Commitment to Christ - Prayer

::10 ::  “Pray like this...” (Matthew 6:9a)

Our reading today is from Matthew 6. Open a Bible and find the passage. Jesus says, “Pray like this,” and then provides us with what we have come to know as the Lord’s Prayer. If you know it by heart, then you have obtained a very helpful guide for learning how to pray, not only in repeating Jesus’s words but in adopting the themes for other concerns

Jesus tells his disciples to petition our heavenly Parent, asking that we become aware of and work for God's Kingdom to be present among us, because that is what honor's God and tells the world God is "hallowed,” or making holy, God’s name. Jesus also instructs us to ask for daily needs. And this means for our daily provisions of food and shelter but also our spiritual needs of forgiveness, love, and faith.  Finally, we are warned of the dangers that life holds for all of us. So we as disciples are to ask God to watch over ouorpath, leading us away from pitfalls and temptations, and lastly, to trust all things to God’s care

Unfortunately, we have long known these words, and so we say it without thinking about what we praying about. But this is the heart of how Jesus wants us to pray, so instead of saying it as a whole, this week break it up in to phrases. Write each phrase in your calendar, one phrase per day, piece-by-piece, asking and discerning, “what you think this mean?" I challange you to delve deeper in the way we are instructed to pray, and see what blessings you discover in this ancient prayer.

Know that Jesus has given you a pattern to follow, not just in how we pray, but also in how we live and serve. Learn from Him.

Lord Jesus, teach me , so that I may come before you with confidence and live a committed life as your disciple. Amen.