The first petition in Jesus’ Example Prayer in Matthew 6 (ESV) is “May Your name be honored.” What does that really mean? I have read different commentaries as I studied to write my posts on Jesus’ Example Prayer. The NIV Application Commentary talks about honoring God’s name as a part of our worship. God is worthy of worship. Unfortunately, we spend too much time and effort on pursuits that do not draw us closer to God.
Jesus’ Example Prayer reminds us of who God is and where our worship should be directed. Any lesson Jesus taught is worthwhile learning. I hope this is a lesson you are seeking to learn.
After a week filled with challenges that hit the core of who I am, I know how easy it is to question if God cares. I have been blessed by reading the devotionals like In Touch written by Dr. Charles Stanley. The devotional for Monday, April 29, reminds us of God’s love in difficulties. “This (Colossians 3:3) speaks of our eternal security and also gives us a sense of safety since nothing comes our way without passing through God’s hands.”
Wow! I still struggle counting trials joy, but God is hard at work lovingly choosing what I need to grow and mature. I don’t pretend to understand how the pain of difficulty specifically works in my life, but God does.
My Abba loves me. He wants me to come to Him in prayer and see how much He cares.
Jesus’ Example Prayer shows us how much God cares. The Greek word used at the beginning of this prayer is “Abba”. This word is a personal term – the same as a child saying, “Daddy”. God is a loving father who wants us to talk to Him. He sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sins (something we should remember all year – not only Easter weekend). This is a love too great to fully comprehend. However, I will keep trying. God is so good.
If you don’t understand what my blog (or this post) is about, please ask me. I would be thrilled to share with you what I have learned about God. He is real. He is true. My beliefs don’t mean anything unless they have a solid foundation. God is that foundation. You can contact me at pleadinginprayer@gmail.com. I would be happy to talk to you.
I have talked about prayer in most of my blog posts this year. Prayer is something God is teaching me to do more. I spent several weeks talking about what we often call the Lord’s Prayer. It can be found in Matthew 6 and Luke 11. We call it the Lord’s Prayer because Jesus prayed it. However, it would be better titled either the Model Prayer or the Disciples’ Prayer. This is an example of how we should pray.
I was reminded that Jesus’ Model Prayer has much depth. It is possible to go through the prayer again and find new treasures. God gives us so much.
Any time we study verses in the Bible, we should look at the complete context. Jesus Model Prayer is great to read alone, but we should look at the verses around it as well. Matthew 6 reminds us that we need to live for God and not our own purposes. Some want to do good things and pray to be seen by others. Jesus told His disciples that we should do these things without others noticing. That can be hard to do. However, as we seek to draw closer to Jesus, prayer will give us something better than the praise of men. We will draw closer to Christ and become more like Him. There is no better goal. No greater fulfillment.
As humans we like to be accepted. This gives us a feeling of belonging. The challenge comes in when we look for acceptance in the wrong place. The only acceptance that is worthwhile is God’s. His way is perfect (Psalm 18:30). The Psalmist prays that his words and thoughts would be acceptable to God. We should too.
I have found it easy to be confused about where I have control. I start with correct thinking such as, “I am responsible for my actions”, but I can fall into thinking that I can control the results. Proverbs 16:9 gives us insight into what God does in our lives. We can make plans, but ultimately God directs through His Sovereignty.
What control do I really have? Not much, but I can spend time in prayer asking for help to make wise decisions. Then I can eagerly watch (Psalm 5:3) for what God will do.
I wonder how many clicks I will get on this blog post link. I have been surprised at the extent of people’s interest in articles about marital status. I suppose I shouldn’t be, but my thoughts on this topic don’t seem to fit what I hear from many…both single and married.
While I can experience desire for the joys of marriage, I crave acceptance for my singleness more. God has chosen singleness for me and I do not want to change His choice. God has blessed me through friendships, children’s ministry, etc. and I know I have not missed out.
I have seen numerous articles on singleness – I was hoping to write my own. However, the blog in the link below is so well written – a Biblically balanced view – and I decided to share this article.
My word for this year is prayer. How does that apply to marital status? We need to pray for a proper view of marital status. You cannot have a Biblical view of marriage without a Biblical view of singleness. I pray God’s name is honored in my singleness.
I was thinking last night about choices. We have a lot of freedom to make the choices we want. Along with that freedom of choice comes the freedom to experience the consequences. We don’t like negative consequences. We only want the happiness we think our choices will bring.
Friend, I pray you are aware of the direction your choices take you. The only way to make good choices is to take time daily to ask God to guide us. When we submit to His guidance, we will be more joyful and content with the decisions we make.
Last week I posted the story of help that came my way after a hefty snow storm. I was worn out from shoveling and thoroughly enjoyed the help. However, what happens when it feels like (or is really true) that help is not close at hand? We are looking at more snow tonight and after 52″ total snowfall in February, we are weary.
I have been praying the last few days knowing that more snow was coming. The prediction, of course, changes as we get closer to the storm (meteorologists don’t know what God will do, they simply look at weather patterns and make educated guesses). I am tired of shoveling and still getting everything else in life done. Complaining can come all too easily. However, God is still good and will use this time to perfect me. So I go back to praying. I need God’s help to keep up with life. Both the normal aspects of life as well as the storms. In this case it is another snowstorm.
So friend, whatever storm is in your life or will be coming – just keep praying. God will give strength and hope as you seek Him.
Today I want to tell a story from this past week. Minnesota has hit records for snowfall this past month. Not just snow for February, but snow for any month. Most of us are exhausted from the shoveling, bad roads, and other winter hazards. A week ago we had another blizzard. I knew there would be a lot of snow to shovel, so I prepared myself. I shoveled about 4 inches Saturday night before I went to bed. It was a bit heavier so I was glad to get it done before the worst hit. Sunday morning I woke up to bare spots on one side of my driveway and 3-4 foot drifts on the other side. I started shoveling knowing I had the whole day. My church chose to cancel the services to allow people to stay home during the horrible weather.
After 3 different tries of shoveling for 30-45 minutes each, I decided to call for help. A family in my church helped a few weeks ago and offered future help if I needed it. After a few text messages and phone calls, I knew someone would be at my house in 45 minutes. I wasn’t sure who would show up, but I enjoyed seeing the red van and 3 guys getting out. A father and his 20 something son as well as a teen from another family were armed with shovels and a little snow thrower. Before you mock the little snow thrower – it did the job! We broke up the chunks at the end of the driveway while the dad got his snow thrower ready (it is the kind that needs to be plugged in). About 30 minutes later (maybe even less, I had the rest of the driveway and sidewalks clear and one of the “mountains” at the side of my driveway leveled. Alone that job was a 1-2 hour job. With 4 of us – well, we know the saying, “many hands make light work”.
This group from my church are my brothers in Christ. They are also desirous of serving the Lord in various ways. Not many of us want to keep clearing the snow, but these 3 chose to serve the Lord by helping me. Thank you, friends! You made my week.
Below are before and after pictures. They aren’t the best (one is taken from inside my house), but I think they give the idea.
How does this fit with my theme of prayer? I prayed about taking on the task alone. I prayed about getting help. Then I praised the Lord for the help He sent.
Pleading in Prayer 