The Gift of Prayer

Dear friends in Christ, what a gift and privilege it is that we may pray! Prayer is not a burden, nor is it something we must do to earn God’s favor. Rather, prayer is a gift that our heavenly Father has given us, an open invitation to come before Him as dear children speak to their dear father.

Yet, if we are honest, we often struggle with prayer. We may neglect it in our daily lives, only remembering to pray when we are in crisis. Or, we may fall into the habit of thoughtless repetition, saying words without considering their meaning. Or perhaps, we hesitate to pray at all, feeling unworthy to come before God or that our concerns are beneath His interest or attention.

But in today’s lesson from Matthew, Jesus teaches us how to pray—not as a performance, not as a mindless ritual, but as true children of God. And as we learn from both Scripture and Luther’s summary of it in the Small Catechism, the Lord’s Prayer is the perfect model and guide for all our prayers.

Find out more in this sermon from St. John's Lutheran Church of Oakes, ND!