Pray

 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven,Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread.And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.  And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]
For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.”  (Matthew 6:9-15, NASB)

The Bible verses above are Apostle Matthew’s account of Jesus telling His disciples how to pray.  The words He teaches them have become “The Lord’s Prayer.”  Prior, in Chapter 6, Jesus warns His students not to be like the Pharisees, who like people to notice their good deeds.  Rather, He says, they should not make a big production when they give their offerings in the Temple, and when they pray.   “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.”  (v. 1)

Jesus starts by saying, “Pray in this way:”  He doesn’t say “These are the words you must use.”  Some people pray the exact words from memory.  Others use the Prayer as a template, praying other words as they go through.  However we use The Lord’s Prayer, we should pay attention and not just go through the motions.  After all, we’re talking with the Creator God, Who loves us so much that He gave His Son to die for us, that we would have everlasting life! 

I think it’s interesting that after the Prayer, the one one point Jesus emphasizes is forgiveness.  The portion of the Prayer reads, “And forgive us our debts [trespasses], as we also have forgiven our debtors [those who have trespassed against us].”  The word “sin” is not used here, but that’s what He’s talking about.  And God has forgiven us of our sins.  Jesus points out in the last section that since God has forgiven us, so should we forgive others who have wronged us.  Notice too that we’re reporting to God that “we also have forgiven our debtors.”  It’s already been accomplished!  A final warning:  “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.”

The Lord’s Prayer is a model for us to use when we talk to God.  However we use it, we must be careful to think, and not be distracted by its rote nature.  We must remember to Whom we’re speaking.  We must also remember to forgive others.