So one of my earliest memories, and it's one
of those stories where, is it a memory or you've
just heard the story so many times that you think
you remember it because you've heard the story.
But I was probably two or three years old, and
the family was in Indiana. We were visiting my
grandparents on a picnic, and I was fishing.
I remember that. I think I remember the fishing
part. totally remember is that when that bobber
was pulled down under the water, what are you
supposed to do? You're supposed to pull it back
up a little bit, give it a little jerk. Where
in my two - or three -year -old excitement of
seeing that bobber go down under, I pulled it
so hard that they say that little fish, that
little bluegill, was spinning around like a helicopter,
and I was waving that tiny little fish around.
But I was fishing. I was two or three years old.
And you can fast forward a little bit, and I
was probably nine or ten. And I remember another
time when I was with my aunt and uncle, George
and Judy. They were actually married in this
church back in the 70s. And me and my brother
had gone on a trip with them. And I think we
went up to Michigan where some other friends
were. And we were fishing, except we were doing
it a little bit different. This time we were
in a boat, and there were four or five or six
different rods hanging off the side of the boat,
and we were driving real slow. We were trolling
with a different kind of lure this time, not
a worm and a bobber, but with a little silver
shiny spoon that was getting pulled slowly behind
the boat. And when one of those rods would get
bent over, well, you'd stop the boat, and somebody
would have a fish. And I remember reeling in.
a trout or whatever it was out of this particular
lake. And I remember a few years later, just
a few years ago, I should say, I took on another
little challenge and I got something I'd never
had before, a different kind of fishing rod,
a fly rod. And so it uses a different kind of
lure. This time it's really lightweight, maybe
made out of... feathers or string, and instead
of just throwing it out there, you kind of wave
it back and forth and hope it goes in the right
place, and sometimes it would, or sometimes it'd
get in the tree or whatever it was, but I could
catch a little fish that way, and I was fishing.
It was a different way of doing it, but each
time I was fishing. Then I remember several years
ago when my kids were little, I took them And
we went to Myrtle Beach, Myrtle Beach State Park.
And I remember taking them out on the pier, and
we had a fishing rod or a net that we let down.
And you can almost see my son there. He's got
a little shark, and he was very excited about
catching that little shark. As they were doing
something different, but they were fishing. And
we were able to sit on the pier, and whether
it was eating ice cream or with a string in the
line, we... We were doing something a little
bit different, and yet it was the same. We were
doing the same thing, but at a different level.
But each time, it was fishing that was going
on. And in life, there's many different times
where we are perhaps learning something new,
and we're growing in our skills in a particular
area, but that doesn't mean we're not engaged
in that. activity. Like you see a little child
and they take their first step and we say they
walked today. That's walking, but it's a little
bit different than they're going to do a couple
years later. It's a little bit different than
they're going to do 50 years later, but it's
still walking that's going on. Imagine you had
the opportunity to learn from the best ever,
whether it's learning how to shoot a free throw
from Michael Jordan and watching his technique
and how he holds the ball and how he releases
the ball. Or, learning how to cook from Paula Deen
or something. You would watch how much butter
she puts in there and you would watch the different
spices and how hot she makes everything and you
would take notes and you would want to learn
from the very best. Well, we have the opportunity
to learn from the very best. Now as we look at
our world, as we watch headlines and whatever,
it seems like our world is going crazy. You watch
of wars and rumors of wars and death of religious
leaders and funerals and selections happening,
and it seems as if almost every day you can read
some story and you can say, well, this sure seems
like some Bible prophecy is being fulfilled.
This sure seems like... Things are going rapidly
and things are happening. The stock market goes
up. The stock market goes down. There's earthquakes.
There's all these different things. And one thing
we know for certain is that every day we go on
in life, that we are one day closer to when Jesus
comes again. We don't know exactly when it's
going to be, but we know at each day we are one
day closer. And I want to turn to Luke chapter
21, because there's about three different places
where Jesus talks about signs of the times and
things that would happen before he comes. And
maybe the one we go to the most often is Matthew
24. But in Luke chapter 21, Jesus is talking
about all these different things that were going
to happen before he comes. In Luke 21 and verse
28. Notice what it says, Luke chapter 21 and
verse 28. It says, now when these things begin
to happen, look up and lift up your heads because
your redemption draws near. Each time we go past,
we know that we're one day closer and we can
keep our heads lifted up and recognize that Jesus
is coming soon. So in this same context, of Jesus
talking about this soon return of his kingdom,
notice what it says in verse 36. Jesus says,
Watch therefore and pray always that you may
be counted worthy to escape all these things
that will come to pass and to stand before the
Son of Man. So as we are seeing all of this happen,
as we are approaching the soon return of Jesus,
we are reminded to keep our eyes open, to watch,
and then it says to pray always. Now, what does
that mean? Because we're getting closer each
and every day. What does it mean to pray always?
I think we can be sure that the disciples begun
to understand this. They began to understand
what Jesus meant when he said to pray always.
Because everywhere Jesus went, he went preaching
and teaching and healing. But in order to be
ready for that work of ministry among the people,
Jesus also did something else. He spent time
away from everybody. He spent time by himself.
He spent time in prayer. And as we are talking,
looking ahead to when Jesus comes again, as we
talk about what we can do, have been instructed
to do is to pray and to pray always and to make
it a part of who we are every day. Can we make
prayer something in our life so that it will
be a lasting impression on the people around
us? The disciples knew what Jesus was talking
about because they had observed Jesus in prayer.
In fact, if you stay in Luke and go back to Luke
chapter 11, we see our scripture reading for
the day. Luke chapter 11, and starting in verse
1. Luke 11 and verse 1. It says, now it came
to pass as he was praying in a certain place.
The Bible says this often, that Jesus went early
before dawn, that he went to a certain place,
that he went and spent time in prayer. As he
was praying in a certain place, when he ceased,
that one of his disciples said to him, Lord,
teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.
So they saw Jesus in prayer, and apparently it
made such a great impression on them that they
said, I want that. I want to be able to pray
like Jesus. I want something that he has. I want
to learn how to pray like Jesus. And they said,
teach us to pray. Do you think the disciples
had prayed before? I'm pretty certain they probably
had. They'd grown up in the Jewish faith. They'd
probably memorized large portions of Scripture,
and they had prayed. In fact, it says, teach
us to pray just as John had taught his disciples.
And at least some of them had been disciples
of John before they were disciples of Jesus.
But they had this first impression. of the way
Jesus prayed. And if you look at the following
verses, as Jesus is teaching them to pray, he
shares something that we refer to most often
as the Lord's Prayer. That's what Jesus uses
to teach them how to pray. So they had seen that,
but they apparently had also seen what it meant
to pray in a wrong way. And so we're going to
go back to the other place where it talks about
the Lord's Prayer. And that's in Matthew chapter
6, which is the Sermon on the Mount. And so Jesus
was teaching this crowd of people, Matthew 5,
6, and 7, it's known as the Sermon on the Mount.
And in the midst of that Sermon on the Mount,
Jesus shares the Lord's Prayer, what we refer
to as the Lord's Prayer. But before he shares
the Lord's Prayer, he tells them some things
not to do in prayer. Apparently, that was something
that was happening in society. That was something
the disciples had seen, maybe that the disciples
had even done. So let's look at Matthew 6 and
verse 5. Notice what it says. Jesus says, when
you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites.
So here's what not to do. You're praying, but
here's what not to do. Don't be like the hypocrites.
And that word hypocrites is actually where we
get It's from the Greek word where they talk
about like an actor on a stage, on a play. So
someone who's pretending to be something else.
An actor is taking on a role pretending to be
somebody else. And Jesus is saying, don't be
someone who's pretending to be something else.
Don't be like the hypocrites, for they love to
pray, standing in the synagogues and on the corners
of the streets. They want to pray where everybody
can see them, that they may be seen by men. Jesus
says, assuredly, I say to you, they have their
reward. So they are praying not to have a connection
with God, not to have a connection with the Holy
Creator, but they're having a prayer so that
people will see them, will see how holy and pious
they are, and people can walk by the street corner
and say, wow. Those people are impressive. They're
important. They pray, and everybody can hear
them. The very next verse, which I don't have
on the screen, it says, verse 6, When you pray,
go into your room. And when you have shut the
door, pray to your Father who is in the secret
place, and your Father who sees in secret will
reward you openly. So Jesus doesn't say not to
pray. He says you do need to pray. But when you
pray, don't just do it so people can see you,
but go into your house, not just your house,
but go into your inner room, your closet, and
close the door so that you're there by yourself,
so that you can spend this time in prayer. And
even if you're by yourself, guess what? God can
hear you. God will hear you, and God will answer
that prayer, If nobody knows you're praying,
God knows and God will hear you. Do you have
a place of prayer? Maybe it's not a closet in
your house, but maybe it's a certain chair that
you sit in. And that's your chair that when you
sit there, you know that's a place that you can
pray. You're going to put down your other distractions
and you're going to spend at least a few moments
in prayer. It could be when you're driving your
car to work in the morning. What an awesome opportunity
to pray. Even if you're stuck in traffic, maybe
a greater need of prayer. Even in that place
by yourself. There was a faith -based movie a
couple years ago called War Room. And it was
about a person who was learning the power of
prayer. And this lady was taught by another lady
of the importance of having a place. of prayer,
her war room. And she actually had a closet with
Bible verses on the wall and her Bible in the
corner and a notebook to write down answers and
needs and concerns. Do you have a place where
you can be certain that you are praying to God?
It's not about making a show. It's not about
letting other people know I'm praying, but it's
about spending time with God. And then verse
7, there's another do not do this. Verse 7, and
when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as
the heathen do. Those who aren't followers of
God. These are the heathens. They're not followers
of God. Do not use vain repetitions, for they
think that they will be heard for their many
words. I'm just going to say lots of things.
I'm going to say all that I can. And if I use
enough words, if I use the babbling, if I use
the vain repetition, if I say it over and over,
Jesus says, don't do that. That's not what we're
supposed to do. Verse 8, do not be like them,
for your Father knows the things you have need
of before you even ask Him. God knows. And so
we could say, well, why even pray? Well, because
Jesus invites us to pray. but he says don't do
it for the vain repetition don't do it for that
reason but notice the very next verse still in
in matthew 6 verse 9 jesus says in this manner
therefore pray don't do this don't do this but
in this manner pray and we know the lord's prayer
we've learned it if you've learned any bible
verse you have likely learned the Lord's Prayer.
And maybe we recite it in our families or recite
it in church. And we're going to before we close
today. But it's not just about learning words.
You know, maybe in school at some point you had
to memorize a speech or something. Maybe you
memorized the Gettysburg Address. My wife does a
mean Gettysburg Address. So you can ask her about
that later. She's shaking her head. Don't do
that. But it's not just about reciting something.
just to memorize it. But it's about, those are
powerful words, but could it be even more than
that? Could it be a pattern that we can incorporate
and make this prayer a personal prayer as we
explore the words of Jesus where he says, in
this manner, pray. Could we incorporate that
into our prayer life? And there's several ways
to look at the Lord's Prayer. Several different,
you know, you can outline it in different ways,
but the first couple verses here say, Our Father
in heaven, hallowed holy be your name. Your kingdom
come, your will be done on earth as it is in
heaven. Notice these first couple verses are
all about Jesus. It says you and your. It's all
about who Jesus is, about what Jesus is doing.
And then, There's a change in the focus. The
next couple of verses, starting in verse 11,
give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us
our debts as we forgive our debtors. And do not
lead us into temptation, but deliver us from
evil. For yours is the kingdom and the power
and the glory forever. The first verses are three
times looking up, looking to God. And then there's
this change of focus where it's about us. four
times. It's are, three times. But it never ever
uses the words me or my or I. And so there's
something about praying with a group, praying
together. And so we can know this Lord's Prayer.
We have memorized it, but we see there's God
first, and then there's us. Then there's... our
needs. We can recognize that this prayer begins
and ends with praise. The first and the last,
it ends with praise, and those praise elements
bookend five or six, depending on how you want
to count it, five or six different petitions,
five or six different elements which form this
pattern of prayer. And if we know the Lord's
prayer, then guess what? We know that pattern,
and we can personalize it. We can make it our
own. We can incorporate that into our own prayer
life. So we're going to look at this kind of
bit by bit as we go through. So it opens with
praise as it says, Our Father in heaven, hallowed
be your name. Our Father. We can recognize that
God is personal. That God wants to have a relationship
with us, but it says our Father in heaven, so
we can also recognize that God is the creator
of the universe. And if we think about that the
creator of the universe wants to have a personal
relationship with you, then that's incredible.
That's an incredible thought to recognize that
as grand and holy and as incredible as God is,
the creator loves his creation. And we can call
him by that personal name, our father. But we've
got to pause on that just a second because I'm
a father. I have a father. I know lots of fathers.
And I also know that fathers are not perfect.
And mothers are not perfect. And spouses are
not perfect. And children are not perfect. And
siblings are not perfect. And single people are
not perfect. We are an imperfect people. We have
made mistakes. We have fallen short of the glory
of God. And so when we consider God as our Father,
it's something different. Because there's people
in this society that when they think of their
Father, they may have a very, very negative attitude.
And it may make them angry or upset because of
a broken relationship that they have. And so
what this phrase is referring to is not an imperfect
relationship, but a perfect father with a perfect
love, the way that fathers are supposed to be.
And so we see this personal connection with the
incredible creator of the universe. And it begins
with praise. Our Father who art in heaven. hallowed
or holy be your name that's a perfect start to
a prayer to praise god as we begin a prayer to
lift start in praise lift up time in praise but
what about when you're having a bad day sometimes
maybe it's harder to to praise if something's
not going your way it's harder to praise when
you're sick or something happened at work, or
a challenge happened in your family. It's harder
to praise. How can we do that if we're upset
at someone? They once asked George Mueller. He
was a famous pastor from many, many years ago
who's kind of famous for starting orphanages
in Britain for thousands and thousands of children.
And he was known for hours and hours in prayer.
And they asked him, how long? Do you need to
spend praising God in prayer? And this was his
answer. He said, I praise God until my heart
is glad. It may not be glad when I start, but
I'm going to keep praising God as long as I can,
as long as I need to, until my heart is glad.
I think that's a good thing for us. We can say
words of praise, even though maybe we don't feel
them at the moment. But if we're connecting with
God, then... soon those thoughts of dissent will
begin to be thoughts of praise. And then it says,
our Father in heaven, holy or hallowed be your
name. And this is not a request. We're not saying,
please, God, may your name be holy. It's not
a request. That's a statement of fact. Your name,
God, your name is holy. And in the Bible, there
are many, many names of God. What are some names
of God that you can think of? Somebody say one
out to me. Yahweh, Jehovah, El Shaddai, Emmanuel,
Elohim. There's lots and lots of names of God.
At our Wednesday Bible study, I think it was
two weeks ago, we took the time to look at the
alphabet, 26 letters, and we came up with a different
name of God, a different characteristic of God
that we could praise God for, for every single
letter of the alphabet. But we used like excellent
for X, so I'm not sure if that was cheating a
little bit, but every single letter of the alphabet,
there was some name of God. And so if you're
not sure what to praise God for, just think of
some of those names of God. Which is your favorite?
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, the Prince
of Peace. And you can think of some of those
names of God and say, God, thank you for being
a Prince of Peace, for bringing peace to my life.
Thank you for being a Savior, for saving me from
my sins. Thank you for being a King of Glory.
Because you're my ruler and you bring glory into
my life. Thank you for being full of wisdom because
I am not a wise person. And we can praise God
for who he is. We can praise him. Holy is his
name. We're not asking for it. We're stating
the fact that God's name is holy. And then there's
another statement that comes. It says, your kingdom
come. Your kingdom come. And as Seventh-day
Adventists, we long for that day of the second
Advent. And we sing songs about it. You can pull
out the hymnal and you can say, we have this
hope, hope in the coming of the Lord, hope that
burns within my heart. We can sing, lift up the
trumpet and loud let it ring. Jesus is coming
again. We can sing, brother and sister, we are
marching to Zion, heavenly, heavenly Zion, that
beautiful. city of God. And we long for that
day when Jesus's eternal kingdom will come. But
you know what else Jesus said? Your kingdom come.
Jesus over and over said the kingdom of heaven
is at hand. Jesus said the kingdom of God was
there even as Jesus was in their midst. In fact,
if you turn back just one chapter to the beginning
of the Sermon on the Mount, Chapter 5 and verse
3, it says, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom
of heaven is there. The kingdom of heaven is
coming for all eternity, but we can live out
our life in the spirit of the kingdom of heaven
even now. And the Sermon on the Mount is the
best way to do that. Blessed are the poor in
spirit. Verse 13, you are the salt of the earth.
Verse 14, you are the light of the world. Over
and over, it tells us how we can live out our
life for the kingdom. Love your enemies over
and over. We are told that we can begin to live
God's kingdom life right now. Even as we sing,
we're marching to Zion. Even as we sing, lift
up the trumpet and loud let it ring. is coming
again. And so we can pray, your kingdom come.
And we can pray in our prayer life, looking forward
to what's coming, but also pray that we can live
out a kingdom life in our world even now. Your
kingdom come. And then it says, your will be
done on earth as it is in heaven. So this second
petition, this second element is that God's will
will happen. It will be done. And we recognize
that God's will is going to be done in heaven.
That's not a question. It is going to be done
in heaven. And so the prayer is that God's will
will be done on the earth, on earth as it is
in heaven. And we can say, God, I want, I hope
that your will will be done in my life. And believe
it or not, that's the same prayer that Jesus
prayed. In the Garden of Gethsemane. Just hours
before he went to the cross. He was in the garden.
He left his disciples to the side and he went
and prayed by himself as he often did. And he
said, Lord, if it's possible, take this cup away
from me. Take this cup from me. But Lord, not
my will be done, but your will be done. And so
Jesus... surrendered, submitted himself to go
to the cross because of the prophecies of scripture,
because that was the way for salvation to be
poured out, for salvation to be granted. And
so we can ask ourselves, am I praying? Am I allowing
God's will to be done in my life each and every
day? God, may your will be done. And this reminds
us that God cares for us personally. He wants
our life, to reflect his will each and every
day. Your kingdom come, your will be done on
earth as it is in heaven. And then the next element,
the next petition says, give us, give us this
day our daily bread. And so after we have spent
time praising God, after we have spent time surrendering
ourselves to his will, we recognize that we have
needs and challenges in our own life and we can
shift to that time of, personal petition but
as we said earlier it still uses us give us this
day and it's mentioning give us what we what
we need not necessarily what we what we want
it's not about money it's not about fame and
fortune if you follow that type of thing you
may have seen some headlines that The end of
this week, there was an NFL draft going on and
the teams would pick the players that would be
on their teams next year and the better players
get picked sooner. Just like in grade school
when you're getting picked for dodgeball or whatever.
And the ones that got picked sooner, well, guess
what? They're going to make more money. And the
ones that get picked a little lower down, they're
still going to make a lot of money, too much
money, but not as much. But this says, give us
this day not fame, Not fortune, not money, but
give us this day our daily bread. Give us something
simple. Give us something that's going to keep
us alive. Our daily bread. And you can think
to the children of Israel. way back in about
Exodus 16, where they're coming out of Egypt,
where they're making their way to the promised
land. And they say, God, we're hungry. And God
provides them with food, something that would
come out like frost or dew on the ground. What
was that called? Manna. And they would go out
there and they would collect that manna. And
that word really just means, what is it? They
weren't sure what this is, but they could collect
manna enough for that day. And if they got...
Too much. What would happen to it? It would spoil.
It would rot. It would stink. And so they had
to get just enough for that day. And then the
next day they'd go out, except for one day, Friday.
They were told not only could they, but they
better get enough for two days because on that
seventh day on Sabbath, there wasn't any manna
that came out. And so they better get enough.
for two days to remind them that they are dependent
upon God each and every day. And that is the
prayer, give us this day our daily bread. And
we can lift up our petitions and our needs to
God. And over and over in scripture, it tells
us that God will answer those prayers as we lift
them up in Jesus' name. And then verse 12, it
says, forgive us our debts as we forgive our
debtors. So give us our needs, forgive us. our
debts. And of course, the Bible says if we confess
our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive
us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
And we're promised this salvation because Jesus
died for our sins. And we remember that. But
sometimes we forget the verse that comes right
after the Lord's Prayer. Oh, we know the Lord's
Prayer. We've got that memorized. But if you
go to verse 14, we sometimes forget what comes
right after that. It says, if you forgive men
their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also
forgive you. Praise the Lord. We're going to
be forgiven. But if you do not forgive men their
trespasses, neither will your Father forgive
your trespasses. We sometimes forget that. That
as we have received grace from God, we're supposed
to extend that to somebody else. God expects
us to share the grace, to share the forgiveness
that we need. And so part of asking for forgiveness
is to say, God, is there somebody else that I
need to forgive? Forgive us our debts as we forgive
our debtors. Forgive us in the same way that
we forgive somebody else. And then a final petition
here. As it goes on, it says, Do not lead us
into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For
yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory.
Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us.
If we are following God, He's not going to lead
us to something that we can't handle. He's not
going to lead us to a place where the temptation
is too great for us to stand for God. We talked
about a sheep and a shepherd during our children's
story. And that reminds us of Psalm 23, that
great psalm of Jesus being the good shepherd
for us. Psalm 23, it says, The Lord is my shepherd.
I shall not be in want. I shall not want. He
makes me to lie down in the green pastures. He
leads me beside the still waters. He restores
my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his namesake. If we're following Jesus, he's
going to take us where we want to go, take us
where we need to go. And then in verse four,
it says, yea, though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for
you are with me. We know. that Jesus is going
to lead us to a place of safety, to a place of
protection, even as we are maybe going through
the valley of the shadow of death. Notice Psalm
50 in verse 15. It says, Call upon me in the
day of trouble, and I will deliver you, and you
shall glorify me. When we find ourselves somewhere
where it seems too much, where the temptation
seems strong, we can call upon God. And He has
promised to deliver us. He has promised to take
us away from those addictions, from those temptations,
from those things that have brought us down in
the past. He is going to protect us and keep
us safe. And then in Galatians, it talks about
the armor of God. And it says, take up the shield
of faith with which you can extinguish all of
the flaming darts of the evil one. So even as
Satan is attacking us, shooting temptations our
way, shooting evil things at us, that shield
of faith and what Jesus has done and what he
is doing, God has promised to protect us. And
so the power of God forgives our past and gives
us power to live for him each day. Do not lead
us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
And then this great Lord's Prayer ends with praise.
Now we have to talk about this for just a second,
because if you were reading the story in Luke
11, where we started, where the disciples said,
Lord, teach us to pray, the last line is not
there. And just to be clear, some of the manuscripts
of the early manuscripts don't have that line
there. That's why some versions of the Bible...
Leave that out. They're not trying to trick you
or deceive you. It's just the manuscript they're
using to translate. It doesn't have it there.
But this concept of praise is found throughout
Scripture. The Lord's Prayer starts with praise,
and it ends here. For yours is the kingdom and
the power and the glory forever. Amen. And that
sentiment of praise is found throughout the prayers
in the Bible, throughout the book of Psalms,
that 150 prayers gathered together. It reminds
us of God's power. It reminds us of God's personal
care in our lives. And when those disciples saw
Jesus praying, it made a first impression on
them. And they said, Lord, teach us to pray.
And as Jesus taught them to pray, as he gave
them the Lord's Prayer, as he gave them example
of spending hours in prayer, it not only made
a first impression, but it made a lasting impression.
And so when you turn over to Acts chapter 1 and
Acts chapter 2, you see the disciples, even after
Jesus has ascended to heaven, you see these disciples,
these apostles, spending time in prayer. And
even after Jesus went into the clouds of glory,
they're spending 10 days in prayer in the upper
room until the Holy Spirit is poured out on the
day of Pentecost. And they begin to preach with
power and 3 ,000 people are baptized. And as
you continue through the book of Acts, even their
opponents, it says they could tell that these
men had been with Jesus. And even their opponents
said these men had turned the world upside down.
Because they're preaching with the power of the
Holy Spirit. And as you read through their writings
of the New Testament, the letters of Paul, the
letters of Peter, over and over you can find
powerful prayers that are written down. And even
if you don't know what to pray that day, you
can find one of those prayers and you can read
it and you can personalize it and you can make
it your own and you can learn. And you can remember
that the God of power cares for you, personally
and we can remember that we have a pattern to
help us pray even when we may find ourselves
in a spiritual drought so here's here's how i
want to end today we've been talking about the
lord's prayer we're going to stand up as a church
family and we are going to recite this lord's
prayer together for our our closing prayer so
i invite you right now if you want to continue
in a prayer life, if you want to begin a prayer
life, if you want to begin with praise and begin
to offer up some petitions, then we are just
going to bow our heads together and pray this
Lord's Prayer together. Let's bow our heads.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy
name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily
bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive
our debtors. And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom
and the power and the glory forever. Amen.