In Touch Daily Devotions 10 January 2022 | Dr. Charles Stanley | Monday Message
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Topic: A Pattern for Prayer
Today’s Scripture: Matthew 6:5-10
`When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
“But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
“And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.
“So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
“Pray, then, in this way: `Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
`Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
In Touch Daily Devotions 10 January 2022 Monday Message
Are your conversations with God primarily a checklist of needs? Petitions are certainly appropriate, but prayer is also a time to focus on the Lord in love and worship. When praying to our Father in heaven, we should ponder three things that today’s passage indicates are important to Him: His name, His kingdom, and His will (Matt. 6:9-10).
Hallowed be Your name. While the goal is to honor and exalt God, our prayers can easily become self-centered. This can be an issue in public prayer if we try to exalt ourselves in the eyes of others. But it can also happen privately when we focus only on what we want God to do.
Your kingdom come. Praying for God’s coming kingdom means setting our hope on Christ’s future reign while submitting to His rule over our life now.
Your will be done. No matter how much we want the Lord to answer our prayers the way we desire, every petition must be readily submitted to God’s will. It is a way of acknowledging that His way is always best.
The next time you pray, make a point of pondering the Lord’s greatness, exalting Him, and humbly submitting your will to His.
Bible in One Year: Genesis 32-35
Thought for Today: Jesus teaches what to focus on in our prayers and encourages us to approach God with a humble heart.
In Touch Daily Devotions 10 January 2022 | By Dr. Charles Stanley. He is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church Atlanta and founder of In Touch Ministries, both located in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Stanley’s heart’s desire is to get the gospel to “as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, as clearly as possible, as irresistibly as possible, through the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God.