Fresh Mannaby Pastor Tim BurtWhen Jesus was teaching His disciples about prayer, He also mentioned repetition. In Matthew 6:5-13, Jesus said:“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth; they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling vain repetitions like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him..."“This, then, is how you should pray:‘Our Father in heaven,hallowed be your name,your kingdom come,your will be done,on earth as it is in heaven.Give us today our daily bread.Forgive us our debts,as we also have forgiven our debtors.And lead us not into temptation,but deliver us from the evil one.’”You probably recognize what you just finished reading as The Our Father—a prayer that has been repetitively and mindlessly said countless times in many Christians’ lives. Before Jesus gave us those words, He had just finished saying, “…And when you pray, do not keep on babbling vain repetitions like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them…” The Greek words translated as vain repetition imply avoiding prayer that becomes mindless—words spoken without thought or sincerity, merely recited from the mouth rather than from the heart.We all do many repetitive things in our daily routine that require little mental engagement. My heart is not engaged in brushing my teeth. There are things I do repeatedly but with little or no thought. That isn’t what God wants when it comes to prayer.So, when Jesus gave us the words that have since—contrary to His will—been formalized as a rote prayer called The Our Father, He wasn’t violating His previous directive about saying the same prayer over and over mindlessly. He was giving us an outline and guidelines for how to pray. Jesus was teaching His disciples how to pray—not a word-for-word script of what to pray.When Jesus said, Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, He was teaching them that when we go to the Lord, we should approach Him in a spirit of worship for who He is—God Almighty. We should elevate and worship Him as the perfect Heavenly Father. When we do this, God becomes greater in our eyes, and our faith and trust in Him grow.Then He said, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Jesus was telling them to pray for God’s will to be done in their lives now—here on earth—just as it is in heaven. One day, Jesus will return and restore the world to its original, sin-free state. That’s why we say our loved ones have gone to a better place when they die—because heaven is free from the defilement of sin. One day, earth will be restored to that same purity. Until then, even though we live in a fallen world, God wants us to experience as much of His blessing and love here as possible. That means walking in His ways and in His love!Then Jesus said, Give us this day our daily bread. He wasn’t just talking about provision. He was talking about asking God to reveal the heart-revelation of Scripture, strengthening our faith and hope. He wants His Word to come alive in our hearts, lifting our faith and trust in His provision and protection. That’s what Jesus meant by daily bread. In Luke 4:4, Jesus said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’” He wants us to feed on His Word and trust in His promises daily.Then He said, Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. Jesus was teaching about forgiveness. He emphasized that if we do not forgive others, our intimacy with God and our prayers will be hindered. Just as He has forgiven us, we must extend forgiveness to those who hurt us.Jesus continued, And lead us not into temptation. He was teaching them to pray for spiritual strength—to resist temptation, the evil thoughts and desires Satan brings, and the temptation to disobey God. Strength to resist comes through prayer and drawing from God's power. Romans 8:37 (NKJV) says: “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”Then Jesus said, But deliver us from the evil one. Finally, He was teaching them to pray for God’s protection—something we should stand in faith for. Psalm 91:11 affirms this: “For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in ALL your ways.”When we pray, part of our prayers will often be about things we lift before the Lord daily—our families, our loved ones, our livelihood, and protection. This isn’t vain repetition; it is renewing our prayers of faith over these concerns each time they arise in our hearts. As long as our hearts and faith are engaged, it is not vain repetition.Mindless repetition carries no faith, and without faith, it is impossible to please God! Keep your heart engaged, bringing your concerns, needs, and thanksgiving before the Lord in faith, knowing that He cares about every detail of your life and desires to help you. It takes faith to believe that and to walk in it.So, pray with faith, using the outline Jesus gave—not as a rigid script, but as a guide to help you access the throne of God in faith!Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT) "Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." If today's Fresh Manna was a blessing to you, please hit the "LIKE" button below! Thank you! In His love,Pastor Tim Burt
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