Dear Ones,
Hope you are having a good day full of sunshine, even though outwardly it’s suppose to rain here soon. This morning I made Al’s favorite cookies while he was at his men’s group. I did other food prep and went to exercise class; this afternoon is Crafts and then tonight is Bible Study. 
Devotions from Judy’s heart
Perhaps we all have times when we pray the Lord’s prayer in haste and after the “Amen” realize we have not been focused on what we were praying. But if we slow down and pray the words meaningfully, our hearts will be drawn closer to the Lord. What a powerful prayer it is that Jesus taught His disciples when they asked the simple question, “teach us to pray.” Jesus could have given a whole series of talks on prayer but he simply prays a prayer that teaches them and all of us how to pray. 
 Richard Foster shares some reflective thoughts that Simone Weil wrote about the Lord’s prayer, as she experienced hard times under the Nazi occupation of her French homeland. For her it must have been most difficult to pray forgiveness of her debtors after all she saw and experienced.
Simone reminds us that God is our Father and all we have and are comes from Him. We belong to Him and don’t have to search for Him for He searches for us. His name is holy and holiness itself, and we can’t increase or diminish it but only acknowledge it.
When we pray that His kingdom, we are really asking our souls be completely filled with the Holy Spirit, as we invite Him to quench our spiritual longing.
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven is really saying that everything that has happened is in conformity with God’s will and also all that will happen in the future. We do this not because everything has been good in our eyes but God has permitted it and He is good. Then we put aside all other desires for the sake of our greater desire for eternal life.
When we pray Give us this day our daily bread, we acknowledge that Jesus is our bread of life and we must consent to let Him enter in. He will not force His way and we have to daily choose, even as we ask for daily food.
Praying, forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, is not always easy for we are renouncing our claim to anything owed to us or wrongs done to us; it includes all our expectations and rights, but also asking Him to wipe out the evil in us.
When we pray lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil we are humbly admitting that we need His help so that we do not yield to the temptations before us. We ask for deliverance at such times when we are weak.
Let us often pray this powerful prayer that Jesus taught us with meaning and sincerity. I often sing it to Him when I am alone in the car.
Challenge for today: Pause as you pray after each petition of the Lord’s prayer and listen for His response.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy