Today’s Bible Reading
Luke 11:1-4
1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” 2 He said to them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be [Holy is] Your name, Your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread. 4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’ ”
Applying God’s Word in My Life:
1. What motivated the disciples to ask about prayer? (v.1).
2. What two things related to God are we to pray about first? (v.2). What other personal concerns then follow? (v.3).
3. Spend some time praying to God using the four ‘A’s pattern (see the article). List one thing you want to say to God for each section.
Today’s Key Verse:
Luke 11:2-4
Father, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.
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Prayer Pattern
Whenmy children come to me for advice, I consider it an honour to teach them what they need to know. For example, my daughter Julie had to write a poem for school not long ago. As I thought about the best way to assist her, I decided to compose a few lines to help her see how it’s done.
Jesus used the ‘example method’ when His disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray. Instead of going into a long sermon on the subject, He said, “When you pray, say…” and He gave them a prayer ‘pattern’ to follow.
That prayer has at least four things we can learn to use when we pray: Adore, Admit, Aid and Ask. Let’s consider the four ‘A’s of prayer.
Adore: “Hallowed be Your name.” We need to give allegiance and respect to our great and awesome God.
Admit: “Forgive us our sins.” God is “faithful and just and will forgive us” (1 John 1:9).
Aid: “And lead us not into temptation.” Ask for help to say no to sin.
Ask: “Give us each day our daily bread.” We should not be afraid to ask God for His provisions.
There’s the example. It’s up to us to follow it. —Dave
Branon
O Father, help us be more faithful
In our quiet time of prayer; We praise, adore, confess and thank You; Let us sense Your presence there. —D. DeHaan
Time spent with the Lord is time well spent.
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Day
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Prayer
