The Lord’s Prayer

Have you ever prayed and couldn’t tell if God was talking to you or if you were just losing your mind? Have you ever felt God tugging at you telling you to do something but don’t know what it is?

This has been going on for the past month for me. I started a new study on prayer. I am currently going through the “Fervent” book by Priscilla Shirer. I was at a place in my walk with God that I was not happy with. My prayer life has been, as one would say, lukewarm. I was missing my fire. I was missing my joy. I was missing my Father.

As I started reading I made a challenge to myself, that everyday I would be in the word and pray. No matter where or when I needed to make this happen. Sometimes it is not convenient on the time of having my quiet time, but I make it happen. And since then God has been tugging at my heart. I have been getting songs, reading material, and scripture brought to my attention about doing something. Do I know what it is yet? I have not a clue. So, I phoned a friend about my encounters. I explained that I had been praying more and asking God to change my heart and fix me. I told her I have been working on my prayer life and that I have been really focusing more on Him. And every time I am out and about the song “Do Something” by Matthew West comes on. Then, The Lord’s Prayer is popped into my head. So, she suggested that I not ignore God and me doing something and to write out the Lords prayer and then in my own words.

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father which art in Heaven,

Hallowed by thy name.

Thy Kingdom come.

Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:

For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.

AMEN

(Matthew 6:9-13)

This prayer, if you were like me, was always told in church. It was also posted on walls and said so many times that eventually I memorized it and didn’t even know it. Now it’s great to memorize scripture. But, it’s not great to memorize scripture and have no idea what it means or take time to pull it apart to really “get it”. As a kid I memorized because my Sunday School teacher told me too. If they explained what it meant I do not remember. But, I had it memorized so if I was called upon I would be ready and proudly say my “homework”. It wasn’t the Lords prayer at this time in my life, it was something I was told to do by a teacher that said to memorize this by next week. So, I did. I had the paper that was received in class and I just read it off the 8 1/2x 11 sheet of paper not the bible.

Now some would say, “What’s the big deal? Your youth teacher gave you the scripture!” There is a key word there though did you catch it? The “youth teacher” gave me the scripture. My job after receiving that paper of God’s word was to go home and open my bible and at the very least double check the wording and the scripture was correct. As I was typing this and went back to proof read I spelled out “bread” in scripture “break”. We are human we all make mistakes but us humans really need to follow up on our own and open our bibles. This is how we interrupt scripture in the wrong ways. Now back to Matthew 6: 9-13.

So this is what God is touching my heart with… This is in my own words.

My Father in heaven

make my name holy

have Your Kingdom come

and Your will be done

on earth as it is in heaven

Give us You (our daily bread)

and forgive my sins, as I forgave

others who have sinned against me.

Lead us away from all our temptations

and help the evil to flee from me

For Your Kingdom, Your Power, and Your Glory is with me FOREVER.

Now again that is in my own words. For most the hardest part is forgiving others who have sinned against ourselves. But, this is actually one of my easier things to do. I tend to look at others perspective on things. (And no there are days I wish God did not make me this way.) Do I get angry? Absolutely! Do I want to retaliate? What human being wouldn’t? BUT…. There is something by far so much greater than being angry, retaliating, getting even as one would say. The name is JESUS! Though it may not be natural for you to forgive. Maybe you want to hold the grudge. But, all that is doing is letting the enemy win over you. Imagine a world where everyone forgave and as ones would say “Kill them with kindness”? Just think of the next time someone cuts you off in their car, cuts in line, puts their needs before yours that maybe that is the time Jesus sent that person to you to interrupt your time and show them an act of kindness and show Jesus love through you. Always remember God created YOU TO DO SOMETHING!!!!!