When Jesus taught us to pray, He said, “…when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the SECRET PLACE; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly…” (Matt. 6:6) Where is this secret place? “He who dwells in the SECRET PLACE of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psa. 91:1) It’s where ever we meet with God!
IN THIS MANNER, PRAY:
- Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
- Your kingdom come. Your will be done On IN earth as it is in heaven. When I pray this, I pray IN earth (from the KJV) because “Satan, who is the god OF THIS WORLD, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe…” (2 Corin. 4:4) Since we are “earthen vessels” it’s ok to say IN.
- GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. Jesus said, “I AM the BREAD OF LIFE. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35)
- And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.
- For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. (Matt. 6:6, 9-13)
I want to focus on “Daily Bread” First of all, Jesus referred to Deuteronomy, “God humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna, that He might MAKE YOU KNOW (yada`: to intimately experience, BY DOING) that man SHALL NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE; but man lives by EVERY WORD that PROCEEDS (môṣā’: going forth of a command) from the mouth of the LORD.” (Deut. 8:3) To further demonstrate the importance of this WORD, “…you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly TO THESE COMMANDS that I am giving you today. Repeat them AGAIN AND AGAIN to your children. TALK about them when you are at HOME and when you are on the ROAD, when you are GOING to bed and when you are GETTING up. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deut. 6:6-9) This is VERY IMPORTANT TO GOD but is it important to us? A survey from 2021 found that 11% of Americans READ THE BIBLE DAILY. Trends in reading habits over four years showed that the majority of Americans NEVER read the Bible…Within just a few years, Statista (who provided this data) managed to establish itself as a leading provider of market data. Satan does not want us to read GOD’S WORD, so most don’t…
-Bill Stockham