Our Father
Our Father
Our Father
Lord’s Prayer
If you’re like me, you might have answered that you pray it every
Sunday at church, so of course, this prayer is familiar and known.
But did you pause to consider if praying the Lord’s Prayer meant
something to you?
But does the Lord’s Prayer connect with your heart and soul in a
way that deepens your prayers?
Is the Lord’s Prayer more than a prayer you recite, but your
lesson from Jesus on how to pray?
The Lord’s Prayer is More Than a Memory
Verse
If you want to learn how to pray, look no further than Jesus’s teaching
on prayer – the Lord’s Prayer.
So, maybe you’ve been praying the Lord’s Prayer your whole life and
still don’t feel like you know how to pray? Are you wondering how this
is supposed to help?
So, they asked the teacher for a lesson on how to pray. “Lord, teach
us to pray…” (Luke 11:1)
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Or, have you been building your prayer habit, but keep seeing others
who just seem better at prayer than you and want to know their
secret?
Come, sit at the feet of Jesus, alongside the disciples, and listen
to his words.
See the Lord’s Prayer through fresh eyes and learn how to pray from
Jesus.
“and when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray
standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others.
Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray,
go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.
Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matt.
6:5-6 NIV)
This verse isn’t talking so much about where you pray, but your
intentions when you pray.
“And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like the pagans, for they think
they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your
Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matt 6:7-8 NIV)
We’re commanded to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind,
and soul. To do that well, we need to praise him for who He is.
Praise God not for what he’s done or what you hope he’ll
do, but simply who he is.
#4: Pray for more of God on Earth
When we pray for peace and wisdom and healing – what we’re really
saying is Lord, we want a piece of heaven here on earth. We want
more of you here – your kingdom here and now.
Pray for a world at peace, a world with no more sickness or
death, a world where everyone sings God’s praises all day,
every day.
If we’re to truly pick up our cross and follow Jesus, it means we have
to submit to God’s plan for our lives.
This one’s hard. It’s not asking God to bless your dreams, but to lay
aside your own dreams and follow the dreams God wants to plant in
your heart.
Pray for God’s will in your life and to accept God’s answers
to your prayers, even when his answers aren’t what you
wanted.
#6: Pray for God’s provision in your life
Jesus taught us not to worry, reminding us that God will provide and
take care of our needs. Yet, it’s hard to trust in his provision. We feel
like we need to do it all and take care of ourselves.
Submit your heart and life to God, accepting his help and
trusting in his provision.
We’re human and we sin. That’s a fact of life. But, if you’re going to
follow Jesus, you need to acknowledge your sins.
More importantly, don’t just admit your sins, but turn and make a
change in your life to try to live better.
Jesus was very clear on this one. Forgiveness is essential. You must
find a way to forgive. This one’s hard and may take a lot of prayer.
If you’re holding onto a hurt, spend some time in prayer
asking God to help you forgive.
Evil doesn’t always look bad. In fact, it often comes in very attractive
packages, trying to lure us into missteps.
Pray for God to keep you on the straight and narrow path.
Pray for the strength to resist the temptations you face each day.
Who’s on your prayer list? Who seems to be under the thumb of the
evil one? Who are fighting disease, oppression, poverty, loneliness,
relationship struggles, and all other forms of affliction?
Pray for them to be delivered from all that holds them down.
Stand in the gap and pray on their behalf for God to step in
and fight back the enemy.
A simple prayer that can teach you all you need to know about
prayer.
I used to think the Lord’s Prayer was a short prayer; but as I live longer, and
see more of life, I begin to believe there is no such thing as getting through it.
If a man, in praying that prayer, were to be stopped by every word until he
had thoroughly prayed it, it would take him a lifetime. ~Henry Ward Beecher
Amen.