Teach Us to Pray

Are you in a prayer rut? Do you always pray in the same place, at the same time, in the same manner? There are volumes galore on the shelves of Christian bookstores advocating this method or that. What intrigues me is that Jesus gave us a model for prayer, yet we ignore it.

"This, then, is how you should pray:
"'Our Father 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.
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

Comments on what has become known as the Lord’s Prayer:

Notice that the pronouns that refer to the prayer-offerer are all plural, “we,” “us,” and “our,” not “I,” “me,” and “mine.” Jesus taught us to pray together. Certainly, there is a place for private prayer. Jesus even modeled that Himself. But His instruction to us is for praying as community. We see that practiced in the Acts record of the church, "When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying" (Acts 12:12).

Notice also that prayer begins with God:

God is our heavenly Father.

His name is holy. [The “name” of God has nothing to do with what He’s called (i.e., “Joe”) and everything to do with who He is, especially indicating His position or authority. While we can freely come into His presence, He is the Holy One and it is right to fear Him.]

His Kingdom is breaking through and becoming a new reality.

Finally, after approaching God according to His majesty, do we bring ourselves into the prayer:

Give us today our daily bread. This is for daily sustenance. Think back to the Israelites wandering in the wilderness. God provided them with manna to eat, but they were to only take enough for one day, except before the Sabbath when they were to collect enough for two days. This is not a prayer of want, but need.

Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. The “debts” are “sins” or “transgressions.” We are forgiven because we have released others of their transgressions against us. Read Mt. 6:14-15. It is clear that God will not forgive us if we don’t forgive others. But this isn’t a works-based salvation scheme. This is simply fruit of our understanding and appreciation of our own sin, the ransom paid by Christ, and that God alone has the right to punish sinners.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. God is not the one who tempts us; it is our enemy, Satan. By the grace of God, we can stand up to his attacks.

So, want to deepen your prayer life? Start by approaching God as He has asked us to approach Him. You’re entering the presence of the Most High King. But He’s also your loving Father.

Next week, I’ll share one of my favorite Psalms. It’s an amazing picture of how God wants to relate to us, His children.