Getting Started
When you think about prayer, what comes to mind? For me, my first thought is “Shoot, I should be doing that more.” Or, “Oh man, I told Joe that I would pray for him and I forgot.” The thought of prayer, and even the act of doing it, can sometimes bring up feelings of guilt or shame. But God intended prayer to be a gift to us; our primary means of communicating with him.
When Jesus was teaching the disciples how to pray he didn’t say, “Use lots of big words, make sure you have your life together! And you better pray every morning or you’re gonna be in the dog house!” Instead, he gave us the Lord’s prayer as an example. For me, I have found that reflecting on the Lord’s prayer is a great way to connect with God.
Matthew 5:9-13
Follow the prompts below as you spend time with God today:
“‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
Pray: Lord, remind me of the ways in which you have shown me your character and your holiness.
your kingdom come, your will be done,
Pray: Lord, remind me of the ways that your Kingdom has come in my life, through Greek IV, at school or with my friends and family.
on earth as it is in heaven.
Pray: Lord, remind me of the times where I was able to rest in your presence and feel as though I was experiencing a little piece of heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Pray: Lord, reveal to me what I need to receive from you in this place. Would you provide _____________ so that I may better praise, serve, & glorify you.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Pray: Lord, would you reveal any areas of my life that are standing in the way of my relationship with you or that are standing in the way of my relationship with my brothers and sisters in Christ? (Surrender them to God.)
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Pray: Lord, would you open my eyes to the things in my life that are taking my attention off of you and are preventing me from being able to praise you freely.
Closing Reflection
Isn’t it amazing what God can reveal through just five lines of Scripture? When I pray and reflect on the Lord’s prayer, I am often shocked at how much God has been doing in my life that I have missed! Whether it is because I am moving too fast or simply don’t have my eyes open to see God’s work, I always find this reflection to be fruitful.
What would it look like for you to incorporate this prayer into your daily life? Maybe you need to wake up 10 minutes earlier, pray before you go to bed or on your lunch break at work? Wherever you can find space, I would challenge you to find it. Worried about making it through the whole Lord’s prayer? Feel the freedom to focus and meditate on one line per day. God cares more about our hearts than about what we can accomplish.
As we continue to connect with God through prayer & scripture, he continues to transform our hearts & minds to look more like his. That is my prayer for you & for myself as we grow into the men & women that God created us to be!
