Jesus gave us the Lord’s Prayer
as an example of how to pray. That being said, it’s surprising how few of us
follow the model prayer. In corporate
prayer people generally do pretty well acknowledging God and thanking him for his
provision, but I’ve noticed that the person praying often rephrases the prayer
need itself and says “Lord, Miss Sally has been battling cancer for years…” or,
“Lord the economy is bad and people need jobs…” It’s as though the one offering
the prayer is reminding God of worldly situations. I hate to admit it, but I
almost want to laugh. Of course the Lord knows of Miss Sally’s long battle with
cancer and that in the bad economy people need jobs. I suspect the speaker unintentionally
mixes up who he is speaking to by combining petitions to the Lord with
reminding worshippers the need for the prayer. Paul said, “Do not be anxious
about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which
transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus” (Phil 4:6-7 NIV).
No comments:
Post a Comment