Prayer At The Center
What comes to mind when you think of prayer?
Asking?
Wishing?
Luxury?
Boring?
Listening?
Trusting?
Receiving?
Someone else’s “thing”?
AW Tozer once said that “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”
So good.
And I’d add, And what comes to mind when we think about prayer is the most revealing aspect of our spiritual life.
So, then, what is coming up for you? What comes up when you think of prayer?
Well, whether it’s our comparison, our disqualification, our powerlessness, our inherited pictures of prayer, our dryness or avoidance, we can get around the fact that…
Jesus places prayer at the center of His relationship with the Holy Spirit, where He continually communes with God.
And beyond His modeling, Jesus commands His followers to pray and places the Kingdom of God at the center of our prayer life (see Matthew 6:9-13).
So I encourage you to spend a moment reading this lesser known translation of Jesus’ prayer (see below)… And imagine afresh what Jesus was, and is, calling His followers into when we pray.
We’ll see you Sunday as we study how Jesus unlocks the kingdom in and around us by declaring, “Release to Captives!” (see Luke 4:18).
See you soon!
Pastor Dave
THE LORD’S PRAYER- THE PASSION TRANSLATION
Take a moment to pause with a word or phrase that stands out to you.
And begin to agree with God’s heart that His kingdom really would come through your life, our church, and our world…
Jesus says, “Pray like this:
‘Our Beloved Father, dwelling in the heavenly realms, may the glory of your name be the center on which our lives turn.
Manifest your kingdom realm, and cause your every purpose to be fulfilled on earth, just as it is in heaven.
We acknowledge you as our Provider of all we need each day. Forgive us the wrongs we have done as we ourselves release forgiveness to those who have wronged us.
Rescue us every time we face tribulation and set us free from evil. For you are the King who rules with power and glory forever. Amen.’”