Monday, January 12, 2009

Prayer 101: An introduction on how to talk to God.

SCRIPTURE

Matthew 6:9 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 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.

14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.


Also Luke 11:1-4

OBSERVATION

Notice the two distinct sections of Jesus prayer, first we must acknowledge God and give him honor and only after we do that should we ask to receive anything from him.

First, this prayer teaches us to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and that all other things shall be added (Matthew 6:33). Prayer isn’t all about us and we need to slow down and consider who it is we are talking to and consider how much he has already done for us before we ask him to do more. The word hallowed doesn’t get used too much in this day but it means holy, sacred or blessed.
After the things of God's glory, kingdom, and will, then we pray for the things that we need:

Bread for today, which is all the bread that we need if we are relying on God

We should seek to receive forgiveness, but only to the extent that we are willing to forgive others.

And we should be praying for God’s divine intervention so that we will be prepared to resist Satan.

APPLICATION

I will stay focused on the awesome God of the universe as I pray. Forget the shopping list and concentrate on how big he is.

PRAYER

What an awesome God that you are! You created beyond man’s ability to comprehend and yet you are still interested and concerned with us. Lord, help me to trust you for my daily provisions, whether it is bread or any other resource that I need for the day. Keep me close to you so that I can resist Satan’s attack.