and former associate professor of Christian proclamation and pastoral theology at Liberty. “Dr. Towns is an encourager; he is a friend of preachers; and he has a heart for the world. We looked forward to his visit with great joy and anticipation, and we were blessed accordingly by his words and by his fellowship.”
To hear Towns’ message, along with those of previous Midwestern chapel speakers, go to www.mbts.edu.