OUR FATHER, WHO ART IN HEAVEN
- Key Verse
- “Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may Your name be kept holy.“ (Matthew 6:9, NLT)
READ THE CHAPTER
Central Truth
The Lord has given us a wonderful example of how to structure our prayers in Matthew 6:9-13.
Reflections
The Lord's Prayer (probably best called the disciple's prayer) has some special meaning for me. When I lived in West Virginia on occasion I would meet early in the morning with my Pastor (Darrel Biram) for prayer. He would project the Lord's Prayer verse by verse on the screen for us to pray through. The prayer would thus form a sort of template for us to use for our individual prayers and in our time together.The prayer starts with recognition of God for who He is (Matt. 9:6). Do you think Jesus did this by accident? No, not at all. This is the proper place to start of our prayers—with a recognition of who God is, His power, and His character. We start with a declaration that we have a relationship to Him. He is our Father. What a great position to be in. We are coming to “Dad” to talk with Him!
I remember those cold, frosty, West Virginia mornings, with Darrel and I beginning our prayers by thanking God for who He is, our praises rising to the rafters of the church sanctuary. From this point we then prayed step by step through Matt. 6: 10-13, asking for God's kingdom to break through on earth, our daily needs to be met, forgiveness for us and others, petitions for all, and deliverance.
My challenge to you today is to pray through Matt. 6:9-13 in a similar way. Use the verses as a guide for your prayer and devotional time. Jesus is providing you with instruction about how to pray. Let's sit at the Lord's feet and learn to pray. I think that this will bless you!
Discussion Questions
1. What features of the Lord's prayer do you think form a good pattern for your prayers?2. Have you tried to pray through scripture before? Perhaps you should try personalizing a psalm in your future prayer time
3. Could you share today with another person how you were encouraged in your prayer time?
4. What do you think the coming of God's Kingdom on earth is like? How have you experienced God's kingdom in your life now?
Bobbi
January 8, 2010 07:33 AM
Thanks Jerry - I appreciate your direction to use the Lord's prayer as an order for prayer. I once heard something similar, using the acronym - ACTS - to order your prayers....A = Adoration, C = confession, T -= Thanksgiving, and S = Supplication.....to keep the focus on Him. Thanks again, Bobbi
grace
January 8, 2010 10:17 AM
This is a great devotional. I love knowing that God is "my daddy."