“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7–8)
“and call upon me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” (Psalm 50:15)
Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer
If God already knows everything, why should we pray?
It’s a question many people have asked.
After all, God knows what we need before we ask. He knows our worries, our struggles, and even the words we are about to speak.
So why pray?
Because prayer is not about informing God.
It is about trusting Him.
The catechism introduces the Lord’s Prayer by reminding us that God tenderly invites us to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true children, so that we may ask Him confidently, just as dear children ask their dear father.
That invitation directs the way we think about prayer.
Imagine a young child who wakes up frightened by a thunderstorm. He doesn’t stop to wonder whether his father is busy or whether his request is important enough. He simply calls out, trusting that his father cares.
That is the picture Jesus gives us.
Prayer is not a performance.
It is the conversation of children with their Father.
Of course, that doesn’t mean every prayer is answered exactly the way we expect. Every parent knows that loving a child sometimes means saying,
“no,”
“not yet,”
or “I have something better in mind.”
Our heavenly Father is no different.
Psalm 50 contains a beautiful invitation from God Himself:
“Call upon Me in the day of trouble.”
He doesn’t merely allow us to pray. He commands us to pray because He delights in giving His gifts to His children.
How often, though, do we treat prayer as a last resort?
We try to solve the problem ourselves first. We worry and plan and search for answers. Only after everything else fails do we finally pray. Planning and searching for answers is good, but it’s even better when we start with prayer.
Our Father has been inviting us all along.
Not because He needs our prayers.
Because we need Him.
Over the next several days, we will slowly walk through the Lord’s Prayer, discovering what Jesus teaches us to ask for and why those requests matter.
But before we look at the individual petitions, remember this:
The greatest gift of prayer is not getting everything we ask for.
It is knowing the One to whom we pray.
Through Jesus Christ, you have been welcomed into God’s family.
And your Father loves to hear your voice.
Let’s pray…
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for inviting me to come to You in prayer. Forgive me for the times I have relied on myself instead of turning to You. Help me to pray with confidence, trusting in Your love, Your wisdom, and Your care for me. Through Jesus Christ, Your Son, my Savior.
Amen.
As part of your devotion time, I encourage you to also pray for at least some of the following:
After praying for these people, you may want to finish your devotion time with the Lord’s Prayer…
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and every. Amen.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Kurt
