SCRIPTURE: Luke (NIV) 11:1 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…
OBSERVATION: Prayer was such an important part of Jesus’ life, and He wants it to be an important part of our lives. The disciples saw how important it was to Jesus, so they asked him to teach them to pray.
Today let us consider to whom we are praying. We are praying to the God of the universe, but Jesus tells us to address Him as “Father!” Only once did Jesus not use the word “Father” when praying; that was when He was dying in payment for our sins which had separated us from our Loving Heavenly Father. On the cross, Jesus cried, “My God, why have you forsaken me.” Jesus was experiencing the results of our sin, he was separated from His Heavenly Father. All other times, He prayed to His “Father,” and that is how He taught us to pray.
APPLICATION: When we ask for our sins to be forgiven and invite Jesus to live in our hearts, we become children of God. We are a part of God’s family. God is our Father! It is natural for children to talk to their fathers. In prayer, we are children talking to their Father!
We are not just praying to our Father, He is our Heavenly Father. He is above everything in the universe! We are a part of a His family!
We are not just praying to our Heavenly Father, we are praying to our Loving Heavenly Father! He loves us so much He sent His One and Only Begotten Son to die in payment for our sins. He has sent The Holy Spirit to teach us how to follow the example of Jesus in our daily lives. He is the perfect one to do this because He came upon Jesus when He was baptized and walked with Him every day. Now he is with each of us every day. He helps us pray.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for the Holy Spirit who helps me in so many ways! Holy Spirit, guide my thoughts as I write these SOAPs. May they be a blessing to all who read them. Amen
Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!
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