“When the disciples in Luke 11 asked Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray” (v. 1), He gave them a brief model or pattern for prayer – what we know as “the Lord’s Prayer.” It’s not some kind of magic formula, but a concise portrayal of the foundational truths that should be in our minds and hearts as we pray individually, as families, and as churches.”
henry blackaby, experiencing prayer with jesus, p. 26.
Daily Devotionals: As we step into this next season in the life of our church, we are asking the Lord to help us “Make Room in our Hearts” – for the people Jesus loves, and the people Jesus brings. During these 21 Days, our whole church will be reflecting and meditating on these same thoughts and prayers together, with one mind, guided by and depending on one Spirit.
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Engage the Word: Making Room in Our Hearts
Read Matthew 6:9-13 – Jesus said:
9 Pray then like this:
“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 this day our daily bread,
12 and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Connect the Heart
Look again at verse 12:
12 and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Sometimes, forgiveness seems unfair. Author Lewis Smedes probably speaks for many of us when he says, “There is a lot to be said for not forgiving people… Why should people cut and thrust their way through our lives, leaving us bleeding in their wake, and then expect us to forgive everything and act as if nothing went wrong? Forgiving is an outrage against… dues-paying morality.” (Smedes, The Sunflower, p. 160) It’s interesting that Jesus moved immediately in His prayer from “give us” to “forgive us.” We forgive because we’ve been forgiven… Dr. David Jeremiah says “A case could be made that this is the most important phrase in The Lord’s Prayer. It is the only phrase that He repeats for emphasis. At the end of the prayer, in verses 14-15, Jesus revisits this discussion. He says ‘For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.’ This business of forgiveness is so important, Jesus adds a two-verse commentary on it.” (Jeremiah, Prayer: The Great Adventure, p. 139)
Reflect on the Truth
- How is your heart – your words, your actions, your desires, your motivations – open to expressing forgiveness even in the difficult places, based on the truth that you’ve been completely forgiven?
- The truth is there is nothing you’ve ever done – past, present, or will do in the future – that you haven’t already been forgiven of, because of Christ’s work accomplished on the cross. Take a moment to thank Him for forgiveness.
- Is there an area of your life that the Lord might be revealing to you where you need to repent and turn back to Him? Is there a relationship in your life where He might be prompting you to extend forgiveness?
Depend on the Spirit
Ask the Holy Spirit to help you see the deeper longings, desires or motives in your heart that these thoughts are pointing to. (For example: you may write down, “O Father in heaven, thank you for your complete forgiveness of me. I don’t deserve it. Show me where I need to also extend forgiveness to another.”) The Lord can help us discern the path forward – through His word, His Spirit, His people.
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For Prayer
As you conclude your devotional time, pray for those in our church family who are struggling with broken relationships, emotional hurt and relational pain in any way. Pray also for those who are struggling with unresolved conflict and/or a lack of forgiveness. Pray that God will provide healing through the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ, who died to pave the way for forgiveness and reconciliation for all.
Fasting
Please read the first blog post entitled “Why Fast?” This explains what fasting is and why we follow Jesus in this spiritual discipline as together we seek the heart of God.
Previous Posts
To read yesterday’s blog post devotional, please click here.
To read our 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting Introduction, please click here.
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Some parts of our 21 Days devotionals are adapted using various resources on scripture and prayer like The Bible Exposition Commentary, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, The New Bible Commentary, Logos Bible Software and other resources.
I recently watched the Kendrick brothers movie ‘Forge’. An excellent film about the radical forgiveness that Jesus calls us to. In my own past, I look to a couple named Enoch and Mary Alice, who were the only people to visit their son-in-law in prison. He was in prison for murdering their daughter. What they did to love that man is nearly inconceivable. It’s radical. It’s Jesus.