January 7
Genesis 13-14
Psalm 5:7-12
Proverbs 1:17-19
Matthew 6:1-18
The Importance of Prayer
“Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be your name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts and we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever, Amen.” Matthew 6:9-13 KJV
There is a saying we often repeat in our house. It applies to almost every area of life. The answer to most questions and the solution to most of our problems lies in the basic tenets of the Christian faith. When we don’t know what to do, when we don’t understand our circumstances, the best thing to do is return to the fundamentals. “Read your Bible, pray and go to church.” Whatever we are experiencing it is always the right thing to seek God for direction and the best way to do that is to read your Bible and see what God says about the situation, pray and ask God for guidance, peace, protection, or whatever else you need, and then seek the counsel of those in the body of believers where you are connected. There are no secret formulas or new methods to get closer to God. It all boils down to the fundamentals. Establishing a pattern of Bible reading and prayer as we start the new year is an excellent way to get grounded and ready for the season ahead.
Jesus gave us this prayer not as something we should mindlessly repeat and check it off our list every day. He gave us an example to follow so that we would remember the importance of different elements of prayer. “Our Father in heaven” reminds us that we are talking to our loving, caring Father who wants to give good things to His children. “Hallowed be your name” reminds us of His holiness and majesty. While He is intimate and personal, He is also above all and beyond all and we should enter His presence with reverence and awe. “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done” reminds us that while we are asking for specific things we recognize that He really does know best and we want that more than the thing we are asking for.
“Give us this day our daily bread” assures us that it is ok to ask for our personal needs and desires. He knows our needs, but He wants us to seek Him in every area of our lives. “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors reminds us that we need His forgiveness daily because we are sinful and broken. And it reminds us that we forgive others not because they deserve it, but because we have been forgiven even though we do not deserve forgiveness. “And deliver us from the evil one” is a reminder of our need of His constant help to flee from the snares and temptations of Satan. “For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever” grounds our prayer in His power and His ability to bring it all to pass and reminds us Who we are seeking.
Prayer is essential in the life of the believer.
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