Start your day with quick daily devotions: February 9, 2021

Scripture Reading - Luke 11: 1-4 “When you pray, say. . . "- Luke 11: 2

One thing I liked about living in Medjugorje a few years ago was the usefulness and the charm of saying “all of you”. This is just a contraction of the phrase "all of you" and works well when you are talking to more than one person at the same time. It also reminds me of something important about the Lord's Prayer. When one of his disciples said, "Lord, teach us to pray," Jesus gave them the "Lord's Prayer" as a magnificent model for praying to their Heavenly Father. And he introduced it by saying (with the plural form of you): “When [everyone] you pray. . . “So while the Lord's Prayer may be a deeply personal prayer, it is primarily a prayer that Jesus taught his followers to say together.

From the earliest days of the church, Christians have used the Lord's Prayer for worship and prayer. After all, Jesus taught us these words, and they capture the essence of the gospel of Jesus: God, the creator of heaven and earth, loves us and wants to provide for our every physical and spiritual need. When we say these words alone or together, they should remind us that God loves us. They should remind us that we are not alone but like the body of Christ throughout the world, saying the same prayer in many different languages. Yet, with one voice, we recite the words of Jesus and celebrate the love of God and take care of ourselves always. So when all of you pray today, give thanks for this prayer that Jesus has given to us.

Prayer: Lord, you taught us to pray; help us to continue to pray together in all situations, for your good. Amen.