40 Days of PRAYER
Dr Jim Brown's TruNorth Devotional
40 Days of PRAYER
Day 19 | DAILY BREAD AND FORGIVENESS | Matthew 6:11-12
40 Days of PRAYER
Day 19 | DAILY BREAD AND FORGIVENESS | Matthew 6:11-12
DAILY BREAD AND FORGIVENESS
Matthew 6:11-12
“Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”
Today we continue our quick look at the Lord’s Prayer. After acknowledging God and how amazing He is, we come to the practical… asking for what we need.
Jesus was teaching us to pray differently than the way most people pray. Today, most seem to pray with the asking FIRST… without ever acknowledging WHO they are praying to.
You might ask “what’s the big deal?”
Here, Jesus is teaching the crowd to ASK their holy God (in heaven) for their daily living needs, including food and other necessities. So, asking for those things is not bad or wrong.
But I like how Jesus (from yesterday’s writing) is leading us into focusing FIRST on Almighty God, whose name is Holy (hallowed) and is in heaven on His throne, running the universe. (Well, I added that – but He is!)
Consider… that acknowledgement can go a long way to bringing the comfort and assurance that our request for “daily bread” is easy for Him to fulfill.
And then the prayer shifts to including others. And forgive us our debts (or sins) as we forgive those who have sinned against us.
It’s one thing to ASK forgiveness of God for mistakes (sins) that we have made, but it’s another to forgive others for doing the same thing to us. And yet, that is what Jesus is teaching.
Keep in mind that God’s plan is make us into the image of His Son, Jesus. To be Christ-like in ALL our ways. (Don’t despair if you are willing to admit you have a LONG way to go. None of us have arrived yet at complete Christ-likeness.)
Prayer: LORD, this prayer is amazing in its brevity and yet complexity. Teach me to pray in this fashion and in the process, become more like your Son Jesus. Amen.
Matthew 6:11-12
“Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”
Today we continue our quick look at the Lord’s Prayer. After acknowledging God and how amazing He is, we come to the practical… asking for what we need.
Jesus was teaching us to pray differently than the way most people pray. Today, most seem to pray with the asking FIRST… without ever acknowledging WHO they are praying to.
You might ask “what’s the big deal?”
Here, Jesus is teaching the crowd to ASK their holy God (in heaven) for their daily living needs, including food and other necessities. So, asking for those things is not bad or wrong.
But I like how Jesus (from yesterday’s writing) is leading us into focusing FIRST on Almighty God, whose name is Holy (hallowed) and is in heaven on His throne, running the universe. (Well, I added that – but He is!)
Consider… that acknowledgement can go a long way to bringing the comfort and assurance that our request for “daily bread” is easy for Him to fulfill.
And then the prayer shifts to including others. And forgive us our debts (or sins) as we forgive those who have sinned against us.
It’s one thing to ASK forgiveness of God for mistakes (sins) that we have made, but it’s another to forgive others for doing the same thing to us. And yet, that is what Jesus is teaching.
Keep in mind that God’s plan is make us into the image of His Son, Jesus. To be Christ-like in ALL our ways. (Don’t despair if you are willing to admit you have a LONG way to go. None of us have arrived yet at complete Christ-likeness.)
Prayer: LORD, this prayer is amazing in its brevity and yet complexity. Teach me to pray in this fashion and in the process, become more like your Son Jesus. Amen.