| “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles 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, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.”-Matthew 6:5-15 NLT John Wesley was known as a man of prayer. He began every day in prayer. He continued “instant in prayer” all day long. Prayer was his intimacy with God and his peace and power for daily living. People observed John Wesley coming out of his prayer closet and glowing with the light of Christ! It was a light that pierced the hearts of the people he preached to in the fields and those he discipled in his “bands” of Methodist followers. Wesley gives special attention to the Lord’s Prayer because it “lays a general foundation for prayer. It comprises what we must first know of God before we can pray in confidence of being heard. It likewise points out to us the faith, humility, love of God and people with which we are to approach God in prayer.” It is easy to let our prayer life suffer and allow it to become less and less of a priority. Jesus taught his disciples to pray and told them to teach others. Let us take time today to honor God with our time through prayer. Journeying Together, John |
0 Comments