Scripture:
[7] “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. [8] Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. [9] Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
[10] Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Observation:
Jesus tells us some key points as He teaches His us how to pray. Whenever I personally read these verses and reflect on them, different aspects stand out a little more than others each time. Here are a couple observations from the lead-in and first half of the Lord’s Prayer.
“..do not heap up empty phrases..” – Our prayers don’t need to be filled with a bunch of babble or words for the sake of making them lengthy, or to impress others.
“..for your Father knows what you need before yo ask him” – Prayer is not to let God know something he doesn’t already know, but to show humility, show our dependence on him, and set our worries before him. To that I will add that prayer is to thank him for all he has done and continues to do for us, our families, and everyone else we pray for.
“..hollowed be your name” – He loves us! As we pray, let the Lord know how much we love, honor and revere Him above all others.
“Your kingdom come..” – Bring Your kingdom to us Lord.
“..your will be done..” – We must stay aligned with the Lord’s will for us and pray for His will to be done, not for our will to be done in spite of what He desires for us.
Application:
Pray to our Father with the sincerity of heart not to impress others.
The Lord knows what we need, what our family needs, what our friends need, what the world needs, even before we begin to pray. Show reverence and dependence on Him as we pray. We owe him even the breath in our lungs.
He loves us! As we pray, let the Lord know how much we love, honor and revere Him above all others.
His will will be done regardless of whether we participate or not so let us show Him that our will is aligned with His. The Lord may allow us to be tested in order to make us stronger in one way or another, or to show us something very important that we would never have noticed otherwise.
Let us be obedient and never a problem to bringing His kingdom to this world.
Prayer:
Lord we love you and know that you love us! Thank you for guiding us with your word, not on what to pray, but in how to pray. To pray from our hearts and not as hypocrites where we say what we think others want us to say. Help us stay driven by you and your will, and not by our own will that is easily corrupted by outside influences. In Your Holy name we pray, amen.