Matthew 6:9

       “In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.”  Have you ever wondered why you don’t see the answers to your prayers? We are told in the Scriptures a few reasons. The first one is, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures” (James 4:3). The Second is not asking in faith, but doubting, (James 1:6). The Third is relationship error, “Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered” (1 Peter 3:7). And on the subject of relationship, the most important being our fear of, or respect for, the God we are praying to. First of all, He is not a genie in the sky waiting to give you everything you ask for, nor is He a deity we boss around. Jesus told us in our verse for today to pray “Our Father, the position of respect, and Hallowed be Your name, honoring His Holiness, which none of us can fathom in our mind—lastly, the authority of His supreme character. In Leviticus 10:3 after Aaron’s sons were devoured by the Lord for offering profane fire, God told Moses “by those who come near Me, I must be regarded as Holy”.  Are our prayers even close to respect for the Holy Father when we come to Him? Are we coming to Him with profane fire with the requests we ask out of selfishness? When was the last time you got on your knees and just asked Him to reveal more of Himself to you, or you just raised your hands in worship? Practice praying with the right motives, storing up treasures in Heaven, in faith, and in the right relationships on earth and with our Holy Father in Heaven.