What Was the Origional Sin?

What Was the Origional Sin?

Verses for the day: Mathew 6:9-13
Give us each day our daily bread.

This is a prayer for provision. Now, let’s go deeper and make this petition personal: give me my daily bread. Is that a prayer we can really live with? Can we live in this kind of simplicity and trust, like a little child?

There is one place we repeatedly allow our peace and contentment to be stolen. We compare our provision to others. I think of it as the original sin—comparison. Eve saw the fruit of the tree, and it was more pleasing than what she had. The two most important steps in finding contentment in life are not comparing what you have to others and having a grateful heart. God will provide (Gen. 22:14). The challenge set before us is to pray and be grateful for God’s provision.

The Two Great Hindrances to Prayer

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There are two great hindrances to prayer. Listen carefully with your spirit. Revelations 3:18 states, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

The two great hindrances to prayer are busyness and worldliness.

Busyness: Busyness steals our time to pray. People who are too busy to pray are too busy to live lives wholly given to Jesus.

Worldliness: Worldliness diverts our will from prayer. People who are too worldly to pray are living lives willfully given to the world, not to Jesus.

Was It the Lord’s Prayer or the Disciple’s Prayer?

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We need to remind ourselves that what we call the Lord’s Prayer isn’t really the Lord’s prayer—it is the disciples’ prayer and our prayer. The disciples were the ones who wanted to be taught to pray. And just as Jesus taught them to begin their prayer with worship, He instructed them to end prayer with worship: “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever” (Matt.6:13).

Jesus taught the disciples and us that in prayer we are to pay homage to the reality that this is His kingdom. God has control over everything, and He can and will answer our prayers. He has infinite power to accomplish whatever we ask. There is nothing impossible with God (Luke 1:37).

Tim

Prayer and Obedience

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Seldom do we hear prayer and obedience in the same sentence. Matter of fact, you don’t hear much on obedience preached in most churches.

What place does obedience have with prayer? Obedience is simply the outflow of faith, faith in action. Obedience is the proof of love (John 14:21). And, if you want the fullness of the Holy Spirit and all that He brings to your life of prayer, it depends on loving obedience to Christ and His commands (John 14:15-16).

Doing God’s will without any hesitation is the delight and privilege of a praying person. Having clean hands and a pure heart leads to bold and confident prayers.