Happenings 17/03/22

To be honest, there are some things that Jesus said that still leave me scratching my head. It seems he sometimes went out of his way to provoke curiosity and personal exploration rather than giving easy (and therefore easily forgotten!) answers. However, there seem to be some things which he considered so critical that he spoke about them very plainly indeed. Take note of these topics! One of these is the way we communicate with God (aka ‘prayer’).

In Matthew 6, Jesus gives us a model prayer commonly known as ‘The Lord’s Prayer’, although his intention was really that it be ‘The Lord’s Followers’ Prayer’. The reason he did this, as recorded in Matthew 6:5-15, was that he saw a bunch of people doing prayer badly. Their prayers were an attempt to impress – both their neighbours (they were praying to look good rather than to become good) and their God (‘if I speak long enough maybe I’ll finally get some divine attention …’).

Jesus’ response? Acceptable prayer is grounded in relationship. So connect with God because you want to (‘go into your room, close the door’ is said to safeguard this motive). And secondly, know that God wants to connect with you. His phrase, ‘your Father knows what you need before you ask him’ speaks of God’s interest in our lives; there is no need to catch his eye - we already have it!

With that relationship-basis as the foundation of prayer, Jesus then goes on to talk about the Top Five things that he reckons are so important that they need to be regularly present in our conversations with God. Just dwell on that fact for a moment: of the multitude of things that Jesus could have suggested we talk about with God, he chose these five Prayer Conversation Starters as topics he wants us to come back to time and time again (the phrase ‘give us today our daily bread’ actually suggests a daily engagement with these things). They aren’t meant to be recited by rote. Each phrase is a impetus to partner with God in the things He is passionate about.

To avoid the numbness that sometimes comes with familiar wording, I hope you won’t mind if I repackage the Lord’s prayer model as ‘The Five G’s’. Can I encourage you today to dive into a conversation with God about these five things?

Glow                Ask that the ‘light’ and glory of God would be greater because of the way you live your life today.

Grow               Ask that the awareness and appreciation of God would grow in the lives of people in your personal world and in the wider world around you.

Give                 Ask God to provide for your needs today, and thank him in advance that he will.

4Give               (Okay, so maybe I cheated a bit on the ‘G’ here!) Ask for and receive His forgiveness, and resolve to forgive those who hurt you and others you love.

Guard              Ask that God would protect you from all the traps this day might throw at you (including destructive desires, Satan’s snares, worldly worries).

In Him,
Murray