Prayer
Read: Matthew 6:9-15
“This, then, is how you should pray:
“ ‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.
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.
In the early 1970’s soccer was an emerging little league sport in the US and it was open to girls! That was all my parents needed to hear; finally, something that might be an outlet for all of the energy in their very ‘spirited’ little girl. The problem was I didn’t know anything about it. It wasn’t played during PE or recess! You couldn’t watch it on TV, there were very few books on the sport and the inventors of YouTube and Wikipedia hadn’t even been born yet! Fortunately, my first coach, Morgan Redman, didn’t see that as a problem but as an opportunity to not only tell his young team how the game could be played but to also show them.
He was creative and enthusiastic. He worked hard to tell us all we needed to know about the field, the rules and the how to’s of the game. Each practice we would work on drills that would strengthen our developing soccer skills and then at the end of practice, coach would make our parents become our opposing team. That is how he showed us the game. We would play for a bit and he would stop play to explain to us the why’s of the game! It was awesome – we were prepared for our first game, the test of our new skills and knowledge because our coach had connected the hows and whys!
Jesus had the novice team of Christianity with him! They had never heard anyone teach about the potential we each have to fulfill the purpose of the Kingdom of God, let alone have someone show them what it could look like.
Like my first experience in the unknown world of soccer, Jesus knew he needed to not only tell but to show them & us as well! In Matthew 6 he tells us all, “Pray like this” and then he gives us the words. And when we do more than read those words, but pray them, they can come alive and jump out of the pages into our hearts and minds!
What part of Matthew 6:9-15 jumped out at you today?
Do you need to feel the forgiveness Jesus offers? Do you need to forgive someone else?
Do you need to release the fear of the unknown, or do you need to offer thanks for God’s provision?
Praise God for Jesus’ willingness to do more than tell us what we need to know but to show us as well!
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