In today's reading, the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, which Jesus did. Although we have everyday responsibilities and demands in our lives, like the disciples, we should have a thirst for hearing the Word.
Here are a couple of essential things to adhere to as we pray:
Have a personal and intimate relationship with God. Think of Him as part of your family, not as a distant presence from above. We can also think of Him as a parent. This doesn't fall under the category of ideology or concept. We should feel this way deep in our souls as we pray.
Receiving our daily bread is asking God to give us enough to honor God. If that sounds somewhat abstract, let's define daily bread. This means not asking for excess from God, not to ask for riches or poverty, but to ask for us to have enough resources and be satisfied. This enables us to honor God, for when you pray, you are not only praying for your daily bread, but you are also praying to care for those who lack sufficient resources to live day to day. Remember that when you pray to God, it requires something from you; you must be invested in the process. Focus on helping to bring about the Kingdom of God.
This also means do not be complicit with evil. Do not sanction evil acts such as taking food away from people in need, taking healthcare from people, essentially kidnapping people off the streets with masked agents, holding them in inhumane conditions, then deporting the people without due process.
Finally, we can not be complicit with, or become immune to, the consistent bombing and killing of innocent people. This is a sinful act of inhumanity.
Prayer is not an act where we look out for ourselves. Jesus tells us to pray, investing in a personal relationship with God as we seek to help people, not to seek excessive riches, but to ask for our daily bread, and to forgive those who sin against us.
It's not an easy task, but we should get started on prayer today.
Join us for our next service on Sunday, August 17, 2025, at 11 a.m. For the link, please email us at info@northchurchnyc.org.