Lord,
Teach Us To Pray
by Jim Hammond
Prayer has become an international focus in recent months. You will find articles about the effectiveness of prayer in
many unexpected places; many non-religious people are beginning to admit
there is something to prayer. But
how many of us really know how to pray effectively?
The disciples of Jesus saw the effectiveness of Jesus’ prayer
life and asked Jesus to teach them how to pray (Luke 11:1). Many Christians have assumed prayer is simple, you just talk
to God and tag an Amen on the end of it, and call it prayer.
Prayer is simple. However, an effective prayer life is learned through example
and practice. The disciples
learned it by seeing it modeled by Jesus then practicing on their own
what they learned. The
famous “Lord’s Prayer” often recited in churches by rote was a
teaching model. It is an
outline for prayer more than a prayer to be rattled off by rote.
Consider using the Lord’s Model prayer as an outline for your
own prayer time. Perhaps
the outline below will help you enjoy an effective prayer time.
The Lord's
Model Prayer
I.
"Our Father who is in Heaven, hallowed by thy Name."
1.
Picture Calvary and thank God you can call Him Father by virtue
of the blood of Jesus.
2.
Thank God for who He is in your life, as reflected by his Name.
The names for God in the Bible mean different things. Here are some of
the meanings of the names of God.
·
Provider, The Lord My Righteousness, Healer,
·
Shepherd, Savior, Counselor, Redeemer.
II.
"Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done."
1.
Focus on God's will in your
life. Are there areas in your life that you know what God wills yet you
are continuing to act on your will not His. Pray the prayer, "Thy
Will be done" and mean it. Ask the Lord to rule every area of your
life. Ask Him to give you the will and the power to serve Him. (Phil.
2:13)
2.
Pray for:
·
God's will in Your Family.
·
God's will in Your Church.
·
God's will at your Work.
·
God's will in your City
·
God's will in our Nation
III.
"Give us today our daily Bread."
1.
Be specific with your requests for your needs for today.
2.
Thank him for the "Bread of Life", remember your most
important needs (Matt. 4:4; John 4:31-34).
3.
Believe that God wants you to bless you in Him (Luke 6:38, Phil.
4:19). Pray accordingly.
4.
Decide to pray instead of worry. (Philippians 4:6-7)
5.
Be tenacious. (Luke 11:1-13; Luke 18:1-8)
IV.
“And Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.”
1.
Ask God to forgive you. Deal
with your sins. Be
specific. Ask God to reveal to you areas of your life that are not
pleasing to Him.
2.
Confess your sin. Agree
with God and say what He says about your sin.
Ask Him to help you hate your sin with perfect hatred and to
deliver you from its dominion. God will not deliver you from a
friend, only your enemies. Make sure sin is your enemy and not
your friend.
3.
Accept His forgiveness and righteousness that comes from Christ.
Thank Him for it. Thank him that you no longer stand condemned, because he took
the penalty in your place.
4.
Forgive others if you expect to be forgiven. Meditate on the
greatness of your debt that was forgiven you.
By the act of your will, forgive those who have sinned against
you. Release them to God. Let go of the offenses and let God deal with
them. Pray for those who
have wronged you. Resolve
to do them good. (Matt. 5:43-48).
V.
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil
one.”
1.
Ask God for protection.
2.
Put on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18)
VI.
“For yours is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory
forever.”
1.
Give God Thanks and Glory
2.
In Jesus name, Amen.
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