MATTHEW 6:5-13
“When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
“When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him! Pray like this:
Our Father in heaven,
may your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
Give us today the food we need,
and forgive us our sins,
as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation,
but rescue us from the evil one.
Cliff Note Prayer
When I was a boy we would stay at Grandma’s house when my mom and dad were out of town. Staying at Grandma’s was not all that exciting because they just lived down the road, so we saw my grandparents all the time. When you stayed with Grandma and Grandpa, you participated in devotions with them. My grandparents faithfully read from the daily bread for years. The devotion would not take all that long, but the prayer following the devotion was another story. If it was Grandpa’s turn to pray we were normally done in less than 15 minutes for the whole devotion. If it was Grandma’s turn to pray, the devotion took 20-30 minutes. Grandma was a long prayer.
There are some people in the church who can really pray. When they pray, it is poetic and beautiful. I wish I could pray this way sometimes. This is how grandma prayed. Her prayer was like a King James Version Psalm 119. Nothing and no one was left out either.
I appreciate my grandmother’s prayers still today. I know she prays for me and the church I pastor every day. I also know God answered grandpa’s prayers as readily as grandma’s prayers. If you have the gift to pray with poetic finesse do so. If you do not have that gift; no problem. God does not need flowery words. The Lord’s Prayer is short and to the point. Like Cliff Notes, it gets the job done with brevity and candor, yet with humility and submission. Pray from the heart, pray with honesty, pray with an open heart to God, and God will bless your prayer. Remember your prayer is directed to God not other people.
Lord Jesus, I pray this morning you will tune my prayers to sing your praise. Teach me to pray again today. - Dan Jones
Healing in its proper context
I like this prayer. It’s short, without any hint of long boisterous sessions that drag on for hours. It’s simple, focusing on a few essentials rather than a laundry list of wants or demands. Then again, it’s rather different from the way I’m used to praying.
I have a tendency to pray mostly for physical healings. In fact, sometimes I get louder and a bit repetitious when praying for a healing, almost as if God were deaf or a little slow. And I’m not the only one. Attending pastor’s prayer and fast retreats is like riding ocean waves of long prayer sessions that flow with loud and intense beseeching and ebb with quiet murmurings, only to swell again with the next need.
I’m taken aback by Jesus’ apparent lack of specific concern for physical wellbeing. He only guides us to pray for one day’s worth of food! And that’s it for physical needs. So much for asking big and believing large! When people want me to pray for them it is almost always about some physical issue. I’m seldom asked to pray for bigger picture issues like God’s rule, forgiveness of sin, or spiritual victories over the Tempter.
Could it be that these bigger picture issues are where most physical needs get addressed indirectly? Part of God’s kingdom rule on earth is a healthy and whole lifestyle – personally and in the culture – that will certainly lead to healthier bodies and adequate food. Forgiveness that opens the door to restoring broken relationships and inward peace plays a huge role in physical wholeness! Victories over temptation free us from destructive addictions and lead to moderation in all things – health.
So maybe Jesus was just as concerned about my physical wellbeing in this model prayer as he was in his own practice of healing people’s broken bodies. It’s just that he’s as concerned about preventing physical breakdown as he is in healing after the breakdown.
All wise God, forgive me for being too narrow in wanting healing without a total life change. Help me to realize that healing is a whole life issue of your rule, forgiveness, and victory over temptations. I’m going to pray more for those things. – Mike Leamon
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