The Three Requests
Over the past few days, we’ve been looking at the Lord’s Prayer, reflecting on how each line in and of itself might be a resource for our own prayer life. We continue today with the last three petitions.
Jesus gives us three requests: for bread, forgiveness, and deliverance. All three are significant reminders that we are not as self-sufficient as we’d like to think.
Give us bread for today.
This is hard for us to get our minds around as most of us have freezers packed full of
food. Maybe for many of us, this is a call to keep our eyes and hearts open to those who lack daily bread and to find ways to share from what we have. Maybe we could pray: God, we have way more than we ever need. Open our hearts; Open our hands….
And then: Forgive us our sins…as we forgive those indebted to us…
Just as surely and desperately as we need bread, we need forgiveness, and we need to forgive… This is perhaps the place where we name the ways in which we have missed the mark. The ways in which we’ve hurt other people… We’ve gone astray…
God, I’m not perfect. I need you. Forgive me. Help me to forgive…. Here we might pray for the people who have hurt us or wronged us…
And finally, the last petition – do not bring us to the time of trial. Keep us anything that will hurt others, or hurt ourselves. Protect us. Watch over us. Guide us.
It’s amazing to think that this prayer has been handed down to us over almost 2,000 years. Jesus gave this prayer to his disciples so they would have a deeper connection to the source of life – a source of hope, renewal, and strength. It was a resource for them and a resource for us.
Let’s join our hearts in prayer again using the prayer Jesus taught us: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Daily Message Author: Joe Albright
Joe began his ministry in Sarasota, Florida as an associate pastor, and it was in this capacity that he worked alongside the Reverend Dr. Roger Kunkel. Roger was a colleague who became a mentor and treasured friend. From Sarasota, Joe was called to Jacksonville, Florida where he served as the Head of Staff at Hodges Boulevard Presbyterian Church. Currently, Joe and his family worship and serve at Geneva Presbyterian Church in Switzerland, Florida. Full Bio
