In addition to praying your own words, I recommend praying the Lord’s Prayer. Using this prayer can be controversial. A friend remarked to me that she was attending a non-denominational church. She liked the music, but she missed saying the Lord’s Prayer that she had said since childhood. I explained that some churches believe it is wrong to pray a prayer that has been written down or memorized because such prayer doesn’t come from the heart. I don’t buy that for a minute. Why would Jesus have taught his disciples a prayer if he didn’t want them to pray it?
One my greatest joys as a pastor came one Sunday after the Sunday School class (all boys) had learned the Lord’s Prayer. They stood at the back of the church waiting for their turn to come forward for Communion as we began the prayer. As I stood at the altar their high, clear voices penetrated through the mutter of the adults. “Our Father, who art in heaven.” Tears came to my eyes. Another generation had learned the prayer Jesus taught us.
Helen wrote an excellent set of devotions on the Lord’s Prayer that I commend to you:
There’s just one additional point I want to make. The third petition (the third thing asked for in the prayer) is “Thy will be done.” Martin Luther explains this in his Small Catechism. “The good and gracious will of God is done without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may also be done by us.” For me, this is the heart of prayer. It puts us at the service of God. When we ask something of God, we are offering ourselves to God to achieve what we are praying for. Boy, does that ever make prayer a dangerous activity.
Read Matthew 6:5-15 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.
Wayne
Today’s Reading: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%206:5-15
Joy Lutheran Church Ocala, Florida 