stovebolts
Member
I like how Jesus teaches us to pray!
Matthew 6: 9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,[a]
but deliver us from the evil one.
We see that Jesus teaches us to pray starting with the word Our. I like that because it reminds us that God is “Our’s”. God is about family and community. But as with every family, each child has a Father. I think the way Jesus starts this prayer is really neat because it reminds us that we are members of a family, and we can approach God as a child would approach his Father. But then Jesus adds, in heaven and that’s pretty special because we know that one day, we’ll be in heaven with our true Father!
The next part is also really neat. Jesus teaches us to pray, “Hallowed be your name”. In other words, may your name be holy and may people think highly of your name when it is heard! Now then, we have to ask. How is God’s name received as Holy? Well, when people look at us, it is the only glimps of God that they get. Why? Because we represent Jesus on earth. Jesus even said just a little earlir in Matthew 5: 14 “You are the light of the world. And then he went on to say, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
When Jesus has us to pray, “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” What we are praying for is that God will use us to bring a bit of heaven to this earth. Heaven is a really good place, but in part because of how we will treat each other in heaven. Often, we have this idea that God’s kingdom is not a part of this world, but it is very much a part of this world, and we, as the body of Christ on earth can do the will of God, and by doing so, we bring a bit of heaven to earth each time.
Then Jesus teaches us to say, “Give us our daily bread”. Not because we are earning what we need, but because God knows that we need certain things to live and it’s good for us to acknowledge that all things come from God and in a way, I think it helps us to appreciate what God gives us each day.
But Jesus knows that nobody is perfect, and we all make mistakes. So he reminds us that we should ask God to forgive us for our wrongdoings. But here’s the catch… We can’t just do stuff that’s wrong and think that all we have to do is ask for forgiveness and bingo, we’re forgiven. No, we are reminded that we have to forgive others when they ask for our forgiveness. God doesn’t hold grudges, and neither should we. And I think this brings us to the end of how we should pray.
We know that God does not tempt us, but we do know that God will allow us to be tempted. Why? In some cases I really think that its so we can learn a lesson. Often we do things that we shouldn’t be doing and we tell ourselves that it’s ok. Kind of like asking God to forgive us when we blow it, but not forgiving somebody else when they ask for our forgiveness. So I think God allows us to go down that road, especially if we’re stubborn and by doing so, we figure out our wrongs. You see, God has a way of breaking us down to the point that we realize that we messed up. So when we pray, we need to ask God that we don’t become blinded to the things that we are doing wrong in our lives, and that we ask God to help guide us through those personal trials.
These are just a few thoughts on how Jesus taught us how to pray. I hope you’ve enjoyed it and I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Matthew 6: 9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,[a]
but deliver us from the evil one.
We see that Jesus teaches us to pray starting with the word Our. I like that because it reminds us that God is “Our’s”. God is about family and community. But as with every family, each child has a Father. I think the way Jesus starts this prayer is really neat because it reminds us that we are members of a family, and we can approach God as a child would approach his Father. But then Jesus adds, in heaven and that’s pretty special because we know that one day, we’ll be in heaven with our true Father!
The next part is also really neat. Jesus teaches us to pray, “Hallowed be your name”. In other words, may your name be holy and may people think highly of your name when it is heard! Now then, we have to ask. How is God’s name received as Holy? Well, when people look at us, it is the only glimps of God that they get. Why? Because we represent Jesus on earth. Jesus even said just a little earlir in Matthew 5: 14 “You are the light of the world. And then he went on to say, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
When Jesus has us to pray, “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” What we are praying for is that God will use us to bring a bit of heaven to this earth. Heaven is a really good place, but in part because of how we will treat each other in heaven. Often, we have this idea that God’s kingdom is not a part of this world, but it is very much a part of this world, and we, as the body of Christ on earth can do the will of God, and by doing so, we bring a bit of heaven to earth each time.
Then Jesus teaches us to say, “Give us our daily bread”. Not because we are earning what we need, but because God knows that we need certain things to live and it’s good for us to acknowledge that all things come from God and in a way, I think it helps us to appreciate what God gives us each day.
But Jesus knows that nobody is perfect, and we all make mistakes. So he reminds us that we should ask God to forgive us for our wrongdoings. But here’s the catch… We can’t just do stuff that’s wrong and think that all we have to do is ask for forgiveness and bingo, we’re forgiven. No, we are reminded that we have to forgive others when they ask for our forgiveness. God doesn’t hold grudges, and neither should we. And I think this brings us to the end of how we should pray.
We know that God does not tempt us, but we do know that God will allow us to be tempted. Why? In some cases I really think that its so we can learn a lesson. Often we do things that we shouldn’t be doing and we tell ourselves that it’s ok. Kind of like asking God to forgive us when we blow it, but not forgiving somebody else when they ask for our forgiveness. So I think God allows us to go down that road, especially if we’re stubborn and by doing so, we figure out our wrongs. You see, God has a way of breaking us down to the point that we realize that we messed up. So when we pray, we need to ask God that we don’t become blinded to the things that we are doing wrong in our lives, and that we ask God to help guide us through those personal trials.
These are just a few thoughts on how Jesus taught us how to pray. I hope you’ve enjoyed it and I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
