The God of Every Day Prayers

Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Matthew 6:9‭-‬10‭, ‬12‭-‬13 ESV

Forgive us our debts, give us our food and lead us not into temptation are things Jesus taught us to pray every day. I don’t know about you but for me having to constantly ask for God’s help in these areas makes me feel frustrated and weak. But God is not at all frustrated or angry when we sincerely pray. Instead He taught us to pray these things because He is a God who is ready to forgive us every morning, delights in providing for us every day and who knows we need His protection on our journey!

God’s Bakery

Give us this day our daily bread. Matthew 6:11 KJV

Last night my wife was in a baking mood and so she decided on making eight loaves of her homemade bread. The aroma of it was enough to get my mouth watering in anticipation of butter melting in to that first slice fresh out of the oven!

When Jesus taught us to ask for bread He only said to pray for what we need today. We do not need to worry about tomorrow’s bread because our Father’s bakery will never go out of business. Just like the loaves straight from Nancy’s oven, we also need bread fresh from Heaven to feed our hearts every day.

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Then when our neighbors stop by, we can offer them more than just home-made bread. If we are willing to roll up our sleeves  and get to work in the kitchen we will be near to the oven door so that when it opens we can find bread fresh from Heaven to share in time of need!

Prayer Lessons – Day 3

Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Matthew 6:11 KJV

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Going for walks around the neighborhood with our grandchildren is one of the highlights of our visits with them. Whether we are examining leaves together or stopping at the corner store for ice cream; what matters is that we are doing it together.  Praying for daily bread and forgiveness is just the same. Though they appear to be totally unrelated items they are both part of our daily walk around the neighborhood with Jesus.  P1040060

When we are praying for daily bread we are simply showing our Heavenly Father that we are depending on Him even for the simplest of matters. Then when we stumble and fall down while we are with Him we can immediately turn and ask forgiveness. He is willing to freely give but He also reminds us that forgiveness given comes with His gracious expectation that we learn to be forgiving as well. Through each line of this prayer Jesus wants us to know that our relationship to Him is what matters most. Whether we need daily bread or forgiveness of sins He wants us to trust in His care and discover the joy of an childlike dependence on Him.

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