“Give us this day our daily bread.” Matthew 6:11

April 2009
 

Dear Friend,

Trusting that all is well with you and your loved ones. We are all well and praising God for His Goodness even while living in these trying economic times.  If we constantly hear the news or read the papers we can easily become fearful. Praise God, that we have Him! This month as we commemorate the life, death, and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are reminded of all that He has done for us, and all that is already accomplished. By His Stripes we are healed “Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness-by whose stripes you were healed.” (1 Pt. 2:24) Jesus took our sins upon His body as He hung upon the cross, so that we can be made righteous before God. The stripes that He bore were for our healing. It has already been accomplished. Praise God! If we can believe God for our salvation, let us also believe God in the same way for our healing. It is finished. There is nothing more that has to be done, no other sacrifices, no other means. Jesus did it all!  Praise Him! As you meditate upon these things this month, keep in mind the great love that He has for you! If you were the only person living, He would have done it all just for you. That is how important you are to Him.

Let us take special time this month to focus on Jesus, and all that He taught us. When His Disciples asked him how to pray, He said “...But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father who is unseen.” (Matt. 6:6) When Jesus taught us what is now called the “Our Father” He presented principles for prayer. He taught us how to pray and what to expect. I would love to hear Jesus  tell me loud and clear what His directions are, or that everything will be okay! Wouldn’t that be just wonderful? However, that is not usually the way He does things. He tells us to go to a place where we cannot be seen, and in that place cry out to Him and tell Him everything that is on our mind. But yet, He tells us to do it simply. We don’t have to use fancy poetic words, or King James language. No one else has to hear what we are asking for. Just Jesus. Only Jesus... Simply.... it is that easy.

As our country faces job loses and company closings etc. we do not have to fear. Our way of living should have always been a simple one, but if not, it is not too late to begin. What do we really need? “Give us this day our daily bread.” (Matt. 6:11) Jesus tells us to take one day at a time. He already knows what we have need of beforehand. (Vs. 8) Prayer was never intended to inform God of something that He doesn’t know already.

The point of prayer is not just to get what we want. It is to nurture our relationship with God. The result of prayer is that God can change us, and reinforce our confidence in His sufficiency to meet our needs. Jesus taught us to ask for what we need “this day.” It is so tempting to look to the future, and ask God for things that haven’t occurred yet, isn’t it? It is so comforting to think of God going ahead of us, clearing the way of obstacles. Instead, Scripture shows us that He will be with us at the very moment we need Him! Praise God!

Sometimes we wrestle with trying to understand why some prayers are answered, and others are not. We tend to think of God as the kindly Daddy who indulges our every need! Jesus teaches us to pray to the all knowing, all loving God who provides what we truly need, which very often turns out to be so different from what we were convinced we wanted. Have you ever prayed for something, and when God did not give it to you, you were so upset and felt as if He didn’t hear you? We have all had that experience. However, think of those times now...and consider what might have happened if He did answer it! You might have gotten into a bad marriage, you might have entered a career that was not for you, you might have gotten into a wrong crowd at school, one that you thought was the “cool” crowd, and ended up in jail! We never know how things might have worked out if God answered that prayer. Perhaps someday we may find out the reason. Whatever it is, let us trust that our Heavenly Father knows what is best for us, and that He will always turn things around for the good for those who love Him. (Rom. 8:29) As humans, our view of life is limited. Our minds cannot always grasp the perspective that God has on a situation, so the best thing for us to do is to pray, and then trust. After the pain is over, and the pressure of the immediate situation is lifted we can usually see the evidence of God’s extraordinary answers. Praise Him!

During this season of preparation focusing on all that Jesus has done for us, let us take the time to go into our room, close the door to the noise and problems all around us, and pray to our Heavenly Father. Let us take the Scriptures, and pray the “Our Father” prayer. Meditate on it line by line. These are Jesus' Words, and they are powerful. Think of what each sentence is saying to you. Then make your requests known to God.

Pour out your heart to Him, and give your concerns to Him. Pray for our President, and all those in authority. Pray for our country, for God’s favor and security. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and the whole Middle East. Pray for others; lift up the requests that are on the Agape Prayer Net list. Pray for your family, your friends. Then let us give thanks for what He has done! Let us also be still and allow Him to speak to us. He will speak if we quiet ourselves and let go of our need to be in control. After a while, peace will come upon you, and you will be encouraged. Lord, I lift up this reader to You, and I place him or her into Your loving arms. I thank You for all that You are doing in this life, and I ask You today, to give this reader his or her “daily bread.” You know what is needed in this life, and I thank You right now, that You hear this prayer, and I thank You for the answer. In Jesus Name. Amen. Wishing you and your loved ones a very Happy Resurrection Sunday!

God bless you,

Rev. Barbara Anne Yovino, Ph.D.