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Monday January 27 - Short and sweet
“Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask
him.” Matthew 6:8
I regularly take services in Beauchief Abbey, a medieval (mostly ruined) abbey near where I live. The services are always from the 17th-century Book of Common Prayer and they attract a small, dedicated, congregation. There is something beautiful about reading Thomas Cranmer’s prayers in such an atmospheric setting, but I don’t think that we should always pray like that. Beauty in language is a fine thing, but I don’t think that God is any more likely to hear those prayers than any others!
The pagan religions of Jesus’ time would have had lengthy ritualised prayers which, it was believed, had to be said in exactly the right way in order for the gods to hear and answer them. We get some idea of this in the story in 1 Kings 18 when Elijah confronts the prophets of Baal, who pray for most of the day to their false god without reply. In contrast, Elijah’s prayer (vv 36-37) is short and effective!
Jesus says that such lengthy prayers are pointless because God already knows what we need. And God responds to our need out of his love, not because of our intelligence or eloquence. In fact, in my experience some of the most powerful prayers come not from the wise and learned but from those whose faith is wholly in God’s word, not their own!
Gracious Lord, thank you that you hear our prayers before we utter them and that our stumbling words have such value in your sight. Amen.
Tuesday January 28 - The perfect prayer
“This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come...’” Matthew 6:9-10
Whilst moving house recently I discovered a box in which my wife had kept all our children’s Mother’s Day cards, beginning with their very earliest efforts at writing. They reminded me of the trusting dependence that small children have on their parents. They can ask for anything with the absolute trust that their father or mother has the power to grant it.
That trust is at the heart of the Christian’s relationship with our heavenly Father. It is why Jesus follows up his criticism of pagan babbling with a short and succinct prayer. After all, what parent is going to be less moved by a child’s plea just because they haven’t got their words in the right order?
It is significant that Jesus’ famous prayer begins with ‘Our Father’. Everything that follows is rooted in this relationship of love. It is because he is Almighty God that he has power to answer our prayer. It is because he is our Father that we dare ask in the first place. Notice also that these first petitions in the prayer are all about God and not us: “Your kingdom come, your will be done...” Our own imperfect motives are surrendered to the wider vision of God’s coming kingdom. We may have all sorts of desperate prayers but we start with what is on God’s heart. In his will is our peace.
Loving heavenly Father, may I see your kingdom come and may your will be done in my life. Amen.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
PRAYER FOR TODAY
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