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Matthew 6, 9, 13. In this manner, therefore, pray. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. This is a prayer that has been recited in churches all over the world. This is a prayer you have likely heard whether you have been following Jesus for a long time or you are brand new to this, or you don't even know where you stand in your faith journey. This is most likely a passage of scripture that you have heard many times before. And why this is so important is because Jesus is teaching his disciples how we should pray. But this passage is so much more powerful than just something we recite and churches. This should be the cry of our hearts, the prayer of our hearts. This is one of my favorite passages to pray and I'm going to tell you why. We're going to go line by line and talk about how you can pray this in your personal prayer time every day. It starts off saying, our Father in heaven. This is so important because who we view God as and who we see him as when we pray is really important. And during this time, this would have been so unusual, usual to describe God, to talk about God in a way of describing him as Father. He was Lord, he was ruler, he was king. He was not talked about at this time as Father. But we know as it tells us in Romans 8:15. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead you received God's spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him Abba. Father, this is one of my favorite moments every day to just come before God and say, thank you Lord, that you are my Father in heaven. You are my heavenly Father. Whether I am forsaken by other people around me, whether you have experienced being forsaken by your earthly father or your earthly mother having this moment of saying, but my Father in heaven will never leave me or forsake me. He has adopted me into his family. I don't have to long for belonging. I don't have to look for security and for satisfaction. I have that with my Father. And this is always a moment where I like to remind myself that I am a daughter of the King, that I am a child of God, and that I have a father who sees me, who loves me and who is with me. And so it's so important to start our time every day in a posture of, I know who God is and I know who I belong to. I know who he is. Therefore I know who I am, because he is my father and I am his child. I know that my identity is as I am a daughter of the king. And so starting off your time, saying, our Father in heaven, and the next we go, hallowed be your name. This is so powerful, taking a moment to just praise the name of God. The name of God. There's so much power in God's name. There's so much authority in God's name. So often I go throughout my day and I may not have a moment to pray a long prayer. So I'll just speak the name of Jesus. I'll just say in Jesus name or Jesus, Jesus. The name of Jesus. I speak the name of Jesus. I speak the name of Jesus over my body, right? I speak the name of Jesus over my mind right now. I speak the name of Jesus over my home, over my daughter, over my husband. And I'll just take moments to speak the name of Jesus. It says in Proverbs 18:10, the name of the Lord is a strong tower that the righteous can run to and find safety. The name of God. Not just the presence of God, not just the word of God, not just the things God can do, but the name, the very name of God. He is the great I am. And it says in Philippians 2 that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. This is an opportunity when we say, hallowed be your name. This is an opportunity to worship God's name, to speak the name of God out loud. And this is a time where I love to just say, God, you are Jehovah. Rafa, you are the great healer God. You are Jehovah. Shalom. You are my peace. You are Jehovah. Jireh, you are my provider. You are Jehovah. Nisi, you are my victory. And you don't have to know all the Jehovah's and all of the names like that have. But just take time and make it personal. How? Who is God to you right now? How has he shown up for you in this season? How has he proven himself faithful and shown up for you in powerful ways in this season of your life? Take time to say, God, thank you that you are my joy. Thank you that you are my comfort. Thank you that you are my protector. Thank you that you are my leader and my shepherd. Thank you that you are my friend, you are my helper, you are my rock, you are my savior. Just take time to praise the name of God. I love starting my time every day in a posture of worship because he is the one who is worthy of praise and his name holds so much power. We continue. And it says in verse 10, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. God's will is perfect, his ways are higher. It says in Isaiah 55 that God's ways are higher, his thoughts are higher. And so there's oftentimes things we don't understand about the world, about our circumstances. But this is a time to align ourself with God's sovereignty and say, I, I may not understand, but I trust your plan. I trust that you are good, I trust that you are God, and I humble myself and I submit myself to you. This is also a moment to align yourself with what is on God's heart. Not just to pray things for yourself and for your family and your circumstances, but what does God care about what is on God's mind and heart? One of my favorite verses is Matthew 6:33, and it says, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you. And that passage in Matthew 6 is such a powerful passage because it's saying, don't worry about all these things. What you will eat, what you will drink, what you will wear. That's what everybody else, that's what the rest of the world is worried about. But you as a follower of Jesus, worry about him, worry about his kingdom, worry about what's on his heart. And everything else will take care of itself when you make him your everything, everything else will fall into its rightful place. And so focus on what God focuses on. And this is where we just take our eyes off of ourself and we put our eyes on Jes. On the prize, on heaven, as heaven as our home. And so we. This is where I like to take time to kind of just go through. Lord, I want the whole world to know you. That's what you care about. You want the lost to be found. You want those to come to repentance and to follow you and to not perish and to not experience an eternal separation from you. You want all to have a relationship with you, as John 3:16 tells us, God, that you sent your one and only Son to pay the ultimate price because you loved us. You didn't want anyone to perish, but everyone to have eternal, eternal life in you. Second Peter 3:9 says, you don't want any to perish, but all to come to repentance. And so we know that God's heart is to leave the 99 for the 1 that he came to seek and to save the lost. And so we take time and we pray for those who don't know the Lord, whether that's people in your own life or just people that you pass by, or people that you just need to pray in a general sense that don't know the Lord. Next, praying for those who are in authority and leadership. First, Timothy 2:1:2 says, Pray for kings and those in authority. And this is an opportunity just to pray for those who have influence and leadership and authority and make big decisions, like people in government, pastors of churches, fathers of homes, you know, whether it be spiritual or parental work related. This is just a time to really pray for those who have to make decisions on behalf of other people and lead other people. Pray for them to have wisdom and leadership and to be led by God's spirit. Then I like to pray for the poor and for the marginalized and for the abused and the neglected. It says in Matthew 25:40, whatever you did for the least of these, Jesus is saying, you did for me. When we serve those who can do nothing for us, it's as if we're serving Jesus himself. And we are. And so praying and loving and serving those who need it, who are marginalized, who are poor, who are homeless, who have no food and who are in desperate need of love and attention, who have been abused and neglected. Praying and interceding for them and loving them is so important in our Christian walk. Spreading the gospel, praying for the church of God to be united and for there to be peace in the body of Christ. Praying for the spreading of the gospel around the world. That God would raise up workers and send them out because the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few, praying for freedom from those who are in bondage. And then I also like to end with accomplishing God's purpose in my own life. God, what is your will for my life? As Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, Lord, not my will, but your will be done. And I love to pray that every day. Then we Continue. In verse 11, it says, Give us today our daily bread. This is a moment where I love to say, lord, I am casting my cares on you. It is no longer I who live, but you who live on the inside of me. I'm dying to myself. And right now in this moment, I'M declaring my dependence upon you. You are my daily bread. You are where my help comes from. You are who I'm dependent on and I'm desperate for. It's like thinking about how John 15 talks about that. He is the vine and we are the branches. Apart from him, we can do nothing. And so reminding ourself of very truth. Apart from you, God, I can do nothing. I need you today. Even David, the king who had it all, quote unquote in Psalm 40 said, I am poor and needy. What a true, just dependence upon God. A humble posture for David to pray that. Psalm 121 says, I look up to the mountains. Does my help come from there? No, my help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. This is where you get to ask God for what you need, for what you need for today, for what you need in your life, whether it be in your family, whether it be in your health, whether it be in your finances, whether it be in your job, whether it be in your relationships. This is where you take time and just pray, God, I am depending on you in this area of my life. Verse 12 says, Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. This is the. The hard, hard truth that we will not be forgiven if we do not forgive others. For as we have been freely forgiven, we are called to freely give that forgiveness to others. Who are we to withhold God's good kindness and forgiveness? Because we, we were all sinners, We've all been born into sin, and yet he forgave us. In one of the worst moments of Jesus's life, as he was hanging on that cross, he said, father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. His last prayer and that should be the cry of our hearts. There's many moments where we feel wronged and we feel hurt by other people, but it keeps us separated from God when we carry that unforgiveness and bitterness in our heart. And so this is an opportunity for you to forgive those who have wronged you, but also an opportunity for you to receive God's forgiveness in full. Is there, is there any area of your life where you have not received the fullness of God's grace, the fullness of God's forgiveness, the fullness of God's mercy and kindness? Is there any area of your life that you've been holding in secrecy that you've not brought into the light because you feel shame, because you feel fear that if you share that, if you confess that, and maybe it feels safer to keep it hidden, but there's so much power in confessing. It says in First John 1:9, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. So I encourage you to take time to confess and repent. And then, as we near the end of this passage of Scripture, it says in verse 13, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. This is an opportunity to engage in spiritual warfare, to confront the enemy that is after you. It says in John 10:10 that the thief, the enemy, he comes to steal, kill and destroy. That we have a very real God who is for us, but we also have a very real enemy who is against us. And the. The victory that we have and the. And the peace that we have is to know that God is greater. And it says in his word that greater is he who is in us than he who is in the world, he who is coming against us. That we have a God, we have a king who is all powerful, and that even the enemy has to flee and has to submit at the name of Jesus. And so, even though that is true, we still have to take our stand. We still have to fight the good fight. We still have to know and be on guard and take our stand. And it talks about in Ephesians 6, that we should know that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the power, the principalities of the dark world and the spiritual realm. And to know that there are demons, that there are demonic forces that are at work against us, and we should be clothed in the armor of God. One of my favorite verses to pray is James 4:7. It says, Submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. I love that. It starts with submitting ourselves to God, knowing that he is the One who holds all power and authority, but then saying, okay, I take my stand against the enemy and his schemes against me and my family. I resist him and I command him to flee in the name of Jesus. And then it ends. The prayer ends with reminding ourselves that God is the one on the throne. It says, yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. And this is an opportunity just to remind yourself of the divine, to remind yourself of the eternal, to remind yourself that God is the one on the throne, that he has all power, that mightiness flows from him, that victory is his, that all authority belongs to him, that he is the Name above every name. And that is where I find so much, much hope and peace and comfort and confidence to Remind myself that my hope is in him and my hope is in heaven. And so if you will bow your head and close your eyes with me, I'd love to pray over you as you go throughout your day reflecting on this truth that we just talked through. God, thank you for your word that is alive and active. Thank you that your word is sharper than any double edged sword. Thank you that your word is true and that every word will be accomplished, Lord, that you will finish what you've started, that every word you have spoken will carry out to completion what it was set forth to do. And I pray your truth over my friends today. I pray that no matter what their prayer life has looked like up until this point, I pray, Lord, that they would be reminded that their prayer is powerful and it is effective and that it's also intimate in a way where we get to connect with you. And so I pray that wherever, wherever they're at in their faith journey, however they have viewed you up until this point, that as we go through this prayer, that they would posture themselves at a place where they would visually see you as their father. And I, and I just invite you to visualize him right now and envision him. Who. Who is he to you? Who do you view him as? Do you see yourself running up to him and running into his loving arms? Do you see him picking you up and wiping away your tear? Do you see him as listening to you as you share the heavy things that you're carrying and on your heart? Do you see him as being your friend and your champion and your cheerleader? Do you see him as a father who corrects and disciplines because he loves you? You? How do you view him? This is an opportunity for you to just see yourself as I am his daughter. I am his son. He calls me his. And then this is also an opportunity to praise him. Because his name holds power and because he has authority. Not only is he your father, but he is your King, he is your Lord. And I just invite you into a moment of just thanking God, praising God. It says in Psalm 100, God, that we can enter your gates with thanksgiving and your courts with praise. That we praise you because we are your sheep in your pasture, that we are yours, that you created us, that you made us, and that we belong to you. We praise your name, the name above every name. And I speak the name of Jesus over every person listening, over every person, under the sound of my voice, I speak the name of Jesus over the them, over their health, over their body, over their finances, over their Relationships over their minds, over their hearts, over their sleep. I speak the name of Jesus. Your kingdom come, Lord. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Lord. We pray for your will to be done, Lord, for justice. We pray for unity. We pray for love. We pray for peace. We pray that the United States would return back to a nation under God. We pray, Lord, for a spirit of fertility over this world and nation. We pray, Lord, for a spirit of love and purity over this world and nation. Lord, we pray for a spirit of youth and peace. And Lord, a coming together in Jesus name. We pray for freedom. Give us today our daily bread. Lord, I pray that there would be a dependence that we would all put ourselves in a place of humbling ourselves before you and declaring our dependence upon you. Saying you are God and we are not. And we are poor and needy. We need you. You are where our help comes from. Teach my friends today to be dependent upon you every step of the way. And Lord, I pray just a forgiveness to just come upon us, Lord, that we would receive your forgiveness in full. And that we would would be quick to forgive others. That we would be quick to let go of offense. That we would be quick, Lord, to extend mercy because we have been freely forgiven and shown great mercy. And Lord, I pray that you would not lead us in temptation but you would deliver us from the evil one. That you would give us the strength to overcome every fiery attack against us, Lord. That we would stand firm in the faith, Lord. That we would be armed, Lord, in the armor of God. That we would take our stand against the enemy schemes. That you would send to all of my friends, just people to surround them, to lock arms with them and to help them fight the good fight of faith. And Lord, we thank you that yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Lord, you are the one true God. You are the way, the truth and the life. And we submit ourselves to you. We worship you and we thank you in Jesus name. Amen.