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. Matthew 6:9b-1
1. We are Family
The opening of Jesus’ prayer seems normal to us. But when he said it to the disciples they would have been floored. To be able to address God as Father was unheard of. Father is a personal term and it made God accessible in a way that he never had been before. Today we often take this for granted. God, the creator of the universe, is accessible to us. That’s crazy!
Jesus is teaching the disciples and us today that God is not a distant God that doesn’t care. He is present and he cares. He is our Father.
2. God is Our Provider
The middle of the prayer is filled with requests for needs and thanks for provisions. In other words God doesn’t just care if we go to heaven or hell, he’s interested in more then our eternal destination. He wants to provide for our physical and emotional needs here and now. Like any good father God wants to provide for his children.
Jesus is teaching us that it’s okay to pray for what we need and reminding us that we need to thank God for what we have.
3. We Don’t Belong Here
“May your Kingdom come soon” Jesus is alluding that our time here will end, this world will not last forever. We are here on earth for a season and here on a mission. It’s both a reminder not to get too comfortable and hope that when things get tough it’s just temporary.
Jesus is reminding us that we are just passing through. We are citizen’s of an other world.
We often read the Lords Prayer and just simply recite it verbatim. While that’s not bad Jesus isn’t teaching us to pray this exact prayer, he’s teaching us what themes to incorporate in our prayers. Jesus prays a very similar prayer in John 17 with different words, but the same themes. Our prayers should reflect these same themes. Spend a few moments today praying as Jesus prayed.
For more on prayer check out: Dear God… A Lesson in Prayer
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