Our Daily Bread

 

 The Lord's prayer

⁷ And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. ⁸ Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

⁹ “This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
¹⁰ your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us today our daily bread.
¹² And forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from the evil one.^'"

¹⁴ For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Jesus might have introduced this beloved prayer by saying, "Keep it simple, Stupid!"  This is a very basic, nuts and bolts prayer, hitting the essentials from acknowledging God as our Father to forgiving one another, not to mention our need for daily bread. It is a precious gift and needs to be prayed attentively,  humbly and, might I add, SLOWLY so that its richness touches our hearts at the "core of our being." Then we will realize that God is our Father.

Bro. Rene

Dear God, teach us to reverence and pray this simple but powerful prayer as you did yourself. Amen.