One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.''
He said to them, "When you pray, say: "Father … " (Luke 11:1-2)
By Pastor Jim Miller
GCU Corporate Chaplain
Have you ever wondered why we pray? If I’m honest, I often see prayer as the way to get God to do what I think He ought to do. In reality, prayer is more about the deepening of my trust in God than it is about bending His will to mine. There’s so much to be learned from the model prayer Jesus gives his disciples, but I can’t get past the first word!
Jesus says that when you pray, when you have concerns about life that you need to express to God, begin here, immerse your anxiety, your fear, your confusion, in this wonderful truth:
"Father … "
The Almighty God is a Father who loves us, who is concerned about us and who cares about what we’re going through. He is near us, He protects us, He provides for us, He knows us. Remind yourself that you are not alone in your struggles, that the good Father has your best interests in mind. Imagine how such a prayer would alter the different perspective we bring to our circumstances, how fear and anxiety would be eliminated in the environment of the kindness of our Father. So the next time you pray, before you launch into the laundry list of requests, take a moment to consider that your Daddy is already working on your behalf, and He can be trusted.
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The next all-employee Chapel is from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. July 18 in the first-floor lecture room of the 27th Avenue Office Building. Pastor Tim Griffin, Dean of Students, will be speaking.
