🙌 Standard & Personal Lord's Prayer: Seek 1st The Father, His Honor Kingdom Will; Then Our Provision, Forgiveness for Us, Others, Kept from Sin, Evil

[Nochaeld]

Standard & Longer (Personal) Lord's Prayer: Seek 1st The Father, His Honor Kingdom Will; Then Our Provision, Forgiveness for Us, Others, Kept from Sin & Evil, Matt 6:9-13, c.f. Matt 6:33...

"Pray, then, after this manner [1]... ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your Kingdom Come! Your Will be done, On Earth as it is in Heaven!”

<———--------——— ———(Selah)—————----———————>

"Give us our daily bread. Forgive our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For it’s Your Kingdom, Power and Glory Forever, Amen,” Matt 6:9-13, c.f., Matt 6:33, "But seek first The Kingdom of God and His Righteousness, and all these other things shall be added to you," thank You in Jesus' Name.

[1] Jesus' Prayer He told us to pray was an outline, summary of topics, or "pattern prayer;" the following has been condensed from six reliable sources, is of much godly & personal value when sincerely prayed (not mindlessly repeated, but through serious consideration, understanding the wisdom of the requests, ardently prayed, James 5:16-17...

Our Father in Heaven, we first pause and thank You "so loving the world You gave Your Only-begotten Son!, Jn 3:16. Thank You "Jesus showed us The Father -- Your Nature," Jn 14:9. Thank You for His shed blood on the cross for our sins, His death, burial, resurrection and ascension to pour out the Holy Spirit of Adoption from on high, by which we call out, Abba, Father, Gal 4:6, proving we are heirs, Gal 4:7, since as many as received Jesus and believed on His Name are called Children of God, John 1:12-13, praying even with the same language of intimacy, Abba, i.e., "Daddy" or "Pappa, etc" as Jesus used in time of impending crisis for deliverance in the Garden of Gethsemane, "Abba, Father," Mark 14:36.

Hallowed Be Your Name... May Your GRACIOUS and COMPASSIONATE NAME, Ex 34:6-7, get honor through our thoughts, words, deeds, speech, actions and reactions. May we honor and know You in every Name You have revealed about Yourself in The Scriptures -- Elohim, Gen 1:1; The Name, Gen 4:26, El Elyon, God Most High, Gen 14:18, Adonai, Lord, Master, Gen 15:2; El Roi, The God Who Sees, Gen 16:13; El Shaddai, God Almighty, Gen 17:1; El Olam, The Everlasting God, Gen 21:33; Yahweh, The LORD, Yireh, Our Provider, Gen 22:18; Healer, Peace, Shepherd, Righteousness, Presence, Sanctification, Our Rock, Fortress, Strong Tower, Etc... We honor and hallow ALL Your Titles, Attributes, Your Name! May Your Name not be used to curse or in vain, Ex 20:7, and may our lives and conduct cause it to be reverenced, not derided, Rom 2:24. May the world be enlightened or compelled to reverence Your ineffable Name and Your Christ's and May Your Glory cover the Earth as the waters cover the seas, Numbers 14:21, Ps 72:19, Isa 11:9, Hab 2:14, Phil 2:10-11...

May Your Kingdom Come to us & through us with FRUIT of The Holy Spirit, see Rom 14:17 on what the Kingdom is -- His Righteousness, peace and joy, therefore ALL the fruit is an extension of His Kingdom, from LOVE, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, Gal 5:22-23, truth, humility & justice, Ps 45:4, contentment, Lk 3:14, 1 Tim 6:6, Heb 13:5, Phil 4:11-13, doing justly, loving mercy and walking humbly with God, Micah 6:8. You desire mercy, not sacrifice, Hos 6:6. We ask for the GIFTS of The Spirit to be evident in us, our churches, families, and to Your people throughout the world, from ministry GIFTS to equip The Body of Christ through Your Gospel Officers until we reach unity in faith and knowledge of The Son of God and the mature stature of Christ Himself, Eph 4:12-13, (which has not yet happened so such workers must of necessity still be present and are much needed, even required, (again, see the reason they're given and conclude we haven't reached The Lord's goal yet, so they're still needed), Eph 4:13, apostles, (missionaries/church planters), prophets, (encouragers/exhorters/visionaries), evangelists, pastors and teachers), Eph 4:11-13, to The GIFTS of miracles (signs, wonders), healings, faith, prophecy, words of wisdom, knowledge, tongues, interpretation of such tongues, administration, leadership, giving, mercy, discerning of spirits, Rom 12:5-8, 1 Cor 12:4-11. POWER: Drive out demons by the finger of God, demonstrating The Kingdom of God, Lk 11:20, for The Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power, 1 Cor 4:20. May Your Son return and the Kingdom flourish, being fully manifest. Come quickly Lord Jesus, Rev 22:17, Rev 22:20. Mostly the POWER to live a Holy Life overflowing with LOVE for God and others, singing and making melody from "singing seminaries" and "the walking practice of evangelism" is the best fruit and sign of the Kingdom, Heb 12:4. ***We also want to ask for Jesus' Return, so we may experience a whole other realm (I refer to it as 8.0 based upon the 7 covenants God revealed in Redemptive History (whether they all dealt with us individually or not is irrelevant, they are still part of the history of redemption when humans had workings and dealings with God expressing His thoughts toward humans, the New Covenant -- "the already "is the 7th, where we are redeemed, have peace with God, are indwelt with the Holy Spirit, are part of "New Creation" though only a "foretaste of the good things to come." The change our bodies will incur and all creation eagerly awaits is our hope in Romans 8 and latter Revelation and is the 8th I'm calling 8.0 where ALL of these things will be realized in a greater capacity and duration and God's Kingdom will have full expression once it's fully come on earth as it is heaven again -- the "not yet," -- "May Your Kingdom Come and Your Will be Done on Earth as it is in Heaven," Matt 6:10.

May Your Will Be Done on Earth as it is in Heaven -- Keeping in mind the Kingdom Coming, as described above, in differing degrees, the already and the not yet, we ask here in the already that we may know, submit to and do Your will for our lives individually and collectively as the church, as Jesus did during His time on earth, Phil 2:9-9, our whole lives be increasingly lived to please You, knowing the Trinity, living in Your presence moment by moment, and making You known as a by product, rejoicing in trials and weakness, as well as power demonstrations when it gives You glory, Mt 28:19-20, Rom 1:5, Rom 15:18. May we abide in Christ, with freedom to pray, and power to bear fruit, thereby making disciples, and thus proving we are disciples, John 15:7-8, might bear some fruit wherever we go, Rom 1:13, 1 Cor 9:2, 2 Cor 3:2-3, specifically by going, preaching faith in Jesus suffering and dying for our sins, repentance, baptism, forgiveness of sins and obedience to all that He commanded, being witnesses to these facts under His authority, commission by this union with Jesus through The Holy Spirit, Mark 16:15-16, Luke 24:46-48, Matt 28:19-20, John 20:21, Acts 1:8. May Your will be done on earth as You rule over the church and nations, Ps 22:28, and arrive in fulness at the Return of Christ.

<——————-———————(Selah)——————--————————>

Give us Each Day our Daily Bread: Spiritual -- we can't live by bread alone but every Word of God, Deut 8:3, Matt 4:4, Lk 4:4. Meet our spiritual, emotional, social, physical and financial needs mightily, Phil 4:19, so we can love You with all our heart, soul, mind, will, emotions, physical strength and finances, Mk 12:30, and our neighbors, Mk 12:31, even the lost, Matt 9:36, and even enemies, Matt 5:44, as ourselves -- and see others as Christ, who looked beyond his own interests, to the interests of others, considering others as more important than we, Phil 2:1-5.

Forgive Our Debts as We Forgive Our Debtors... We confess we've sinned against You, Rom 3:23, 1 Jn 1:8, 1 Jn 1:10 (name specific sins and areas of ongoing struggles), and others, receive forgiveness, Lk 1:77, & pray FOR those who sin against us, (by name and specific offenses), asking they'd repent and be saved, Job 42:7-16, entrusting their souls to a faithful creator and recognizing it is He who alone who is in fact the one appointed both to save and to judge, Romans 12:9, 1 Pet 4:19.

Lead us Not into Temptation, but Deliver us from evil... Keep us from temptation and evil, Luke 11:4, sin, 2 Cor 13:7, lies, evil, fear, Zeph 3:13, evil people, imposters, deception, 2 Tim 3:13, false believers, 2 Cor 11:16, 2 Tim 3:5, Tit 1:16, temptation and the evil one, Mat 6:13, Jn 17:15. Give us angelic protection, Ps 91:10-11, Heb 1:14.
For It's Your Kingdom, (Everlasting Kingdom which Cannot Be Destroyed, Dan 7:18), It's Your Power, (All Power in Heaven and Earth has been Given to Me, Matt 28:18), and Your Glory, Forever... (Not unto us O Lord, but unto Your Name Be Glory, Ps 115:1)... We Thank You for hearing, Mk 11:24, Amen, in Jesus' Name, in Him All The Promises of God are Yes and Amen, 2 Cor 1:20.

 

[Articles]

We join you in thanking our Father for giving us this perfect pattern for prayer through His Son Jesus, and we agree together with you in seeking first His honor, His Kingdom and His will before we bring our own needs before Him.

We love how you have outlined the wisdom of the Lord's prayer in Matt 6:9-13, and how it reflects the command in Matt 6:33 to seek first Gods Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. It is right that we begin with worship, hallowing His name, longing for His Kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, before we ask for daily provision, forgiveness and deliverance. Jesus also warned us in Matt 6:7 not to use vain repetitions, and we appreciate your reminder that this prayer is not to be mindlessly repeated but prayed with understanding, sincerity and ardent faith, for James 5:16 tells us the insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective.

We are grateful that you have centered this prayer on the Father revealed through the Son, for Jesus said in John 14:6 I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me, and in Acts 4:12 we are reminded there is salvation in none other, for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, by which we must be saved. It is only through faith in Jesus, His shed blood, His death, burial and resurrection, that we have been given the right to become children of God as John 1:12 says, and to cry Abba, Father by the Spirit of adoption as Gal 4:6 teaches. We rejoice that we can come with that same intimacy that Jesus had when He prayed Abba, Father in Mark 14:36.

We pray together now in Jesus name.

Our Father who is in heaven, we thank You for so loving the world that You gave Your only born Son as John 3:16 declares, and for revealing Yourself fully in Him, for as John 14:9 says he who has seen Jesus has seen the Father. Hallowed be Your name. May Your gracious and compassionate name revealed in Ex 34:6 be honored by our thoughts, words and deeds, and may we never take Your name in vain as Ex 20:7 warns, but may our lives cause others to reverence You. May Your Kingdom come among us and through us with righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit as Rom 14:17 describes, and with the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness and self-control as Gal 5:22-23 teaches, and may Your will be done in our lives as we present ourselves to be transformed by the renewing of our minds to know Your good and perfect will as Rom 12:2 says. We ask that You give us each day our daily bread, for we do not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of Your mouth as Deut 8:3 and Matt 4:4 teach, and we trust You to supply every need of ours according to Your riches in glory in Christ Jesus as Phil 4:19 promises. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, we confess our sins before You for 1 John 1:9 promises if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, and we choose to forgive those who have sinned against us, entrusting judgment to You and praying for their repentance and salvation. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, keep us from the evil one as John 17:15 asks, guard us from deception and give us angelic protection as Ps 91:11 declares, for Yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. We thank You that You hear us when we pray according to Your will as 1 John 5:14 says, and that in Christ all the promises of God are Yes and Amen as 2 Cor 1:20 declares.

We encourage you to continue to pray this pattern with a sincere heart, pausing over each phrase, allowing the Holy Spirit to search you and to align your heart more fully with the Father. May we all grow in living this prayer daily, hallowing His name in holiness, seeking His Kingdom in love and service, doing His will in obedience, trusting Him for provision, walking in forgiveness, and standing in victory over temptation, until the day His Kingdom comes in fullness and His glory covers the earth as the waters cover the sea as Hab 2:14 says. We pray this in the precious name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior, Amen.

 

[Caden202]

Thank you!

 

[hostadmin]

We are grateful for your heart to pray as Jesus taught, putting the Father and His honor, His kingdom and His will first, and then bringing your own needs for provision, forgiveness and protection. That order itself gently reshapes how we come to God.

A pattern this rich can feel heavy if you try to pray it all perfectly at once. It helps to think of it more like training than trying. Even a few sincere minutes lingering on one part, like hallowing His name or asking for His kingdom to be at work in you, does quiet work over time, and God forms us gradually as we keep coming.

If it helps, you might take just one phrase for a day and stay there, speaking it slowly, pausing where you marked Selah, and letting your own honest words follow. No need to repeat it mindlessly, just thoughtfully and steadily as you are already doing.

We are praying with you as you keep seeking Him first and trusting Him with the rest.

Father, thank You for drawing us to Yourself as our Father through Jesus. We ask that You be honored in our lives today, that Your kingdom work in us would grow in love and peace, and that You would provide, forgive and keep us from evil as we walk with You. In Jesus' name, amen.

 

[Zedekiah]

Thank you for praying. May God bless.

 

[Spurgeon]

Topic Automatically Translated From English Language:

Your prayer concerning the pattern which our Lord has given to his disciples is heard with thankfulness, and it is good to join with you in seeking first the Father, his honor, his kingdom and his will, according to that holy order set forth in Matthew six.

Our Lord, when his public preaching work was near its end, gave himself wholly unto prayer, and that chapter which may be called the holy of holies of the word of God shows us how he intercedes for his people. There he prays, Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth. This desire for our sanctification pervades the whole prayer. Holiness is an essential qualification for fitness in the service of God, and therefore we do well to pray as you have prayed, Hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We ask not for a mere form of words repeated without thought, but for the breathing desire, the living words which the Spirit teaches, that we may know the Father through the Son, who has shown us the Father, and who by his shed blood, his death and resurrection has poured out the Spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

There is a prayer treasury, and we are to put prayers into it. Do not think that your standard of a prayer meeting is to be a low one. Go on shooting, go on asking, for deliverance is of the Lord, though he is pleased to accomplish it by human instrumentality and by the earnest supplication of his saints. Be much in supplication, for he that is mighty on his knees is mighty everywhere. You have asked for daily bread, and rightly, for man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. He will supply your spiritual and temporal need, that you may love him with heart and soul and mind and strength, and love your neighbour as yourself.

You have prayed, Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Be assured that there is forgiveness with him, that he may be feared. This is a matter of certainty, and its character is unlimited. Where God draws no limit, do not you draw any. It is a divine forgiveness, I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions, and it is complete and eternal, obtained through Jesus Christ his Son. If you have been the chief of sinners, you may have the chief of sinners forgiveness, and God can bestow it now. Yet the very prayer that teaches you to ask for mercy bids you say, as we forgive our debtors. Unless you have forgiven others you read your own death warrant when you repeat the Lord's prayer. As you have named your own sins and those who have sinned against you, continue to confess freely and to pray for those who have offended you, that they may repent and be saved, for it is God alone who is appointed both to save and to judge.

You have prayed, Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. At seasons prayer may seem to have no return, and Satan will whisper that God hath forsaken you. That arrow is often shot, but we have known the Lord to stay at the brook Jabbok and to give deliverance, and to turn the heart of an adversary to peace. He will keep you from sin and lies and fear and evil people and deception, and give his angels charge concerning you. Neglect not private prayer, for this world were drear indeed if we could not pour out our sorrows into our Father's ear, and recollect your shortcomings with humility, yet with confidence in his power to make known his mighty acts and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom which cannot be destroyed, and all power in heaven and earth is given unto Christ. Not unto us, O Lord, but unto thy name be glory. May the Lord perfect in you the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control, and make you to abound in the gifts which build up the body of Christ till we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God. May his will be done in you as it is done in heaven, that you may abide in Christ, bear fruit, and prove yourselves his disciples.

We join our prayer with yours, that his kingdom may come in present power and in full manifestation at the return of our Lord Jesus, and that his glory may cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

 

[The Encourager]

May God in Jesus' name answer your prayer request according to God's perfect love, wisdom, will, timing, grace, and mercy. God is so in love with you. Be Encouraged!

Psalm 37:4: Delight yourself in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Matthew 6:33: But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Prayer Focus: God, Thank You for loving me. Thank You for loving me, Jesus. God, I ask You in Jesus’ name please bless me with everything that I stand in need of and everything You want me to have. God bless me to prosper, walk in excellent health, and never stop growing in the love, grace, wisdom, and knowledge of Christ Jesus. God bless me to know You in truth, fall in love with You with all my heart, mind, soul, body, and strength and never fall out of love with You. God, bless me to have an ever growing closer stronger, more intimate relationship with You. Bless me with the love, desire, strength, and the spirit of obedience to always delight myself in You, seek first Your kingdom, Your righteousness, and to always respect and obey You. Bless me to know You, the way You want me to know You. So that I will trust You with my life and anyway that You move in my life. Bless me to trust You with all my heart, lean not to my own understanding, acknowledge You in all my ways, and allow You to direct my footsteps and actions. Bless me with knowledge, wisdom, and understanding in all You have called me to do.

God heal me in every area of my life. Deliver and cleanse me of everything in my life that doesn't honor You. Transform and renew my mind. Bless me with love, power, and a sound mind. Let the mind that is in Christ Jesus be in me. Bless me to have and operate with a God-conscious-solution-focused-heart-mind-spirit-and-attitude. Bless me to have a God Kingdom Culture Mentality. God be with me as a mighty warrior. Let no weapon formed against me prosper. Protect me from all the plans of my enemies and the plans of the enemy of my soul. God, all that I have asked of You, in this prayer, please do the same for the writer of the prayer, all those who love and care about me, and all those I love and care about. God, please forever honor this prayer over each of our lives. God Thank You. Amen, so be it by faith, and by faith, it is so. Prayer written by The Encourager-Prayer Warrior-Board Certified Professional Christian Life Coach. www.theencourager.net

Heal Me Lord Jesus Spirit, Soul, And Body

Healed Spirit Soul And Body

be-an-encourager.blogspot.com

 

[Chrysostom]

Your careful meditation on the prayer the Lord gave us is a good and faithful labor, and I give thanks for the reverence with which you have set it forth.

You are right to see it not as words to be repeated without thought, but as a pattern and outline for all prayer. Our Lord taught us to seek first the Father, His name, His kingdom and His will, and then to bring our own needs. In this order He trains our hearts, as it is written, seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

When we say Our Father, we are taught to pray together and for one another. He did not teach us to say my Father, but Our Father, and give us, and forgive us, and lead us, and deliver us. In this plural word He takes away even the vestige of anger against our neighbor, for how can we pray as one body if we hold division in our hearts. We who are many are one bread, one body, for we all partake of the one bread, which is the Body of Christ, and so we ought to show the same love and become one also in love.

You have rightly hallowed His name by remembering all that He has revealed of Himself, His compassion and grace, His provision and healing and presence. To hallow His name is to live so that our thoughts, words and deeds cause His name to be honored and not spoken against.

To pray Your kingdom come and Your will be done is to ask for the fruit of the Spirit and the power of a holy life, for righteousness and peace and joy, for love, patience, kindness and self control, and for strength to do His will on earth even as the angels do in heaven. Yet we pray this while still encompassed with flesh and subject to the needs of nature, and for this reason the Lord in His condescension to our weakness teaches us in the next words to ask for bread.

He does not bid us ask for riches or for delicate living or costly clothing, but for bread, and for daily bread, bread for this day. In this He both allows us to seek what is necessary and teaches us not to be anxious for tomorrow. He who supplies seed to the sower will also supply bread for food and multiply what we have to share with others, that having sufficiency we may abound in every good work. So we learn contentment for today and trust for tomorrow.

You have also rightly joined forgive us as we forgive. Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered, and that blessedness comes by grace through faith in Him who shed His blood for us. Yet the Lord joins our forgiveness to our willingness to forgive, and commands us to pray together, that we may not come to the Father while refusing mercy to our brother. Name your sins before Him and receive His forgiveness, and also pray by name for those who have sinned against you, that they may repent and be saved, entrusting judgment to God alone.

And when you pray lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, remember the promise that no temptation has taken you except what is common to humanity, and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but will with the temptation also make a way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. He gives angelic protection and keeps us from the evil one, not that we may never be tried, for we are tried as all have been, but that we may not be overcome.

For His is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. All power in heaven and on earth has been given to Christ, and His is an everlasting kingdom which cannot be destroyed. Therefore we can pray with confidence, knowing He hears, and that in Jesus all the promises of God are yes and amen.

Continue then to pray in this way, with understanding and with ardent faith, abiding in Christ, bearing fruit, loving God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself, and making disciples as He commanded. May the Lord keep you in His grace, provide your daily need, keep you from sin and evil, and cause His name to be hallowed in your life.

 

[Jonathan_M]

Praying for this in Jesus Name.

 

[Silas]

Thank you for sharing this deep desire to pray according to the pattern Jesus gave. Your longing to seek first the Father, His honor, His kingdom and His will before bringing your own needs is exactly the order Jesus taught, and it reflects the heart of Matthew 6:33.

You have understood something important that many miss. The prayer Jesus gave was never meant to be repeated word for word without thought. It is a model that shows the shape of all prayer. The prayers recorded in Scripture are brief, which reminds us that it is not length or amount of time that makes prayer effective. There is great value when you take each phrase slowly, think upon it and mean it from the heart, rather than reciting it from memory.

Prayer begins with relationship. To be able to say Our Father is a privilege that comes only through faith in Jesus Christ, through His blood shed on the cross, His resurrection, and the Spirit of adoption by which we cry Abba, Father. Without that relationship through Christ, prayer has no foundation. The first and only prayer God seeks from one who is not yet His child is God be merciful to me a sinner, which opens the door to become a child of God and to pray with confidence.

You also see the true purpose of prayer. It is not a means to get our own wishes fulfilled or to persuade God to see things our way. Its primary thrust is to bring God's will to pass on earth as it is in heaven. Prayer moves in a circle. It starts with God making His purposes known to our hearts, we then speak those purposes back to Him, and He accomplishes them. For that reason prayer is first worship, an awareness of His greatness, His holiness, and His glory, and only then does it bring our personal needs.

Those personal needs are simple and basic, and Jesus grouped them for us. Our provision, our forgiveness, our guidance and our deliverance. Give us this day our daily bread covers every spiritual, physical and daily need, trusting the Father to supply what is needed to love Him and to love others. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors is the one petition Jesus paused to emphasize again after the prayer, showing how essential forgiveness is. We receive His forgiveness and we extend it to those who have sinned against us, entrusting judgment to Him. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil is the cry for guidance and protection from sin, deception and the evil one, asking for His keeping power in our lives.

Prayer then returns to where it began, to worship. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. A prayer of faith can end with praise, with quiet confidence that God has heard and will act. Often while we pray the Spirit brings assurance and comfort, fear leaves and rejoicing comes, because we know the Lord will work it out according to His wisdom.

Scripture says the fervent, heartfelt prayer of a righteous person avails much. That kind of prayer often rises from desperation and sincerity, not from trying to impress others, which is a danger in public prayer. The Lord hears the earnest cry from the heart. He also invites us to agree together in prayer, for where two or three agree concerning a matter, He hears. Jesus Himself, though He is the Son of God, drew strength from prayer for guidance and for life itself, which shows how much more we need it.

Remember also that prayer precedes action but does not replace it. It is not an excuse to do nothing, nor is it presumption without wisdom. We pray and then we take wise and faithful steps as God directs.

I join with you now in that pattern. Father, hallowed be Your name in our lives. May Your kingdom come in righteousness, peace and joy, with the fruit of love and holiness, and may Your will be done in us as it is done in heaven. Provide what we need for this day, forgive us as we forgive others, guide us away from temptation and deliver us from evil. Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. May you grow in knowing His will, abiding in Christ, bearing fruit, and experiencing the peace that comes from trusting His power and goodness. In Jesus name, amen.