Devotional on Matthew 6:7-15
Confession: I am not "great" at prayer. I use "great" in quotes because the whole point of prayer is to focus on God's greatness, not our own! But what I mean is we all have different ways of connecting with God.
I love studying the Bible (I think because God wired me to connect with stories). I also love talking about God with others. I feel a closeness to him then. But I've always struggled a bit with prayer. My mind starts to wander and fixate on my worries, to-do list, etc. It can be discouraging.
But that's why I love the Lord's Prayer so much.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches us how to pray. He probably knew how much we struggle with it. He also knew how much humans love to complicate things! So, he begins by telling us not to babble on in prayer. We don't need a lot of words to connect with God.
Then, he shows us how to pray by praying. And I have always loved this prayer.
Let's take a brief look at it:
"'Our Father in heaven," (v. 9)
God is so different than other ancient deities. He doesn't dominate over humans. He's not easily angered. He's a good Father who wants his children to approach him.
One day, a bunch of kids ran over to Jesus, much to the disciples' dismay. They tried to shoo them away. But Jesus welcomed them.
God does the same for us.
"hallowed be your name," (v. 9)
"Hallowed" means to make holy. We want God's name to be honored, and we do that by how we live our lives.
"your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven." (v. 10)
Man, understanding this verse better has shifted my whole paradigm over the past few years. As Christians, our ultimate hope isn't to fly away to heaven one day. It's that heaven—God's kingdom—is coming down to earth! It's the place where God's will is done. It's the place where everything in the Sermon on the Mount gets lived out! And Jesus wants us to pray that we will begin that process now.
"Give us today our daily bread." (v. 11)
I've been reflecting on this one a lot this week. We ask God to meet our basic needs. And it's something we do daily. We rely on God one day at a time. That's so hard to do in our fast-paced culture.
"And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors." (v. 12)
We ask for forgiveness, but we also ask for help forgiving others. It's interesting that Jesus knew we struggle with that. At the end of the prayer, Jesus explains that this is a big deal. He says, "But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."
This doesn't mean we earn our forgiveness by forgiving others. It means that in God's kingdom, forgiveness is vital. It's how it operates. So, if we refuse to participate, we are closing ourselves off from forgiveness.
"And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one." (v. 13)
Jesus knows we will be tempted to stray like lost sheep. When we are, we pray for a way out of it. We pray to not believe the lies of Satan, who is the one who accuses us.
I am so grateful Jesus gave us this prayer.
But the question seems to be: Is this prayer simply a model, or is it meant to be prayed word for word?
As John Stott has said, we can use the prayer in both ways.
As a model, we can use it to get a closer look at the heart of God. We see what's important to him and his kingdom. And we can put the prayer in our own words to draw closer to him.
But when we don't have the words to say, we can also pray it as written. Reciting a prayer doesn't mean we are "babbling on" or being insincere. As long as we reflect on the words and understand their meaning, it can help us. I've found that praying it helps me focus more on God, and when I start to wander, it brings me back. Sometimes, I'll start by reciting it, then move on to saying the prayer in my own words.
God is a good Father who knows we pray imperfect prayers yet still welcomes us.
As we begin our day, here are some questions to ponder:
What struggles do you have with prayer?
As you read the Lord's Prayer, what do you learn about the heart of God and what's important to him?
Today, take some time to pray through this prayer. Use it as a model for your own words, or pray it as is, reflecting on their meaning.
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Thank you so much for another week of daily devos! If you'd like to support me as I continue this endeavor, a donation through Ko-Fi would go a long way.