This Sunday at Hazard FBC we will be celebrating and studying the Lord’s prayer.

Before the message this Sunday we will unveil a large Lord’s Prayer plaque that was constructed by Doug Kern and given to our church. This plaque will be prominently displayed in our vestibule. It is a beautiful work of art. Much thanks to Ralph and Annette Napier for allowing us to hang this work of art at FBC.

As you know the Lord’s prayer is one of the most recognized passages in the Bible. I recall as a young boy memorizing it, our Awana program often recites it.

Oh, how vitally important that we as followers of Jesus Christ are people of prayer. People that spend time in communion with our Father who is in heaven. And it is also most important that we know how to pray.

In our text today, we read that one of the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. The Lord’s prayer gives us a model of effective prayer. However, the words are not magical, the prayer is not a formula which is to necessarily to be recited over and over again, but an example in how we should pray. However, reciting it is a reminder of how to pray.

It is a concise and profound prayer that covers various aspects of our daily lives. Incorporating praise, adoration, faith, forgiveness and petition for resources in our walk on this earth and for God’s name to be glorified. Please note that the prayer, says, Give us this day our daily bread. Which calls us to daily prayer.

In my years as your pastor, I have often encouraged you to become people of the Book, people that spend time studying and applying God’s Word to your lives. Yet this is just one part of the formula for a successful walk in the Lord, the other being that we are people of prayer. People that are willing to seek God’s presence in our lives, petitioning the kingdom of heaven for divine intervention and influence in our lives. May we at FBC be people of prayer. pastor tim