May It Be SoSample

As we examine the prayer Jesus taught his disciples today, we’ll look at two more of the movements in that prayer.

Give us today our daily bread.

Now, what does it sound like to lay our needs before God? Having prayed for God’s will to be done, do our “needs” change? Maybe part of what happens when we pray in this order is that we see our needs tangled up and connected to the needs of the world around us! What I “need” as a parent has much to do with what I can give to my kids. What I “need” as a friend has much to do with what I can give to my friends. What I “need” as a neighbor and a citizen has much to do what I can give to those around me. And so on. God cares about my needs and will continue to faithfully provide what I need. He just wants to teach us to offer them wisely. At the same time, God is expanding the scope and definition of “my needs” to include the ways I share in the accomplishment of God’s will. 

And forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our deptors.

One of the other key things that draws us to prayer, besides our list of wants and needs, is when we feel hurt or wronged by someone. Jesus knows a thing or two about being wronged by people. Jesus also knows our hearts and that there are ways we’ve sometimes contributed to the brokenness in our relationships and communities. When we come to Jesus with hurt in our hearts, he’ll not only meet us in our need to forgive, he’ll call us to extend that same forgiveness to those we’ve hurt.