GUIDANCE - Matthew 6:7-13
When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then in this way: 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 also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one. - Matthew 6:7-13 Words we all know, with a preamble that tells us why we should know them. Whenever I don't know what to pray, I turn to the Lord's prayer. It is an old standby, covering everything: praise, promise, providence, forgiveness, salvation. But Jesus gives us even more reason to pray this way, and he is blunt about it. It is our nature to "heap up empty phrases," to think that the more we say, the more G...