The Lord's Prayer

                                        "Pray this way:

                                        Our Father in heaven,

                                         hallowed be your name.

                                         Your kingdom come.

                                         Your will be done,

                                         on earth as it is in heaven.

                                         Give us this day our daily bread.

                                         And forgive us our debts,

                                         as we also have forgiven

                                         our debtors.

                                         And do not bring us to the time of trial,

                                         But rescue us from the evil one. Matthew 6:9-13                                   

As a child, my mother had me pray every night before bed. I learned several children's prayers for bedtime, but when I was 5, my mom taught me The Lord's Prayer. Each night I learned another verse and then we talked about it. I especially remember the "give us this day our daily bread". My mom explained that God would always provide us with food, but that also meant God would take care of us. I also remember her talking about God forgiving us of our sins, but we also have to forgive others. I remember that after this when The Lord's Prayer was said every week in church, it no longer was just a memorized part of worship, but had real meaning thanks to my mom's teaching before bed.

Also, when I was 5, I spent a night with my grandparents. My grandma prayed with me at bedtime a Danish prayer from her childhood. She made sure I had it memorized in Danish, and then explained that it said, though I was little, God would always take care of me.

I've learned a number of prayers over the years, but the prayer times with my mother and grandmother seem to mean the most to me as I get older.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for the people in our lives who have taught us prayers and prayed with us. Thank you for Christ sharing The Lord's Prayer with the disciples. Thank you for having prayer available anytime and anywhere so we can communicate with you. Thank you for your Holy Spirit who inspires us to pray and for your Son Jesus who assures us that our prayers are heard and will be answered. As the Jews in the Old Testament were reminded to pray 3 times daily, help us to remember to pray to become closer in our daily relationship with you. Amen

Nancy Hall