Teach Me to Pray

Jesus taught us to pray... He taught us the Lord's prayer.

"Father thou art in Heaven, hallowed by thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven, give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our trespasses, and those who trespass against us. Lead us not in to temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, the glory forever... Amen."

My family says this prayer every time we get together for a family meal (with everyone there). I can say it by rote memorization, as I am sure most of you can. We were all taught to say this prayer as children. It never hit me the power of this prayer, until the day that my grandmother died. I can remember standing around her kitchen with every member of my mom's family (which includes 9 of her children, spouses, and 16 grandchildren). Needless to say, that was a lot of people saying this prayer at the same time.

I look back on those times, and realize that I never said it understanding what it represented. This was the prayer that Jesus taught His disciples to pray. This is the prayer that we should use as an outline to prayer. This prayer begins by putting us in the presence of God. Then, it tells us and shows us that God is in charge, and provides us with EVERYTHING we need. It then takes us to forgiveness, God's forgiveness of us, and our forgiveness of others. It then prepares us to stand against evil. Finally it gives God all of the praises that He is due.

It has taken me a long time to understand these things, but God has given us a plan for prayer, and it is right in front of us.

Lord, thank you for showing me exactly how you want me to talk to you. Amen.