Our Father

Hey friends, welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Our reading titled Our Father was written by John Blaise. Most mornings, I recite the Lord's Prayer.

I'm not worth much for the new day until I've grounded myself in those words. Recently, I had only said the first two words, Our Father, when my phone rang. It startled me as it was 5.43 a.m.

Guess who? The phone display read, Dad. Before I had a chance to answer, the call quickly ended. I guessed my dad had called by mistake.

Sure enough, he had. Random coincidence? Maybe, but I believe we live in a world awash in the mercy of God. That particular day, I needed that reassurance of Our Father's presence. For a minute, of all of the ways Jesus could have taught his disciples to begin their prayers, he chose those two words, Our Father, as the starting point. Random?

No. Jesus was never less than intentional with his words. We all have different relationships with our earthly fathers.

Some good, some far less than that. However, praying in the way we should is not addressing my father or your father, but our father. The one who sees us and hears us and knows what we need before we even ask him. What an amazing reassurance, especially on those days when we might feel forgotten, alone, abandoned, or simply not worth much. Remember, regardless of where we are and what time of day or night it might be, Our Father, in heaven, is always near.

Jesus' words in today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is taken from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 6, verses 5 through 13. 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. Now let's pray together. Our Father, in heaven, hallowed and holy be your name. And thank you for your promise to hear us when we pray, regardless of where we may be. Remind us to begin each day by centering our thoughts on you. And remind us to begin each day by talking to you, so that our day begins wholly centered on you. And it's in your name that we pray. Amen. Hey, thanks for listening today. My name is Wes Ward, and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.