ANCHOR DEVOTIONS (DECEMBER 6, 2012)

Talking to God

Matthew 6:5-13



"Be joyful always; pray continually."
(1 THESSALONIANS 5:16-17)

In Matthew 6, Jesus teaches His disciples to pray. During His life and ministry on earth, He often went apart from His disciples to pray. As His trial and death drew near, Jesus could be found in the Garden of Gethsemane, praying (Luke 22:39-45). The fact that the Creator of the universe prayed often speaks volumes of the necessity of prayer. How much more do we mere creatures of His need it?

But it can be very hard to do as Paul says: be joyful at all times and pray continually. Paul is telling us that our lives are to be always breathing in and out our conversations to the Lord. Prayer should be the beginning, middle and end of all that we do, not simply an afterthought or a hurried sentence before we eat.

Many a desperate prayer is uttered by prisoners whose lives seem hopeless. My prayers were among them! While I served out my prison sentence, talking with God became a way of life. Hard circumstances that any of us face may bring us to our knees where our Savior has been waiting all along to hear us.

INSIGHT
ISN'T IT MARVELOUS THAT WE CAN TALK TO THE VERY GOD WHO CREATED US AND THAT HE LOVES TO HEAR FROM HIS CHILDREN?

READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Leviticus 15-16
Psalm 54
Luke 18


Matthew 6:5-13
New International Version (NIV)
Prayer
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,[a]
but deliver us from the evil one.[b]’
Footnotes:
a. Matthew 6:13 The Greek for temptation can also mean testing.
b. Matthew 6:13 Or from evil; some late manuscripts one, / for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

CHRISTIANS YOU SHOULD KNOW
with Tommy Walker

There has been great division in the church when it comes to worship. The difficulty of getting all ages to worship in the same room has troubled many churches. Can there be a solution?