Christmas is a time when we make contact with the people who are significant to us; our loved ones and friends. No other generation ever had the ability to communicate with family members and friends anywhere else in the world as we do today. With almost no effort at all we can talk with them by telephone or send and receive a message by e-mail.
On the other hand, the ability to talk with God has been a reality for every person who ever lived, beginning with Adam and Eve. When you think about the gifts of the season, can you think of a better present for yourself than a conversation with the Heavenly Father? This holiday season is an excellent time of year to make contact with the very source of all our blessings.
The fact is that just about everybody prays at one time or another, in one way or another. When we are in deep trouble or in serious danger we call out to God. When we experience some great joy or relief from a situation and we exclaim, "Thank you Lord." Still, all of us would do well to examine the way we approach God when we pray. On one occasion Jesus Disciples were in that frame of mind when they asked him to teach them to pray. In the language of today he gave them the following prayer to go by:
Our Father who lives in a realm of beauty and happiness
I pray that your name may be honored.
May you rule in the hearts and minds of everyone on earth just as you do in heaven.
Give us today our necessities of life
And forgive us our shortcomings as we forgive the shortcomings of others. And guide us away from the source of evil. (Matthew 6:9-13)
The disciples remembered that prayer because they no doubt prayed it many times and they recorded it for all of us to use when we pray. In summary, the Lord's Prayer, when we pray it sincerely, allows us to make contact with the God who made us all, loves us all, and is worthy of our utmost honor and respect. He is the source of our lives and provides the best for us when we call upon him and respond to his guidance.
Many years after Jesus taught his disciples to pray, a devout scribe, after he had copied the prayer, added "Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen!" * After we pray we can be assured that we are in the best hands possible and can only echo the words of that unknown writer. When we pray we give ourselves and those we pray for a Christmas present that is far greater than anything we could have bought because the privilege of prayer is priceless.
When you begin to talk seriously with the Lord you begin a wonderful lifetime habit that will, without doubt, continue in the life to come. "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord will be saved."
This passage does not appear in what are believed by many scholars to be the oldest and best manuscripts. Oher scholars and theologians do not support this theory, supporting the manuscripts from which the KJV was translated.
©Copyright 1998 Dr. Stanley Watson and VideComp, Inc.
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Watson...
"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace..." Isaiah 52:7.