Christ Church Daily Devotion Feb 3 2024

In today's Daily Devotion, we read from Luke chapter 11, where Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray. He tells them to address God as Father and asks for His kingdom to come, for daily bread, forgiveness of sins, and deliverance from temptation. The prayer holds significance and can be emphasized by focusing on certain words. We will explore this prayer further in tomorrow's worship service. Luke places this prayer after Jesus' interaction with Mary and Martha, highlighting the importance of spending time with Jesus and learning from Him. We can benefit from dedicating more time to prayer. While there are variations of this prayer, it is essential to focus on its meaning rather than simply repeating words. The suggested version includes addressing God as our Father in heaven, seeking His will, asking for daily provision, forgiveness, and protection from trials and evil. It is encouraged to personalize this prayer and offer it to God today as an act of worship. Welcome to Christ Church's Daily Devotion for February 3rd, 2024. Today we will be reading from Luke chapter 11, verse 1 through 4. One day, Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples. He said to them, when you pray, say, Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, give us each day our daily bread, forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us, and lead us not into temptation. Tomorrow in our worship services, we will be taking a detailed look at the prayer Jesus taught his disciples to pray. When I pray this prayer, it makes a difference for me to emphasize certain words in it. By doing so, it helps me better capture the meaning of the various statements in it. I look forward to sharing that with you tomorrow. Both Matthew and Luke include this prayer in their Gospel accounts of Jesus' life and ministry. We are reading it from Luke today. First, I note that Luke has placed it just after Jesus' encounter with Mary and Martha, and the lesson he sought to teach Martha in that situation. She needed to give more of her attention to just being with Jesus and learning from him. Following that lesson up with a lesson on prayer is most fitting. We could all benefit from spending more time with our Lord in prayer. Sometimes in our worship services, we use a different version of this prayer, thinking that will help us pay more attention to what we are saying and not just repeating a bunch of words. Here is a version of it I have memorized and use regularly in my own prayer life. 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. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen. Your personal worship option today is to try putting this prayer in your own words and offer it to God today.