Your Father knows before you ask Him
In Matthew 6:7-8 Jesus basically says do not use many words when you pray (like the pagans) because your Father already knows what you need before you pray: many words do not increase your chances of having your requests answered. We are then given verses 9-13 as an example of how to pray, the so called "Lord's Prayer". One must assume that this prayer is not only an example of how to pray but also offers a contrast against how the "pagans" pray. So what is different? Presumably from v 7-8 the pagan's prayers are long and are focused on the fulfillment of needs. In contrast, the Lord's Prayer is short and contains only one request for needs, our daily bread, and it is only for today's needs, not tomorrow's. The first three focusses of the Lord's Prayer are that the name of God be hallowed (honoured), that his kingdom come, and that his will be done. So what does this mean and how do we pray this? I mean aside from simply repeating the w...