Drifting And The Lord's Prayer

 

I often drift away when I'm praying, ("O look a squirrel!") Has that ever happened to you? I don't beat myself up for that anymore. I just thank the Holy Spirit for catching me and getting me back on track.

 

When’s the last time you prayed the Lord’s Prayer? Have you ever found yourself mindlessly saying the words? Maybe joining in with the congregation with your lips, but your mind is off chasing squirrels? I know that’s happened to me!

Let’s talk about what we call the “Lord’s Prayer in todays version of Today’s Living Word:

The Lord's Prayer, it's mentioned twice by Jesus. In Matthew 6:9, He says "after this manner," “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.(in other words, use it as a model, no need to be verbatim) And by the way He precludes this instruction with the warning not to pray like the heathens with their “vain” repetitions.

Mt 6:7 "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 "Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.

 

So, do our sometimes-mindless repetitions of the Lord’s prayer fall into the category of a “vain repetition? I don’t think so. Not in light of what Jesus said in Lu 11:2 He says "say" And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, (repeat it word for word.) Yes it might become rote, but God measures the intent of the heart, the moment we open it up to sincerely talk with Him.

The bigger question for you and I is this: Why are we praying it? What is our hearts desire as we pray the Lord’s Prayer. Is it to just join in with the lemmings, or is it a sincere desire to obey Jesus and pray as He instructed us, trusting our Father in heaven for the results?

 

I'll never forget my father-in-law's dying words. Lying on the gurney in the hospital, he looked at us and asked to pray the Lord's Prayer before he went into the operating room. He was in excruciating pain, yet able to recite the words of the prayer as he had many times before.  We prayed the words Jesus has told us to say:  in Lu 11:2-4, “Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.  3 Give us day by day our daily bread.  4 And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one."

I'm thankful Jesus has given us an option when our circumstances make it difficult to focus, or we just can't find the words. He gave us The Lord’s Prayer to “say.”