2020 Daily Devotion - Day 31

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Matthew 6:9-13 RSV
Pray then like this:
Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day 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 evil.

When His early followers asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, this is what Jesus gave them. It is meant to be a template. I am not sure He wanted us to pray this prayer in a mindless manner over and over again in church or at home. Rather, He wanted us to use it as a guide to have authentic conversations with the Heavenly Father.

So, Jesus teaches us to pray. He tells us we should give the Heavenly Father glory and praise. We know that God’s will is always going to be done, however, in this prayer, He teaches us to ask for His will to be done in our lives.

He tells us we can come to the Heavenly Father with our most basic needs, like food.  He teaches us we should ask the Father to change us into being forgiving people. We are to ask for strength to face temptations.

In other words, He wants our prayers to be a real genuine and honest conversation. It should not be an exercise in religion, but a conversation that draws us closer to Him, using our own words. During this period of the Coronavirus, make sure your time with Him in prayer is one where you use your normal words, and you simply tell Him what is on your heart.

Pray with me:
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Jesus teaching us to pray. Help us to live out what He has taught us; that our prayers will be our own words, expressing our worries and praises. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Yours because of Him,
Pastor John R. Steward
Senior Pastor
Mount of Olives Church
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