April 14 - Matthew 6:9-13

April 14 - Matthew 6:9-13

Pray then like this:  “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

These are some of the most familiar words in Christendom.  It is still astounding to me that after more than two thousand years, we regularly recite words that Jesus gave to us.

We pray to our Father in heaven. Not only is God intimate with us, but he transcends everything. In four words, we learn so much about him.  He loves us as a father loves, but it is so much more than we can imagine because he is more than any father on earth. He is sovereign.  He is holy, set apart and his name, “I AM” encompasses all of eternity.

When the day comes that his will is accomplished on earth, just like it is in heaven … when he reigns here as he does in heaven, the world will finally be united again.  We pray for that day.

In this prayer, Jesus points us to the one who can provide for our needs. We ask God to provide our daily bread. We don’t ask today for what we might need tomorrow, but for what we need today.  We pray for forgiveness and remember that it is up to us to forgive those whom have hurt us.  We pray for freedom from temptation, because we face that every day and it is sometimes much too difficult to face on our own.

Though we often recite these words in public, remember Jesus just told his disciples they were to go away and pray in secret.  “Pray then like this,” Jesus said.