The CHRISTIANS’ PATTERN of PRAYER After Jesus was done praying, one of his disciples asked Him, “Lord teach us to pray.” Before our Lord Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He warned them against the futility of “copy-cat” prayers which are motivated by hypocrisy and meaningless redundancy. And Jesus taught His disciples to pray and He said, “After this manner therefore pray ye: “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.” This is known to many as “The Lord’s Prayer” but I call it “The Christians’” prayer. Why? Because it is the Christians who will use this prayer. Christians should not pray this “verbatim.” Why? Because this prayer is a “model”, or a “template.” Jesus said, “After this manner” pray, which means pray “like this.” This prayer pattern is implicit with “FORM” and “SUBSTANCE” which when carefully observed will make our Christian prayers easier and meaningful. The form is the structure, the skeleton or the framework. Let’s simplify this form into step 1, step 2 and step 3. Step 1 is the beginning of the Christian prayer. We must address our prayer to our “HEAVENLY FATHER” according to Jesus. It is unfortunate that many Christians do not follow this and they instead address God as “Lord.” Addressing God as our Heavenly Father in our prayer has significant implications and meanings. God is our Father by means of creation, and He is our Father through redemption in Jesus Christ. We must also acknowledge God’s sovereignty and power including His will in our lives. This will require knowledge and understanding of our God. Step 2 is focused on our need, our human need. What do we need? What are our basic needs? We need food, clothing, shelter, money and good health. We also need love forgiveness, peace and freedom from fear. Most of all, we need God! In other words, our needs are composed of physical, emotional and spiritual. This is consistent with our complete human nature which is body, soul and spirit. But other people have needs too. So, we pray for them as well. Prayer is not always asking from God, but we pray to also give thanks to God for all His blessings. As far as human need is concerned, our prayers may vary. It could be a petition, an intercession or a prayer of gratitude (thanksgiving). Now, step 3 three is the conclusion of this prayer. Christian prayer must be concluded by asking those aforementioned “IN THE NAME OF JESUS.” What is the substance of our prayer? Those are the contents of step 2. But strictly speaking, these are all the words expressed in this prayer which include steps 1-3. REMEMBER! PRAYER is your MOST IMPORTANT CONVERSATION! Why? Because you are talking with GOD Almighty; The KING of Kings and the LORD of Lords. So, be careful with your words. The words of your prayer are expressions of what’s in your heart. Therefore, be discreet and discerning of your utterance in prayer. Sometimes, you may even have to
Posted on: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 07:19:34 +0000
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