Matthew 6:7-21 [25-34] Lord’s prayer, treasure in heaven
and/or Matt 6:25-34, Lilies of the field
(Psalm 20:7)
The Lord’s prayer is something that many of us have burned into our
memories. Church schools have it on their list of things to be memorized by
the end of first grade. And so, we know the prayer itself. What we don’t
quite seem to remember is that it comes as a part of a set.
When Jesus teaches us how to pray, It comes amid a series of “don’t
do it like that” commands. There is one about religion, one about prayer,
then the Lord’s prayer, then one about fasting, one about collecting
treasures, and one about worry. The Lord’s prayer actually comes as an
antidote to certain types of prayers, a “do this” as opposed to a “don’t do
this.”
So what do we hear in the command to pray like this that we don’t
here in the “not like that” sections that surround it? What do you hear that is
different about the Lord’s prayer from what Jesus wants us to avoid? Is that
what we hear when we pray the Lord’s prayer?
