Day 1

Take a moment to pause, be still, and prepare your heart and mind to receive God’s word. 

Today’s Scripture:

9 Pray like this:

Our Father in heaven,
    may your name be kept holy.
10 May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth,
    as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today the food we need,[a]
12 and forgive us our sins,
    as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
13 And don’t let us yield to temptation,[b]
    but rescue us from the evil one.[c]

Matthew 6:9-13 NLT

Most people who know me know that I love escape rooms. I find them thrilling. I enjoy racing against the clock as I try and solve a myriad of puzzles to win the game! In an escape room, you find yourself having to push buttons in a specific order, pull a lever at a precise time, or punch in a secret code to get the next clue. More often than not, I can fall into this mindset when I’m praying. Sometimes I think that if I say things in just the right way, with the right emphasis, maybe God will answer in the way I want. 

But our God is not “a mystery to be solved, but a mystery to be deepened.” He is not waiting for you to say and do all the right things in just the right way, he is waiting for you. Just you. He loves you and wants to have a relationship with you. How awesome is that? 

I believe Jesus gifted us this model for prayer because he knew how quickly we would overcomplicate it. As you commit to praying and fasting over the next 3 weeks, return to these verses anytime you are at a loss for words.

Reflect

When you pray to God, how do you imagine him responding? Picture yourself sitting down and talking with him like you would a friend. Is that easy or difficult to picture? Why is that?

Pray

Pray through the Lord’s prayer. Pause after each verse and take a moment to let it inspire your prayer. (i.e. when you pray, “May your kingdom come soon” it might move you to pray for healing and reconciliation in our world.) 

Family Moment

Write out the Lord’s prayer and place it somewhere in your house where it is visible to your whole family. Work on memorizing it together.