Lent - Day 23
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Jeff Lampl
Jeff Lampl
"He continued to pray just as he had always done." Daniel 6:1
Begin
Silence, Stillness, and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture
Reading: Matthew 6:9-13
may your name be kept holy.
10 May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today the food we need,[a]
12 and forgive us our sins,
as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
13 And don’t let us yield to temptation,[b]
but rescue us from the evil one
may your name be kept holy.
10 May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today the food we need,[a]
12 and forgive us our sins,
as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
13 And don’t let us yield to temptation,[b]
but rescue us from the evil one
Devotional
Luke (11:1) introduces us to a shortened version of the “Lord’s Prayer” by telling us that the disciples had asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. Jesus answered by saying, “When you pray, pray like this . . . "
Luke (11:1) introduces us to a shortened version of the “Lord’s Prayer” by telling us that the disciples had asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. Jesus answered by saying, “When you pray, pray like this . . . "
I
have noticed in my years of trying to understand Jesus that He almost never
answered questions straight up.
He almost always told some sort of a story or seemed to answer some other
question.
That’s hard for simple people like me who likes a clear simple answer!
Well, here Jesus is clear and simple.
In Matthew’s version Jesus gives us a clear and simple way to begin our
prayer times.
“Our Father in Heaven”.
There’s
a lot there!
God is a Father, not some distant deity who claims to be Father, but
He’s actually our Father.
“Our” is first person possessive.
“Our” is personal.
“Our” is relationship.
Brothers and sisters who live with their dad and experience his love and
the intimacy of a deep lasting love relationship with a strong but loving father
use the word “our”.
This God to whom we pray is a Father whose love for us is so deep that He
came to us while we were yet sinners and rebels and didn’t care lick for God,
in fact he came to each of us with forgiveness at the very same time that we
might as well have been spitting in his face.
Incredible.
(Romans 5:6-8).
He comes to us!!!!
And yearns for us to return to Him.
That’s the kind of Father to whom we pray.
One more thing. The prayer does not begin “My Father in Heaven”. Christianity is a team sport. No lone rangers. When I come to my Father as I did once as a preschooler when my dad came home from a trip, crying out, “Daddy, daddy what did bring me” and then pout when all he brought me was himself, then I’ve already wrecked the entire prayer. The Lord’s Prayer reminds each of us that no one of us is the center of the universe and that “my” is not a word that fits very well in God’s Kingdom.
Questions to Consider
How
might imagining the most strong, noble, powerful, yet incredibly loving Father
imaginable as your Father in Heaven help you in your relationship with God?
How does replacing the word “my” with “our” redirect your
praying?
One more thing. The prayer does not begin “My Father in Heaven”. Christianity is a team sport. No lone rangers. When I come to my Father as I did once as a preschooler when my dad came home from a trip, crying out, “Daddy, daddy what did bring me” and then pout when all he brought me was himself, then I’ve already wrecked the entire prayer. The Lord’s Prayer reminds each of us that no one of us is the center of the universe and that “my” is not a word that fits very well in God’s Kingdom.
Questions to Consider
Prayer
“Our Father in
Heaven. Wow.
Lord, can it be that you are actually my Father and that your
love for me is so deep and penetrating that were I to experience it now,
my whole body would feel as if pierced with a joy that is at once
intolerable and thrilling, a joy that I both want to escape yet can’t
help but dive head long into?
It’s too good to be true.
No it’s simply too good not to be true.
Open my heart to your love, Lord, in a way that melts away every
bit of callousness that separates me from you, Father.
Amen”
http://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/dailyoffice.pdf
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more:
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