Daily Prayer Guide ~ May 5 – Jesus Teaches Us How to Pray

Read:

Matthew 6:5-13

⁵ “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. ⁶ 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. ⁷ And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. ⁸ Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

⁹ “This, then, is how you should pray:

“ ‘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 today 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 the evil one.’

[For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.’ ”]

Consider:

“Experience can’t be taught – only caught”.  There are some things that can’t be learned by reading a book or even watching someone else, these are the things we have to grow in by engaging in them.  Prayer is like singing, it is something you learn and get better in by doing it.  Like a singer can get better through the help of a vocal coach, a persons prayer life will grow stronger by getting some advise and the Bible is full of people’s experience of praying to God.  Every hero of the faith in the Bible has much to tell us about prayer, but none so clearly as Jesus, God’s Son. 

Jesus taught his followers how to pray, twice, using the same prayer and all of Jesus’ teachings and the gospel itself is encapsulated in this beautiful prayer. 

Charles Spurgeon said “I would rather teach one man to pray than ten men to preach.”

Learning how to pray and growing in it, is one of God’s greatest gifts that he has given all of his children and learning how to pray as Jesus taught his disciples will help us grow in our spiritual lives.  Our prayer lives are not intended to be a performance for others to relish, in but a personal interaction that refreshes our relationship with God.  We pray in the spirit where our hearts and minds are exposed to God’s eyes regardless of what others might see of our lives. 

Jesus teaches us that there are 7 gospel priorities built into this prayer.  His prayer aligns our perspective in a right order – God first then the person. 

·      We are in an extraordinary relationship where we can call God Father.

·      God is unique and not like us in any way, he is holy, sacred and worthy of worship.  All his ways are completely good, true, pure and right – always.

·      God has a kingdom that he is advancing.  anyone who desires to enter into God’s presence is to encounter His kingdom, the place of his reign and rule.   As we seek to see God’s kingdom come in our communities, we should begin to see people coming to discover God’s goodness and love for them and making decisions to follow Him. 

·      We discover the priority of lordship to the Father.  God begins to show us His will, and the answer to our prayers, through our own lordship to Him. 

·      We discover our daily dependence upon God, everything we have is from his hands and he is completely capable of providing for us.

·      He values right relationships; He forgave us and expects us to forgive others in the same way.

·      He desires us to live under his authority and experience his protection from evil. 

 The Lord’s prayer is not just a prayer that we are to recite, but it must become the model and guide for how we are to pray to him.  It should set our perspectives of Who we are praying to, how we are to pray to Him, and the priorities of his kingdom that He loves.

Prayer: Father, Thank you that we can come before you in prayer.  Teach us to pray as your son taught his disciples to pray…

‘Our Father in heaven,

Thank him that you can call him Father.

hallowed be your name,

      Recognize he is completely holy and distinct from all of creation.

 your kingdom come,

Pray for the places that come to your mind where his kingdom should reign.

your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Before God, submit your desires about the matters on your heart to his will.

Give us today our daily bread.

Thank him for the ways he has and is providing for your life

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Ask God for forgive your sin and for help to forgive others in your life

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’

The enemy is defeated by the gospel that is expressed in our trust of God’s strength.  We must be willing to stay behind and live under the authority of God, His ways and will. 

For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever.’ 

Worship him for his goodness, power and glory and thank him for being eternal.         

Thank you Father for hearing our prayer, in Jesus name, Amen.