Scripture
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,
but deliver us from the evil one.’
Reflection
While back in Brazil I’ve been spending more time with my 4-year old nephew. He attends a Christian school where they teach the kids to pray before their meals by singing a little song. The lyrics go like this: “Father in Heaven bless this joyful time and the food that you give us every day”. Whenever we are at the table he just goes into auto-pilot mode and sing the song as fast as he can, keeping an eye on the food. It’s cute, but I wonder how often we do the same with prayers we pray repeatedly.
Take some time today to read the Lord’s prayer again, this time pausing at the verse or verses that you need to focus on. Use the questions below to help you with this exercise.
Thoughts for the day
- Do you need to be reminded of who God is and in the holiness of His Name?
- Do you need to declare for God’s will to be done in a specific circumstance in your life, in the life of others or the world?
- Do you need provision for today?
- Do you need to ask for forgiveness and/or to forgive someone’s offense?
- Do you need God to keep you from Satan’s schemes?
Prayer
