OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO DO AND TO TEACH Part 10

7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

9 “This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’

The Lord Jesus, still teaching His followers the concept of living discreetly, paused on the subject of the secret prayer life to clarify some aspects of prayer itself.

The pagan practice of repeating words and phrases over and over again based on the belief that uttering many words would facilitate their prayers to be heard is advised against by the Lord Jesus because our Father in heaven knows what we need before we ask Him and certainly hears what we are asking for and so to repeat words over and over again is redundant.

The Lord then goes on to teach His followers the most well known prayer on earth as a model for how those who follow Him should pray to God.

This is a synopsis of the prayer model;

• As His children, address God as Father
• Honor His name as one honors a father
• Acknowledge fealty to God's kingdom
• Request spiritual supply for physical needs
• Confirm that all debts owed are forgiven
• Request forgiveness for debts incurred  
• Request exemption from tests with reasons
• Request exclusion from the grip of Satan

This chartered prayer model gives a guide to being succinct in prayer and it provides a checklist of the articles of spiritual practice that believers in Jesus need to incorporate into their lives in order to establish a robust interface with the kingdom of God.

Amen

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