Words from the Rock
You should pray like this:
Our Father in heaven,
help us to honor
your name.
Come and set up
your kingdom,
so that everyone on earth
will obey you,
as you are obeyed
in heaven.
Give us our food for today.
Forgive us for doing wrong,
as we forgive others.
Keep us from being tempted
and protect us from evil.
Matthew 6:9–13 CEV
Jesus wants to make things about prayer perfectly clear. He wants to show us how to get right to the point. And that’s why he taught his followers this short, simple, yet all-inclusive prayer. You may have heard it called the Lord’s Prayer. And you might even have it memorized in another translation. But what you can’t help but notice is that it’s very simple and relatively short.
Does Jesus mean that this is the only prayer we should pray, or that we shouldn’t expand it or change it? Not at all. He simply wants to show us how prayer is done. He wants to give us some guidelines—something we can both imitate and be inspired by.
Basically, this prayer consists of seven elements. When we pray like Jesus suggests, we acknowledge that (1) God is our heavenly Father, (2) God is in control of heaven, (3) God wants us to obey him on earth, (4) God wants us to ask for our daily needs (like food), (5) God wants us to ask for forgiveness, (6) God wants us to forgive others, and (7) God wants us to ask him for help so we won’t be led astray.
This kind of prayer was revolutionary in its simplicity. Unlike the religious leaders of Jesus’s day who could go on and on, Jesus got right to the point. And he wants us to do the same.
My Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for teaching me how to pray. Help me to do it on a regular basis. But help me to keep it personal and real. Remind me that prayer is my lifeline, connecting me directly to you!
Amen.
Final Word
Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
Jeremiah 33:3 NIV
Stone for the Journey
I will pray to God on a regular basis.