1 And it happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.” 2 And He said to them, “When you pray, say:
‘Father, hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 And forgive us our sins,
For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.’” Luke 11:1-4 (LSB)
Prayer is a vital part of our Christian walk before the face of God. I have never met a mature Christian who was at peace with the consistency or depth of his or her praying. Sacred Scripture says that God commands His people to pray….
I have often wondered why God wants us to pray since He knows everything already. He knows what we need already the Word says so why should we have to pray, asking Him for what we need? Prayer is communication. It is also a benchmark of our Christian maturity. God uses prayer to reveal many things to us about ourselves. He also uses it to grow us in faith and line up our wills with His. Let us look at this time at that part of our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount in which He gave us what has come to be known as The Lord’s Prayer.
5 “And when you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. 7 “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Therefore, do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. Matthew 6:5-8 (LSB) <Continue reading post>