Teach Us To Pray

Do you ever struggle with how to pray and wonder what to say? Knowing where to begin or how to focus your thoughts can be challenging. Fortunately, Jesus gave us a powerful tool to help guide our prayers: The Model Prayer. Connecting with God through prayer is not a duty but a joyous and rewarding experience. It begins with cultivating a genuine desire to spend time with the Father and to seek His will. Once you have that desire, you can develop the discipline to pray regularly. As you make prayer a habit, you will begin to delight in seeking the Father, experiencing all the blessings that come through spending time with Him. With a deeper understanding of your identity in Christ, a clear perspective of how the Father views you, and a firm grasp of your God-given authority by the power of the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus, you are now equipped to delve into the journey of prayer. This is a journey worth taking. Understanding that your time is a precious resource and that your body (the temple) is a sacred offering, you can posture your heart for prayer. When you dedicate time to prayer, you’re spending that time with the Father. The more time you spend with Him, the more you will witness His supernatural power. As you get closer to the Father, He will lead you to know Him and His plans for you more intimately. In Matthew chapter 26, when Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane before His crucifixion, Jesus took Peter, James, and John to watch and be vigilant with Him. Jesus then went off to pray, returned to them, found them asleep, and asked them in Matthew 26:40 (NIV), “…Couldn’t you men keep watch with Me for one hour?” Mark 1:35 (NASB) says, “And in the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and prayed there for a time.” Jesus exemplifies the importance of spending some quiet time alone with God to seek direction and align His day with His Father’s will. By declaring the plans and purposes of His Father, Jesus teaches us the value of seeking God's guidance in ordering our daily lives. Will you follow in His footsteps and prioritize time with the Father to listen, learn, and live according to His perfect will? In Matthew 21:13 (NIV), Jesus says, “My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers.” The house or temple was not just the church building; the actual house or temple of God is you. In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV), we read, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, Who is in you, Whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies.” Looking at Matthew 21:13 from this new perspective of the house of prayer, we also need to ask ourselves if we have made God’s temple into a house of thieves. We’re not talking about sin but whether you have robbed God of the intimate time He desires to have with you. So, when you come to the Father, it's crucial to dedicate yourself as an offering and to position your heart as a sanctuary for prayer. A few key points are essential before we get into the model prayer: First, when you pray, know that you come boldly to the Father’s throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16). Through faith in Jesus, we have been given access to this grace (Romans 5:2) and to the Father (Ephesians 2:18). When you come boldly to the throne room of grace, you then offer both your time and your body as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1). Second, when we pray, we don’t pray to Jesus; we pray to the Father. Jesus says in John 16:23 (NLT), “At that time, you won’t need to ask Me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and He will grant your request because you use My name.” Third, prayer is a dialogue. It is not about doing all the talking and giving the Father your wish list; it’s about hearing the Father, listening to the voice of His Spirit, and aligning your will with His in your requests. In Luke 11:1, the disciples say to Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” Jesus responded with what is written in Luke 11:2-4 and Matthew 6:7-13. You can gain clarity and direction by following Jesus’ example of prayer. It will help you be more connected to the Holy Spirit. With the model prayer as your guide, you can banish distractions and deepen your connection with the Father. Jesus gives us His model prayer in Matthew 6:9-13. The model prayer can be broken down into six parts: It begins with ‘Praise.’ It is followed by ‘Purpose,’ ‘Provision,’ ‘Pardon,’ and ‘Protection.’ It then returns to ‘Praise.’