Six month old Thomas lets us knows it’s time to eat when he’s hungry. Once he’s buckled into his high chair, he stops his fussing when his momma folds his little hands together as he looks right into her face as she first asks a blessing on his food.
“Thank You, Jesus, for our food. We love You, Jesus. Amen.”
“God is great. God is good. Let us thank Him for our food. Amen.”
“God our Father
God our Father
We thank You
We thank You
For our many blessings
For our many blessings
Amen
Amen”
We model prayer aloud for our children and so does God. When Jesus’s disciples asked Him, “Lord, teach us to pray,” He answered with what we refer to as the Lord’s Prayer.
““This, then, is how you should pray:
“ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. ’”
Matthew 6:9-13 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.6.9-13.NIV
Jesus followers often saw Him in prayer. He withdrew to lonely places with regularity for this purpose. He spent time talking with His Father before he chose the twelve, during His temptation in the wilderness and during His transfiguration, before and particularly after seasons of intense ministry, and before His crucifixion. He encouraged His followers to do the same, both by word and example.
Most beautifully, just before His arrest, He prayed for us long before our time. John 17 records Jesus’s prayer for God’s glory to be put on display in His mortal body, through His followers and all who would ever believe. In verse twenty, Jesus says, “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message.” I am one who believes because of the testimony of reliable witnesses.
Prayer is intimate communication with God, my Creator. It’s talking and listening, considering and admiring. It’s emotion and reason. It’s the truest and deepest of all relationships and it’s what we were created for- communion, fellowship, dialog with almighty God made possible by Jesus’s sacrificial death and resurrection, and empowered by the Holy Spirit. God wants this relationship with each of His children so much that He makes it possible for us.
“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Hebrews 4:14, 16 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/heb.4.14-16.NIV
Prayer is first modeled for us. It is first a learned behavior, but once the Spirit is awakened in us when we trust in Jesus, the conversation becomes uniquely ours. As no two snowflakes or fingerprints are exactly alike, no other human being has your story.
“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called;
one Lord,
one faith,
one baptism;
one God and Father of all,
who is over all
and through all
and in all.
But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.
So Christ himself gave
the apostles,
the prophets,
the evangelists,
the pastors and
teachers,
to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.
From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”
Ephesians 4:4-7, 11-16 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/eph.4.4-16.NIV
Prayer is my lifeline. I am empowered to do my part by God’s Holy Spirit and His Word. Thomas gets the nourishment He needs from his daily meals and he’s learning Who to thank when his needs are met. He’s learning by watching his parents trust the Lord to provide their daily bread each time they give thanks.
Lord Jesus,
You said the kingdom of God belongs to anyone who will receive You like a little child. Children are trusting and You are completely trustworthy. I trust You and I am Your child.
Thank You for listening to me. Thank You for speaking to me. Thank you for praying so that I can learn by Your example.
Speak, Lord. Your servant is listening.
A Fitting Reply 