"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread,
12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."
—Matthew 6:9-13 ESV
Many people know this prayer. It is often recited during church services. In some churches it is part of every worship service. What is almost never included as a part of this prayer is remembering the verses directly proceeding it:
5 "And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
7 "And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 Pray then like this..."
Nor does it typically contain what follows it:
14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
There are a lot of important things in the prayer Jesus gives us, but there is one idea that stands out, to me today. That is, nowhere does it say anything about "poverty" and nowhere does it say anything about "prosperity." What it does say is, "give us our daily bread" — meaning: provide for us what we need. Verse 6:8 says, "Your Father knows what you need before you ask him," thus, the idea is to communicate with God, and accept what He already wants to give to you. However, praying with meaningless words is not communicating (verse 7). Do not doubt that He knows what you need... He does know.
Pray. Talk with God. Be real. In secret. He will hear your prayers.
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