Daily Blast - The Book of Matthew: Chapter 6
Scripture
“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,
but deliver us from the evil one.’”
Reflection
Matthew 6 has in it perhaps the most famous words ever uttered on this planet?! Certainly, the Lord’s Prayer is recited by Christians at all times, in all places, in virtually every language ever spoken, no matter what Christian tradition they follow! It is of course how Jesus taught His disciples to pray: “Our Father in heaven....”
Jesus introduces to his disciples a radical new way of relating to God, with the intimacy found in a family. We can so easily miss just how massive a step this was for Jesus’ followers to understand that they could relate to Almighty God, who created the universe, the God of Israel, who they had about in the Jewish scriptures, as “Father”. We must make sure we don’t miss just how awesome and radical this is, so we never take it for granted.
Either side of the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus continues with his sermon from the previous chapter, challenging those listening to change their heart’s attitude, not just their outward appearance. Jesus specifically talks about our attitude to money and giving. He doesn’t want us to show off about how generous we are but tells us that we should be content to give secretly, knowing that God sees what we do. Jesus puts earthly wealth and possessions into context because all earthly things will pass away. Instead, Jesus tells us to “store up treasure in heaven” which is eternal and will last forever. By this, He means our kindness and generosity in showing that we follow Jesus will always be remembered.
The final passage in the chapter, tells us that we should not worry about issues of money and wealth, because God will look after us and He cares for us. Sometimes this is hard, especially at the moment when lots of people are losing jobs, or are on furlough because of Coronavirus. That is why it is important to know that God cares. Bible passages like Matthew 6 remind us to trust God despite the circumstances we see around us.
We need to remember that because God cares for us as His children, we can trust Him to supply for the needs of our families
Challenge
Really simple: I’d like you to speak out loud the Lord’s Prayer today. As you use these words to pray to your Heavenly Father, remember that you are a part of God’s massive worldwide church of believers who all use these same words, in their own language, to pray to “our Father”. Amazing!