The "Right" Way to Pray


Ha!

Did that title suck you in?  Do you believe there is a right way to pray to God?  

Well, certainly Jesus gave us some tips in Matthew 6 when He said, "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.  And when you pray, do not keep babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of your many words.  Do not be like them, for your Father knows that you need before you ask him." - Matthew 6:6-8

Jesus followed this quickly by providing a framework - the words we now call "The Lord's Prayer":

"Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us today our daily bread.  And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." - Matthew 6:9-13

This prayer can be used as a template.  

Note that it doesn't start with our requests - it starts by praising God:  "hallowed be your name".  Hallowed means holy, sacred, separate.  Our first response should be to honor God by praising Him for all he has done for us.

The next part of this prayer, "your kingdom come, your will be done," are words of submission.  They are words that Jesus offered at Mount Gethsemane when he said, "not my will but yours be done."  These words put God, not us, in the driver's seat of our lives, and lets him know we are willing to submit to Him.

Following words of adoration and submission, we can move on to our own needs. 

In the Lord's prayer - this is represented by the words, "give us this day our daily bread."  

In truth, God knows what we need - but He wants us to be humble enough to ask, and He promises to provide whatever we need to fulfill His will for us.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." - Philippians 4:6

Next - the prayer offers an intercession - "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors."

This is a powerful component of prayer and I urge you to pray for those you love AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, those with whom you are currently not seeing eye to eye; for it is very hard to stay angry with someone you are praying for.

Then finally, the prayer ends with a request for protection.  

Satan is out there - he is real, and he is after our souls.  The story of Job shows us that he is willing use devastating circumstance and pain in hopes that we will turn away from God.

With words like, "Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil," we can God for protection for our city, state, nation and leaders.  We can pray against attacks on our family, businesses and health.

This five-part template is the one Jesus gave us - however, do not be dismayed if your prayers do not always follow this pattern, for the Bible also says this:

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.  And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God's people in accordance with the will of God." - Romans 8:26-27

Happy praying!






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