Not Fatherless

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Today's reading, titled Not Fatherless, was written by Albert Lee. John Sowers, in his book Fatherless Generation, writes that, No generation has seen as much voluntary father absence as this one, with 25 million kids growing up in single-parent homes. In my own experience, if I'd bumped into my father on the street, I wouldn't have known him.

My parents were divorced when I was very young, and all the photos of my dad were burned. So for years, I felt fatherless. Then, at age 13, I heard the Lord's prayer and said to myself, You may not have an earthly father, but now you have God as your Heavenly Father. In Matthew 6, verse 9, we're taught to pray, Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Previously, verse 7 says not to keep on babbling when praying, and we may wonder how these verses are connected. I realize that because God remembers, we don't need to repeat. He truly understands, so we don't need to explain. He has a compassionate heart, so we don't need to be uncertain of His goodness.

And because He knows the end from the beginning, we know His timing is perfect. Because God is our Father, we don't need to use many words to move Him. Through prayer, we're talking with a Father who loves and cares for us and made us His children through Jesus. Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Matthew chapter 6, verses 5 through 13. 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. 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. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.

Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. 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. Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for the gift of prayer and the freedom we have to talk openly and honestly with you.

Help us to grow more comfortable with speaking to you, like a trusted friend, so that we speak from a place of pure authenticity rather than trying to impress you with our many words. Thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.