This prayer, given by Jesus on the night of His triumphant ride into Jerusalem, is possibly the greatest prayer of all time because it show’s Jesus’ heart and true desire for His people…that they be unified. Palm Sunday was the pinnacle of unification of His people in His favor…days later, it was the pinnacle of His people unified against Him. Both facts should be present in our prayers.

This is Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the Temple. Note the humility with which he prays and gives the Temple to the Lord… is that the attitude we have in regard to “our” church? Where are we in all of this? Are we listening to God? Are we searching for His Will in our lives, or are we too busy trying to convince Him to “do us a favor?”

Paul’s preaching on prayer and worry can be compared with Christ’s words in the Sermon on the Mount… our anxiety is always surpassed by God’s provision.

Paul’s prayer for the believers in Ephesus applies to us as well, because it asks that they would fully know and experience the great power that is at work in all of us…the same power that raised Christ from the dead… and put him in power over everything for the church… is that power in you as his church?

Here Jesus not only teaches a prayer, he gives much information as to our approach to prayer…God is not impressed with many words, He wants to be in relationship with us! Today we pull the prayer apart so we can put it all back together for a better understanding as to why we pray the way we do.

This Psalm shows David revealing His heart to God with a plea that God will change it. It is a prayer for God’s forgiveness, mercy, and renewal…something that we should tend to every day! So why do we have Lent? Much of the answer can be found in three letters: C, P, and R.

Paul tells us that we are “to be conformed to the likeness of” Jesus Christ…it’s not the other way around. We should not limit our view of Jesus to the finite, sinful, prejudicial typecast of me or you or anyone else. Many people have their own composite view of Jesus that is just wrong.

God’s Word teaches that a neighbor is more than the person who lives next door to us. The model neighbor that the children of God are to be is that of one who is kind, honest and loving. It is this reflection of the character of Christ that will make an impact in our neighborhood and cause the light of Christ to shine bright.