Have you ever had to go before someone in authority to
ask for something - a judge or maybe it was your boss or the principal or maybe
even your parent? Moses had to go before Pharaoh; Esther had to go before King
Ahasueras; Paul had to go before Festus, Agrippa and Caesar. Their power makes
coming to them quite intimidating. Truth is, we need to go before someone of
much greater authority and power. Though we are invited to come “with confidence to the throne of grace”
(Hebrews 4:16), the reality is, when we pray, we are coming before Almighty
God. Romans 8:26 is a definite understatement when Paul says, “we do not know how to pray as we should.”
What do we say and how should we say it?
Graciously, the Lord gave us a template to help us
pray.
“Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be
Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have
forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from
evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen’” Matthew 6:9-13
This is a beautiful prayer. But the Lord did not intend it be
liturgical, repeated religiously (literally) without thought or meaning. Unfortunately,
we have taken this model prayer and made it exactly what Jesus warned against
in Matthew 6:7.
“And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the
Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.”
Matthew 6:7
“Gentiles” refers to people who do not know God – outsiders of the
faith, ignorant of the Person and heart of God. We were all once Gentiles. We
can’t keep doing what we once did in ignorance meaninglessly repeating a bunch
of words. Now, this does NOT mean we are not to recite what has come to be
known as The Lord’s Prayer. Repeating it
can and should be very meaningful when every word truly flows from the heart.
Nonetheless, this prayer is meant to be a guide or outline: who, what
and why.
I.
Who
a. Who is God to you, and what role or authority does He have in your
life.
b. Model:
i. Father
ii. In heaven: place of ultimate authority.
iii. Holy – set apart and above all things.
II.
What
a. What are the specific requests and needs.
b. Model:
i. The reality of His kingdom coming into our world and lives.
ii. His will being done here and now with the same passion and purpose as
it is carried out in heaven.
iii. Provisions for our daily needs.
iv. Forgiveness of our short-fallings, and empowering to forgive others
who fall short of our expectations.
v. Our need for His constant leading and deliverance.
III.
Why
a. What is our motivation, our agenda, the reason we feel the need to
even ask.
b. Model:
i. It is His kingdom
ii. He has the power
iii. He deserves all the glory.
Our prayers – our intimate conversation with Almighty God – are meant
to be personal and specific. Jesus tells
us that “your Father knows what you need
before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:8), but
He still wants you to discuss it with Him. In the process, He will actually
show you more about Himself and yourself. Praying specifically also opens our
eyes to how wonderfully specific He answers our prayers.
Try it. Take your time and
follow the outline Jesus gave us. See what you discover as you sit with your
precious Father and discuss your needs and your life. Hopefully, reciting The Lord’s Prayer will
never be the same for you again, even if you do it every single day.
***
The following is an excerpt from my own prayer journal as I prayed
through the above outline. God willing,
it will be a helpful example and a blessing.
My Father,
my heavenly Father, how precious and perfect is everything about You. You are set apart and above all that is, yet
bless me with the privilege of being your child, your little girl. I don’t want
that intimacy to dilute my perception of your absolute holiness.
Come reign
completely in my life. Make my home and
my small little place in this world where your kingship reigns and your kingdom
breaks through into this world. May your lordship truly be a reality in every
area and aspect of my life. O Father,
may your will be done consciously and consistently – your pleasure and your
purpose sought and willingly carried out here and now with the same fervor and
passion as angels carry it out in heaven.
Please provide me with everything I need to serve you today: the what,
the how, the specific when and all the resource needed to do it. I am your
grateful and willing servant. I am so incredibly blessed to be in your service.
Just tell me what you want me to do.
Forgive me
where and when I fell short of what you wanted, where willfulness took
precedence over willingness, my way and my will foolishly justified. I missed the mark of your holiness and
thwarted your glory. It isn’t trivial.
My sins - my willfulness - cost your Son immeasurable suffering. The cost of
grace went beyond anything I can comprehend. I do not want to take “paid in
full” for granted for even a nanosecond.
All is forgiven, yet I ask as asking walks me through the acknowledgment
of my failure and the graciousness of your applied grace. The reality of such
grace means I can’t just be a recipient of your mercy, but must be a dispenser
as well. I must be gracious and
forgiving of those who fall short of my expectations. In light of all you do for me how can I do
anything less.
Father,
lead me away from the things, from anything, that leads me away from you. Open my eyes to the lures and subtle
justifications. Help me to think about
what I think about so that every thought can be corralled and brought into
alignment with your heart and mind. I
hate how easily I get caught up in Satan’s snares. Rescue me from his traps. It is ridiculous how successful he is when he
has such a limited bag of tricks. He
uses the same trap over and over. I definitely should recognize it by now. For me it is pride. I know for others it is
fear. Help me to be on guard, ever
watchful, recognizing it for what it is = evil. Thank you for the grace there
to deliver me when I foolishly and willfully step into his trap. May I walk in your footsteps and yoke myself
with Jesus to avoid them altogether.
All that
matters is You – your reign in my life and ultimately in this world as King of
kings and Lord of lords, your power at work not just in my life but through it,
and foremost your glory here, now, forever and always. Heavenly Father, it comes down to one simple
request: may this day, every day, be all about you! Amen.