Never ‘Say’ The Lord’s Prayer

Scripture: Matthew 6:9-13 (NIV) –“This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today 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.’”

Message: What we have come to refer to as “The Lord’s Prayer” is much more than words to be repeated.  There is no ‘Amen’ in Matthew 6:13.  Jesus isn’t just giving us words to say or repeat; He is showing us how to pray.  I believe He is giving us the meaning of prayer, and the manner in which we should talk to our Heavenly Father.

For example, when we say “Our Father in heaven” are we really considering to whom we are talking?  Do we feel His eminence, His power, His glory?  When we talk of His kingdom to come, what does that mean to us? Do we truly want His Kingdom now, or do we want Him to validate earth for Heaven?

When we talk about forgiveness, do we realize that to be forgiven we must first forgive others?  We have no right to ask anything of God, or anyone else for that matter, which we aren’t willing to do ourself.  Know that it is OK to ask for help when the task seems too difficult for us to do alone.

The message I’m trying to get across is that this is a prayer as well as the manner in which to pray. When we talk to God – and that’s what prayer is – we should not just give Him some words recorded long ago, without giving Him the heart and meaning of the words.  We are talking to the Creator of everything.  We are striving to put God first, and searching for what that means.  That, I believe is why Jesus gave us the Lord’s Prayer.  We should never just “say” the Lord’s Prayer, but we should “pray” it and pray it often.  How about you?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for giving us so much more than words.  Thank You for showing us how to be in relationship with You, so that we may speak to You in a manner which creates understanding and true communication.  Thank You for giving us “Your language of prayer” through Jesus.  Amen.

Teresa Cunningham - see 1 of 2

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