Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. The theological grounding of the Lord's Prayer: the Father already knows what you need. Prayer is not the transmission of information to an ignorant deity or the application of pressure to a reluctant one — it is the response of the child to the already-knowing, already-caring Father. Psalm 139:4 says before a word is on my tongue, you know it altogether. If the Father already knows, why pray? Because prayer is relationship — the act of asking is not primarily about obtaining what is needed but about engaging the Father who already knows the need. The Lord's Prayer that follows is therefore not a shopping list but a relational address.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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