Learn more about prayer and ongoing conversations by focusing our attention on God and drawing closer to Him by learning to talk directly to Him more often than not.
“Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.“
Jesus provides a model on how to pray in Matthew 6:9-13 (NKJV).
"Be still, and know that I am God" Psalms 46:10 (NKJV)
Our relationship with God our Heavenly Father (YHWH), is going to have similar parallels to growing up. As our faith matures and wisdom increases, our prayers will transform, too, but we need a starting place.
Why Is Prayer Important?
Prayer is how we make a relationship with our Heavenly Father. Prayer is a key for the life of a Christian.
What Is Prayer?
According to the Lexham Bible Dictionary, it is “[out loud or silent] communication with God, primarily offered in the second-person voice (addressing God directly). May include petition, entreaty [an earnest or humble request], supplication, thanksgiving, praise, hymns, and lament [a passionate expression of grief or sorrow].”
Along with prayer, He communicates with us in different ways, such as, His Word (The Bible), through other people, through media, through actions, with ‘coincidences’, gut feelings, and being our ‘conscience’.
Prayer can be prescriptive, repeated, or casual and all in between.
How To Pray
Luckily for us, Jesus, the Son, gave us a prayer model that was quoted at the beginning. ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ can, and often is, recited; however, it is more than that.
It provides the example to fit the structure of how we should pray. Let’s expand on the surrounding verses to Matthew 6:5-15 and dive in for a deeper understanding.
“[05] And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
[06] But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
[07] And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.
[08] Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
[09] Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.
[10] Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
[11] Give us this day our daily bread,
[12] and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
[13] And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’
[14] For if you forgive others their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you,
[15] but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
I am going to combine my thoughts on the verses, its annotations, and quotes from the TV show, “The Chosen”, season 2 episode 7, “The Reckoning”, 38m:46s to elaborate on this rich passage.
[09] ‘Pray then like this’
- After describing how not to pray, Jesus gives a positive example. The Gospels make no explicit claims regarding Jesus’ intentions for creating this prayer, but the context indicates that He is teaching people how to pray.
- When we pray, we want to be sure to first start with acknowledging our Father in heaven and His greatness.
[10] ‘Your will be done’
- Jesus prays similar words as He faces arrest and crucifixion in the Book of Matthew.
- And we always want to be sure to do God’s will and not our own.
- God’s will means His heart’s desire. We should strive to align our own heart’s desires to God’s desires and plans for us.
[11] ‘Give us today our daily bread’
- The people of rural Galilee were poor and oppressed, and resources such as food were scarce. This prayer reflects the real needs of people living in difficult times.
- When the Israelites were wondering the desert after the Exodus, God provided manna daily in the morning.
- This reminds us to be reliant on our Provider. Later in Matthew 6:26, Jesus reminds us, “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”
[12] ‘our debts’
- The language used here for debt (or trespass in some translations) can reflect an Aramaic idiom referring to sin.
- It is not only asking for God to forgive our sins and debts, but also for us to do the same to others.
[13] ‘into temptation’
- This refers to hardship in a general sense.
[13] ‘evil’
- The Greek term used here may indicate a specific entity (such as the devil) or evil in its many forms.
- This is the second part of repenting from sins, which is distancing ourselves from it.
[13] Yours is the Kingdom, Power, and Glory forever. Amen.
- Many ancient manuscripts add an affirmation at the end of the Lord’s Prayer.
- Although this statement likely is not original, it appears to have been incorporated into Christian liturgy from the earliest days of the church.
- It probably is derived from David’s speech in 1 Chronicles 29:11.
We can recite this as a way to focus before getting into our conversation. Then, we can use each portion of the Lord’s Prayer to expand upon our gratitude and requests in any and all facets of our lives.
At the end of my prayers I strive to close it addressing the Trinity. An example we could say, “Thank you Father for hearing my prayers through the power of the Holy Spirit and in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.”
How Not To Pray
However, prayer is not a radio request line or an Amazon wish list. Prayer brings the focus away from the world and puts it on God, our Father.
Prayer is not just one and done. Prayer is a continuous, even casual, series of private conversations with God that deepens and develops our relationship with Him, as well as uniquely position us to hear from His Holy Spirit.
Prayer is not, nor has to be, the same, or even similar, as any other people’s prayers. Just like every sibling has a different relationship with his/her parents, so too shall God’s children have a unique relationship with Him.
Repeating the same prayer, even when quoting Bible verses, over and over, is not a bad thing; however, a repeated prayer, should meet two (2) criteria.
- We are not just going through the motions, but our heart is in it.
- God has not answered us yet. And yes, getting an answer you didn’t want, is still the answer.
As an extreme example, I have played the lottery only a handful of times and prayed to win. The last one was clearly a “no” answer, so I don’t ask for that anymore or even play. If I did continue, that is an example of a wrong way to pray.
Going the other extreme, think about music, specifically praise and worship music. We all have that one song that expresses our feelings towards God and/or our relationship with God. When we are in certain moods, we could play that song on repeat, and there is nothing wrong with that. So therefore, there is nothing wrong with reciting a prayer (whether yours or someone else’s) or a scripture over and over again with God.
Conclusion
I pray this was helpful to you. Just remember, prayer is a casual conversation between us and our Heavenly Father. Don’t feel you have to be formal all of the time, Jesus tells us in John 15:13-15 (NKJV) that he is a “friend”.
There are a lot more verses about prayer in the Bible along with sermons and other helpful resources, that I will hopefully expand on in the future.
God bless and thank you for your time,
Thursday, August 1, 2024
Volume 15 Issue 14 (76)
