Lord, Teach Us to Pray

Sunday, April 11, 2010

“Lord, teach us to pray” – this was the question with which his disciples approached Jesus one day. It was a surprising question, in a way. As observant Jews, prayer was not a strange activity to the disciples. Prayer was a central part of every worship service in the temple and local synagogues. And yet, in Jesus’ company, the disciples had begun to wonder whether they had really understood what praying was all about.

Do you have questions about prayer? If so, you are obviously in good company. Whether you grew up in a Christian family or are relatively new to the Christian faith, you may at times have wondered about the practice of prayer. Does prayer make any difference? Does God answer prayer? Is there a proper form for prayer? Does the Bible give us any guidelines for how we should pray?

This Sunday, we will begin a 6-week series to explore these questions together in our Sunday morning worship services. For the first two Sundays, April 11 & 18, we will begin our exploration with the Lord’s Prayer, the most familiar of all Christian prayers. Like for our reflections on Christian beliefs, we will be using an interactive conversation format during the sermon time. So bring you questions…bring your insights…bring an open mind….bring an open heart. And bring a friend!

The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven.
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

See you in church,
Pastor Reinhard