Following Jesus – Week 4

In ⁠Matthew 6:1-15⁠, Jesus makes it clear that spiritual practices are not for show. What we aim for in our spiritual lives, we receive. Don’t pray to impress or with formulaic expectations, as if God does not already know and He needs to be woken up or informed. Spiritual practices of generosity, worship and prayer are about a personal relationship with God. The Lord’s Prayer is a model or a map of prayer. Like many other books of prayer, it structures the ideas and guides us. Slow down and take your time through prayer. The first line alone is a shocking idea: God, the awesome creator, is our father. And what do you mean when you pray for God’s Kingdom? We need to live spiritually one day at a time – trust God for our manna (our daily bread). Just as Matthew wrote later in the chapter (⁠6:25-34⁠), “Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.”