Our church has a wonderful prayer team led by Meredith Fichtel.

Meredith writes:

Jesus said, “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask Him. Pray like this: Our Father in heaven….” Matt. 6: 7 – 9a

Most of us are very familiar with the prayer we know of as “The Lord’s Prayer,” or as some in our denomination call it,“Our Family Prayer.” It differs from the words of Scripture that follow those quoted above, but I’m sure the Lord would not be displeased with our version. However, sometimes prayers, even the most beautiful ones, lose much of their impact and intended meaning when spoken from memory without the brain engaged, becoming merely empty sounds.

“The Lord’s Prayer” is the story of our God, who is King of all The Creation that He brought into being. The God who reigns supreme, as Creator, Provider, Sustainer, Forgiver of sins, Protector, the Almighty One, Glorious and Everlasting. It is the story of the One who loves all that He created with a forever and ever love, without end. I decided to take a closer look at this very special prayer. A footnote in a recent devotional entry impressed me with its simple truth –

“When I pray, ‘Thy Kingdom come, ’ I need to let my kingdom go!” Yes, I do! I have to surrender my plans, my agenda to the Lord and let Him be my guide. “Thy will be done,” not my will be done. How often I forget who exactly has the best plan, the best information about what is in my best interests. No, not me. When we ask God to “Give us this day our daily bread,” we may forget that we are putting our trust in the only One who knows exactly what we need before and better than we do. And then, when we ask God for forgiveness, there’s the important matter of acknowledgement of our sins which needs to come first. We may have on hand an accurate tally of the sins of others, but ours – maybe not so much. In a breath between verses, we probably should be thanking God for His Grace and Mercy! God’s Spirit will give us strength to overcome Temptation and stand firm against Evil, and will be our constant affirmation of God’s everlasting Kingdom, His power, and His glory. Thank God for this incredible gift!

The epilogue of God’s story in this wonderful prayer is that because of the shed blood of our Lord and Savior, Jesus, we as believers have access to the Kingdom here and now, and with it, the immense power and glory of our God! Thank You God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit! Amen and Amen.

Email prayer requests to inneedofprayernow@gmail.com ~ all prayer requests will be kept confidential.

Weekly Prayer Call Tuesdays from 8:30-8:45 a.m. ~ call (425) 436-6372 – then enter the access code: 1870004#