Jesus taught us to ask our Father to ‘give us this day our daily bread’ in order to show us that everything we have comes from Him. When we recognize this, we must acknowledge that everything we ask is for Him. Our wish list is a continuation of our worship. We are taught to ask for God’s providence so that we can hallow Him and live out His Word.

When we reflect on Jesus’ teaching on prayer, we may find that we fall short of His standard. The Good News of the Bible is that Jesus has not only paid for the penalty of our sin, but He has gifted us with His Spirit, who renews our love for our Father and empowers us to come to Him with loving worship and a long wish list. As we do, we will experience the presence, power, and providence of our Father in Heaven.