A Life of Prayer: [Part 3] The Prayer

2 Chronicles 7:14 says “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

To give a recap: In Part One we discussed why we pray, and in Part Two I discussed why it is important to have a Christocentric mindset when praying.  So in Part Three of the “A Life of Prayer” series I would like to discuss how we can pray simply.  In order to keep prayer simple and focused I suggest we take a lesson from Jesus himself. By consulting scripture we find that Jesus actually told us how to pray.  Often, many churches refer to this as the Lord’s Prayer. 

The Lord’s Prayer is simple; however it is not the key to salvation.  It is the result of a regenerated heart, but it does not necessarily cause the regeneration.  God’s grace causes us to draw near to Him and place our faith in Christ, and it is His sacrificial death that brings salvation.  So let’s make sure to get it correct from the start.

Our culture tends to look for the quick fix, and I know this prayer has been abused and viewed merely as a ritual that is said mindlessly, but this is not what Christians should be seeking.  As the passage above states, we should be seeking His face!  In light of that, as we go through the prayer outlined by Jesus, consider each line thoughtfully.  What does it say about God?  What about you?  I highly encourage when praying the Lord’s Prayer, to do so line by line, dwelling on each and talking with God in response to each line.

Matthew 6:5-13 says, ”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. 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.

“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.  Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven,”

We acknowledge that God is in heaven.  We acknowledge that God created the earth and heavens all for His glory.  This is a statement of adoption, that He is our Father, and that He is God!

“hallowed be your name.” 

God is holy!  And thus He is just.  This line is a statement that we acknowledge that He is holy and because we are sinners we are eternally separated from him.  When we say this we acknowledge that we need Christ’s righteousness in order to be reconciled to him.

“Your kingdom come,
your will be done, 
on earth as it is in heaven.”

We pray for His kingdom to come.  We pray that He may reconcile hearts to himself.  We pray for the Day of the Lord.  In addition, we pray that His will be done on earth, and that He would make it more like heaven.  We pray that all things would be for his glory and that they would point to Christ.

“Give us this day our daily bread,” 

We ask for him to fill us with the Spirit.  We ask that he be our portion in our time of need.  We acknowledge that apart from Christ we can do nothing. We pray for strength and nourishment through Christ. Pray that he will reveal scripture to you.

“and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.”

We pray for the forgiveness of our sins.  Then we repent of our sins.  We thank him for Christ and for him sacrificing his only son for the sake of reconciling filthy men to himself.  We should stand amazed and reflect upon his mercy and grace.  Then we ask for him to give us strength and the ability to forgive others of their trespasses/sins against us(as he has forgiven us.

“And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.” 

Again we thank him for Christ and that because of Christ’s blood that was shed we are set free from slavery to sin.  We ask him to deliver us from temptations and all that is evil.  We pray that he protects us from all that will cause us to separate us from him. Instead we pray that he may draw us nearer to him so that we desire to be righteous and not fall into temptation.

Such a simple prayer is packed with meaning.  Don’t let another day go by without praying this way to God.  Thank him and pray for his help!  And do not miss the reoccurring theme that is Christ.  After all, it is through Christ that we come to the Father (John 14:6).

Lastly, it is important to read and understand what Jesus said immediately after the prayer in Mathew 6:

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.

TagsPray, Prayer, The Lord's Prayer