scripture and prayer reflection
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Lyrics
Heavenly Father, You always amaze me
Let Your kingdom come in my world and in my life
Give me the food I need to live through today
And forgive me as I forgive the people that wrong me
Lead me far from temptation, deliver me from the evil one
I look out the window, the birds are composing
Not a note is out of tune or out of place
I walk to the meadow and stare at the flowers
Better dressed than any girl on her wedding day
So why should I worry?
Why do I freak out?
God knows what I need
You know what I need
Your love is, Your love is
Your love is strong
The Kingdom of the Heavens is now advancing
Invade my heart, invade this broken town
The Kingdom of the Heavens is buried treasure
Would you sell yourself to buy the one you've found?
Two things You told me
That You are strong
And You love me
Yes, You love me
Your love is, Your love is
Your love is strong
Our God in Heaven
Hallowed be Thy name
Above all names
Your kingdom come
Your will be done
On earth as it is in Heaven
Give us today our daily bread
Forgive us weary sinners
Keep us far from our vices
And deliver us from these prisons
Matthew 6:5-15
5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread,
12 and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Proverbs 18:10
10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower;
the righteous man runs into it and is safe.
Reflection
The Lord’s Prayer — known all around the world and used across all Christian denominations — is the model of prayer that Jesus gave in His sermon on the mount. Matthew prefaces the prayer with an account of Jesus’ warnings both against praying with hypocrisy and pride, and against trying to pray “well enough”.
As believers we too can fall into these traps. We can try to pray in front of others in such a way that they admire how “spiritual” we are. We can feel shy of praying out loud with others because we don’t feel eloquent enough or “good enough” at praying. We can even more subtly begin to slip into the belief that the way we pray and the words we choose somehow might be the key to persuade God to act, and that if we ask in just the right way, He will give us what we want. For those who have grown up in the church, we may even have developed a totally different vocabulary that gets pulled out when it’s time to pray, almost putting on a different persona based on what we’ve heard from others in prayer.
Jesus says, however, that God already knows what we need and we can speak simply and directly with Him. He lays out a basic structure — honor God as God, seek to align with His will, ask for what you need physically and spiritually. It is rather simple compared to some of our more anxiously contrived prayers. By all means, talk to God about what you are experiencing, including anxiety! But this model becomes a place to return to, not as a rote ritual prayer to spout off automatically without thought, but as a place to be with God, knowing that He is powerful and loving, and is working for the good of those who love Him (Rom 8:26-28).
The steady rhythmic strumming of the acoustic guitar in Foreman’s arrangement of this prayer paints us a picture of the firm, reliable foundation we have as we come to God in Christ. The jump in intensity when the song arrives at the words from the Lord’s Prayer mirrors the singer’s heart crying out to God with His whole heart.
Take some time to reflect on Jesus’ words, praying slowly through the structure He lays out and connecting it to your own life. What things from the Lord’s Prayer are hardest to genuinely pray for? What is it about those things that makes them challenging? Talk with God about those things today. May you find there the freedom to lean into His strong love that holds you fast.