We’re reading in the gospel of Matthew this third week and maybe this is the first time I’ve ever read Matthew immediately following John and Luke. So what I notice is, in those first chapters, Matthew isn’t recording parables, but straight-from-the-hip Jesus teaching. Jesus covered lots of topics before He got to prayer in chapter 6, verse 9, where He says, “This, then, is how you should pray….”
As someone who sometimes struggles with conversations, prayer has never been easy for me, so I really am looking hard at how Jesus goes about this. Especially if He’s got a handy, dandy formula. But even I have noted that in previous verses He has already stated that prayer is ideally private and brief, so I’m assuming that I want to duplicate principles of prayer here and not the exact words. But notice the word count—my goodness is He brief! A lot of scholars and theologians have spent centuries dissecting and interpreting this prayer. I’m certainly not trying to bring anything new to the conversation— My purpose in listening to the gospels is just to try to grasp what Jesus did while He was on earth. In this case, I can try to pray more like He did. So here’s a couple of things that I noticed that might help me shape my own prayers. 1). Jesus addresses God the Father who is both Holy and occupying a spiritual location above our own. Not praying to any earthly father, or any man for that matter, Jesus asserts God’s Holiness and in fact, stops to worship Him. Any further requests follows from that position of knowing whose Presence has been entered. I think I would do well to follow this example of mindfully addressing my Heavenly Father in the most genuinely grateful and worshipful way that I can manage. In the NIV translation this only takes 2 lines and a total of 8 words, a model of brevity: “ Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,” Matthew 6:9 NIV 2) And the second thing that occurs to me is that this prayer is about Almighty God, not my perceived needs. He is the one petitioned for provision, forgiveness, and deliverance. And really, as I think about my asks in the last few weeks, they could all be boiled down to just these 3 categories which Jesus affirms can only be supplied by God the Father. Shifting my focus away from my list and towards the source of all my answers and fulfillment of needs should be my objective. Does Jesus get down to really just the one thing that is needful? I think so. I really think that bringing Heaven to our earthly lives truly looks like the healing and deliverance I’ve sought, the wisdom and clarity I’m lacking, and the forgiveness that I haven’t yet asked for or realized was necessary. Asking for all needs to be supplied for His purposes turns my thoughts back to the one Who has always generously supplied. It also keeps me from deciding that I know exactly what another person might need and forming a list of requests focused on my needs and aspirations rather than what God may truly be working. The more I think about all the ways I can (and have) gone wrong in my prayer life, the more I see the wisdom in Jesus’ admonition to go into a closet and let God see in secret. To tune my spirit to Him as the source of all that is good, all that I could need, allows me to speak with Him thoughtfully and intentionally. To acknowledge that He is the author of all the stories I encounter allows me to release those precious lives and stories and to completely trust in His good purposes for them. And did I mention? Goodness, He was brief and to the point! Jb
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