We Need
“One day he was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said, ‘Master, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.’ So, he said, ‘When you pray, say, Father, reveal who you are. Set the world right. Keep us alive with three square meals. Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others. Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.’”
Luke 11:1-4, "The Message"
Today, our lectionary reading is the Lord’s Prayer and I have used a version that may not be familiar to you. "The Message" is from a Bible translated from the original Greek and Hebrew Scriptures by scholar, pastor, author and poet, Eugene Peterson. It is an authorized Bible in contemporary language. I have used "The Message" version because it gives a modern instruction as to what Jesus was teaching.
Frequently, when we pray, we give God a shopping list of things that we want and are personal to us. That is all right; however, in the Lord's Prayer, Jesus gives us a structure on how to pray for the things that we need. That is why we should say the Lord’s Prayer daily.
We start by acknowledging that we are speaking to our Father; Father of us all; God who is in heaven but is not distant from us and who will be available to us at all. We ask for His peace in the world.
We ask Him to provide for us the bread that is essential for everyday life, to provide us with what we need rather than what we want. That does not simply mean the food that keeps our physical bodies alive, but also that which nourishes our souls. We ask Him to forgive us our sins — but only after we have shown mercy to others whether we honestly think they deserve it or not.
God is approachable. Prayer is something anyone can do. You don’t have to use complicated words or flowery language. God isn’t swayed by arguments, length or by skill in prayer. And at the heart of our prayers will be the words and structure that Jesus Himself taught us.
