Heavenly Father, Please teach me to pray! Matthew 6:5-15
I am in my secret place
I am here to seek your face
You are my unseen Father
Who sees all that I do,
Who knows all that I am,
And you love me still!
You promise to reward my secret prayer! I will
receive a reward from the Most High God, maker of heaven and earth.
That you would stoop to hear my prayer seems enough; that you would
even notice me is a grace beyond what I can comprehend. You see me. You
know what I need. You want to reward me for seeking you in the silence
of this morning. My Heavenly Father, you amaze me. I am in awe of you.
May your kingdom come!
May your will be done on earth like it is in heaven.
Please give us today enough to eat. Lord this seems a strange request in my world. Most everyone in my family needs to lose weight. Perhaps we should be praying "give
us today only what we need" OR perhaps we should find a way to give the
excess to those who don't have enough. If I have too much to eat, then
perhaps I am not giving enough away! Surely this prayer is relevant for
our people of all times. Can this kind of dependence be learned apart
from great want? Were the monks and friars of old, who chose voluntary
poverty, seeking to place themselves in a position where they could
honestly pray this prayer? What would it take for me to honestly pray
"Give me enough to eat today"? Lord, please help me to understand.
Forgive us the wrongs we have done. My family, my
church, my community and I have sinned against you and others. Forgive
us our sins. We also forgive those who have sinned against us. Help us
to live in harmony with one another and with you.
Please don't lead us into hard testing or temptation. Protect us from the evil one. Heavenly
Father, Abba God, in so many ways I feel like a drunk in
rehabilitation. My situation is fragile. I can easily be drawn back
into a lifestyle of disobedience and sin. Please help me to stay on
your path. Help me avoid temptation. Watch out for me when the trials
of life get so heavy or mundane that I think about sin as a temporary
escape. Protect me from the bully Satan who wants to accuse, ridicule,
tempt and destroy us. Please extend your protection over my family, my
church and our loved ones. We are weak, dear Father, but you are
incredibly strong. Shelter us. Protect us. We hide ourselves in you.
Father, I give you all the glory and honor. The
kingdom is all yours. All power belongs to you. Glory to your name.
Glory to your name. Glory be to your name, forever and ever. Amen.
