Phoenix Christian Preparatory School

Matthew-6:5-15

And when you pray...go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father...do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words... Pray then like this: Our Father in heaven, [Your name is holy], Your kingdom come, Your will be done... Give us today our daily bread, and forgive us.... as we also have forgiven... And lead us not into temptation, but deliver is from evil.

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We begin our day with prayer and we end our day with prayer as well; "now I lay me down to sleep". We begin our meals and meetings with prayer. We pray for everyone from infants to the elderly. We pray for everything under heaven...

For those of us that embrace a direct approach to life and understand the punch line, "just the facts" we laugh at the idea that anyone would use "many words" to pray rather than just getting to the point. If we're not the type to beat around the bush then we're certainly not going to waste too much time & effort, nor too many words, when praying; there's just too much to do and too little time...

But aside from the obvious no nonsense approach to prayer there seems to be a theme of honoring God the Father when we pray: Our Father - Your Name is Holy - Your Kingdom come - Your will be done. So, perhaps if we prayed more often with an attitude of honoring God - maybe, just maybe our attitudes - even our lives would reflect honoring God more often as well. After all, there really is a connection between prayer and reality right?

Give us today our daily bread AND forgive us - as we also have forgiven.

WOW, forgive us as we forgive? OUCH. Let's hope HE forgives better than we do! Sure, we forgive, but it's SO conditional. We'll pretend to forgive & forget until next time, then we'll get even!

But notice that Jesus is instructing us first to ask for our daily bread and then it's followed by forgiveness. Get strong on what God provides each day and then we'll be able to forgive! And yes, there really is an expectation for us to forgive. And that expectation should drive us to God for His Bread and to our knees to forgive others with all sincerity.

Now, jumping to the last phrase "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil" this should be a no-brainer for most of us. God, please don't lead us into temptation, heck we don't need any help, we can screw things up just fine on our own - and when we do - please deliver us from that evil - that pet sin...again, and again...

Jesus role models for us how to pray with His prayer of the ages, "Our Father". He encourages us to get to the point. He exhorts us to forgive, and He reminds us to pray every day for "our daily bread" from His hands...because only He knows what we need every day to Honor God, Get to the Point, Forgive Others, and Sin Less.