The Joy of Praying Like Jesus

            Have you had your JOY JUICE today?  Genuine joy is found in genuinely praying Jesus’ “model prayer” in Matthew 6.  

“Our Father, which art in heaven,
Hallowed be 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 trespasses,
As we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, The power, and the glory, For ever and ever. Amen.”

            Verses 9-10 reflect God’s glory and power; the following verses refer to our humility and need.  The mindset of this prayer is to help us see who we are in relation to Who God is. 

            Many of us have memorized “The Lord’s Prayer”, but are we truly living it out in our personal lives?  David Jeremiah prods us to ask ourselves these questions:

·     "  Can we pray “our” if our faith has no room for the needs of others?

·        Can we pray “Father” if we don’t live like His child?

·        Can we pray “Hallowed by Your name” if He is not holy to us?

·        Can we pray “Thy Kingdom come” if we insist on our sovereignty instead of His?

·        Can we pray “Thy will be done” if we live a disobedient life?

·        Can we pray “on earth as it is in heaven” if we don’t give ourselves to His service?

·        Can we pray “Give us this day our daily bread” without working hard and with integrity at the jobs He gives us and without sharing generously with others?

·        Can we pray “Forgive us” when we don’t forgive others?

·        Can we pray “Lead us not into temptation” when we don’t flee tempting situations?

·        Can we pray “Deliver us from evil” if we don’t wear the spiritual armor He provides?

·        Can we pray “Yours is the power” if we live in fear?

·        Can we pray “Yours is the glory” if we seek our own glory first?

·        Can we pray “forever” if we live with anxiety about the future?

·        Can we pray “Amen” if we don’t really mean what we have prayed?"

    May we pray this prayer with sincerity and genuine joy.