Day 2: How do I talk to God?
“This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’ Matthew 6:9-13
Is there a right way to pray? Not really because there aren’t any rules and regulations for how your prayer should sound or where you pray or even how long you should be praying for.
But prayer should include a sense of respect and honor to God because he is the creator of the universe and he is concerned with our heart attitude in all things.
Some people speak to God as if they were catching up with a friend, telling him their exploits throughout the day; others pray with a more sacred tone. Again, God is concerned about our heart and if we are grateful for all that is before us.
One way to think about praying is to look at how Jesus taught his friends to pray. We see in the passage from Matthew above that Jesus said that when you pray, address my father with honor, thank him for the blessings you have already seen, ask him for what is needed today and close your prayer by referring to Jesus himself.
Questions to ponder:
- Are Jesus’ words above, often called The Lord’s Prayer, something you are familiar with from childhood or a former church experience? Were you aware that this was Jesus’ way of teaching us to pray?
- If you are one who has experience with talking to God regularly, do you have a set time of day and place OR do you pray as you go along in your day?
Pray:
Thank God for the things you see you have been given. Maybe it’s the people around you, or the provision of shelter and food or a job you love. It might even be what you see in front of you-the flowers, the kids walking home from school, the clear water in a pool you see on a walk. The list of ways to be thankful is long even in the midst of hard struggles and loss.
