Pastor Eric Hill, Antioch Baptist Church
Hello Centralia and the surrounding areas;
In our world today there are all kinds of things happening, many of them not so good.
I, like the most of you can remember when God and prayer played a great part in our world and our lives.
Somewhere along the line we have gotten away from that, whether it’s because our jobs, our schedules, or activities.
People today just don’t see the importance of their spiritual life.
Pastor Eric Hill
So, focus on worldly things, that even prayer don’t even matter.
The way we use prayer today has become a problem. We treat it like some emergency room.
We go there only when we are in trouble are hurt really bad.
Don’t get me wrong we should go to God when we are in these kind of conditions.
But it shouldn’t be the only time, there is more to it just than give me, give me, give me. God long to spend time with us and He want to do it on a daily basic.
So, the question becomes how do we begin?
One way is to remember the Lord’s prayer, many of us know this, but it don’t hurt to ask the Lord to teach us how to pray sometimes.
Let’s begin with the model prayer that the Bible gives us in Matthew 6:9-13.
A few things this prayer does, it teaches us how to pray properly. First it addresses God the Father (“Our Father which art in heaven”) then it expresses reverence toward God (“Hallowed be thy name”).
This prayer also includes some supplication for things like, God’s purposes (“Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven”).
Then it is followed by our physical needs (“Give us this day our daily bread.”)
Then our spiritual needs (“And forgive us our debts.”).
Then the spiritual needs of others (“As we forgive our debtors.”)
Followed by the guidance and help in our struggle against sin and Satan (“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”)
For the complete column, see this week’s edition of the Centralia Fireside Guard.
