"Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don't let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one."
Matt. 6:9-13 NLT
When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, he gave them this simple prayer as an example. At first glance it may not seem like much, but this simple prayer was and is life changing! It is full of controversy, and really could have been considered heretical in those days.
The Jewish leaders considered God to be so holy and powerful, that even to mention his name was considered disrespectful. Here Jesus is saying when you pray say "Our Father." Completely revolutionary teaching. Jesus is moving us from a "religious" approach to God, to a relationship with God. He never denies God's omnipotence or sovereignty, but yet he brings us to a place of love, grace, and mercy. We are loved by God just as our sons & daughters are loved by us. If we go on Jesus tells us that if we being evil know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more will God give the Holy Spirit to those who ask.
So this prayer Jesus taught us, is not "the prayer" we are supposed to repeat until it just becomes empty words. This is a pattern of what our prayer life should be built upon. Recognize God for who he is. Yes he is all powerful, omnipotent, omnipresence, omniscience. Most importantly, he is our heavenly father who loves us. When you pray, approach him as the loving father he is.
We have been going through the Lord's prayer at church, and it has been eye opening. I felt it very appropriate to share what I've learned on the blog. I will unpack a little more each day until we get through it.
If you would like to know more about your Heavenly Father, or if you don't know Jesus but would like to, please click on one of the church links on this page. If you just need someone to pray with, or to simply talk to contact me directly at rlwhitener@gmail.com Please include "prayer request" in the subject line. Thanks for following along,
God Bless
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