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Growing up, I
learned my bedtime prayer; "Now I lay me down to
sleep" but, as I grew older, praying became a
different matter to me. It's talking to God so
needs to be done in reverence. Jesus teaches us how
to pray in this message from Matthew. The passage
became known as The Lord's Prayer beginning
with "Our Father, which art in heaven ..."
.
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Matthew 6:5-14
Jesus
Teaches How to Pray
( Lord's
Prayer )
6:5
"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites,
for they love to pray standing in the synagogues
and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell
you the truth, they have received their reward in
full.
-
- 6
But when you pray, go into your room, close the
door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.
Then your Father, who sees what is done in
secret, will reward you.
-
- 7
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like
pagans, for they think they will be heard
because of their many
words.
8 Do not be
like them, for your Father knows what you need
before you ask him.
-
- 9
After this manner therefore pray ye:
- Our Father which art
in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
- 10
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as
it is in heaven.
- 11
Give us this day our daily bread.
- 12
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our
debtors.
- 13
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us
from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the
power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
-
- 14
For if you forgive men when they sin against
you, your heavenly Father will also forgive
you.
-
15
But if you do not forgive men their sins, your
Father will not forgive your sins."
-
This
is the Word of the Lord ... It is meant to
change the way that we think, and the way that
we live.
Commentary
by Bob Pardue
The Lord's
Prayer
Many people of Jesus' day
prayed in public places so that they would be seen
by others. I like to think of this as their
"fifteen minutes of fame". We, as humans like to be
recognized for our accomplishments and the Jewish
people and leaders were no different.
Jesus says it is much better
to go to a private place to pray. This way the
prayer is between you and God with no distractions
and no possibility to take credit for being a
religious person in plain view of
others.
Make an appointment with God
to pray on a daily basis and find a quiet place
where you will not be interrupted. You will find
that your ties with God will strengthen by praying
in this way.
God knows our hearts and
minds so when we pray in public and get a feeling
of superiority to others who don't pray in public
let's remember the words of Christ and become
humble again.
Also, the "many words" Jesus
speaks of in verses 7 & 8 may refer to
chanting. Repeating the same words over and over as
if God is keeping count of how many times a request
is made.
God does know what we
need before we ask so why pray at all?
Prayer is an effort on our
part to let God know that we depend on Him and
trust Him with our most inner thoughts and needs.
If we pray sincerely and ask like a little child,
God will answer; not always in the way we expect
Him to but in a way that is in His will for our
lives.
Take a moment to go back and
pray the Lord's Prayer and ask God to do His will
in your life. I am going back to say this prayer
now so please join me.
Love in Christ
- Bob
If you have never made the
commitment to receive the love and life-changing
experience of Jesus Christ, please take a moment to
go
here and take the
first
steps to salvation.
Another Bible Verse to Remember: Matthew
6:1-4 -
Jesus
Teaches about Giving to the
Needy
-
Many famous
people, including Jed Clampett from the Beverly
Hillbillies quoted; "There's no better feeling
than the joy that comes from giving.". Well, this
Baptist Bible study lesson lets us know what Jesus
says about giving, and how we should do
it.
Verses about how to pray the Lord's Prayer
are from Life Application Study Bible: New
International Version
Comments are welcome. Please email
me with any questions or comments you
may have.
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