Have you ever noticed something really interesting about the Lord’s Prayer? Jesus didn’t teach us to pray, “MY Father in heaven” or “Give ME my daily bread.” Instead, He taught us to say, “OUR Father” and “Give US our daily bread.” Every single part of the Lord’s Prayer uses words like “us” and “our” instead of “me” and “my”!

This is pretty different from how we usually pray, isn’t it? Most of the time, our prayers sound something like this: “God, please help ME with my math test. Please make MY friend stop being mean to me. Please help MY family have a good day.” There’s nothing wrong with praying for ourselves—God wants to hear about our needs! But Jesus also wants us to remember that we’re part of a big family.

When we pray, “Our Father,” we’re remembering that God isn’t just OUR Father, He’s the Father of every person who believes in Jesus around the world! When we pray, “Give us our daily bread,” we’re asking God to provide not just for our family but for families everywhere who need food, shelter, and care.

Praying for others is one of the most loving things we can do! When we ask God to help our friends, our family members, kids at our school, and even people we’ve never met in other countries, we’re showing that we care about others not just ourselves.

Take Action: Try turning your personal prayers into “plural prayers” this week! Instead of just praying, “God, help me do well on my test,” try praying, “God, help me and all the kids in my class do well on our tests.” Instead of, “Please help my family,” try, “Please help our family and all the families in our church.” See how it feels to include others in your prayers!