Wednesday after the Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on September 28, 2022 by under
Scripture: St. Matthew 6:9-14 (NKJV)
6:9 In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”
Devotion
The Lord’s Prayer is a profoundly valuable gift. As we are His holy people in the Church through faith, this prayer summarizes all that we should think and do so that we may faithfully serve Him and all others. It shapes our will so that it is not turned in on what we want, but directed to things above, according to His kingdom and His righteousness.
It also teaches us humility. Rather than pray like a Pharisee, thanking God for how pious we think we are, it teaches us to understand that we are as children, and that we are lowly sinners who are forgiven by Him. He teaches us to forgive as He forgives us, which means we all are supposed to repent and confess our sins. False teachers often twist this to mean we should ignore sins and spread a cheap grace that is dishonest about forgiveness. But our Father calls His children to repent in truth and faithfulness so that they may rightly understand His love! Otherwise, sinners would just be encouraged to remain focused on their own desire to do as they please and not feel judged.
All these words that our Lord commends to us are so that we may grow in our understanding of His gracious will. His Spirit makes us pray rightly and walk diligently. We pray for His blessings, but we also pray for all others who are fellow sons and daughters in His Church, and all those who might be brought in and saved by His Word, as well!
Prayer: O Lord, we beseech Thee, let Thy continual pity cleanse and defend Thy Church; and because it cannot continue in safety without Thy succor, preserve it evermore by Thy help and goodness; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
