“One of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray….’ And Jesus said to them, ‘When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be your name…’” – Luke 11:1-4
The story has been passed down from missionaries in Africa of a tribe where the first converts were especially zealous in prayer. Each believer was said to have had his or her own spot in the bush around the village where they would call out to God, and over time, the paths to each spot became well worn. Because of this, if any believer began to neglect prayer, it became obvious to everyone. And so from time to time would be heard in the village words of gentle rebuke to such wayward believers: Friend, the grass grows on your path.
There’s a reason why the spiritual habits that believers are taught to practice are called spiritual disciplines. Like any other discipline that is good for you – exercise, study, financial management, etc. – though the payoff is rewarding, it takes real work to get there and maintain. It’s easy to let the grass grow on our path.
One of the biggest obstacles to mastering prayer comes down to knowing what we’re supposed to say. How do we talk to a Being that we can’t see with our eyes or hear with our ears?
The Lord’s Prayer: A Roadmap For What To Say To God
We need to know up front that when it comes to prayer, God is far less concerned with you getting the words right, than he is with you having your heart right. The Puritan author, Richard Sibbes, said, “God can pick sense out of a confused prayer.”
We don’t have to make prayer too complicated. Pastor Stuart Briscoe wrote, “When our children were small and we were trying to teach them to pray, we had three kinds of prayers: ‘Please Prayers’, ‘Thank You Prayers’, and ‘Sorry Prayers.’” We could almost drop the mic right there. (Or since I’m writing a blog-post, drop the pen.)
Christianity is not Harry Potter. Prayer is not learning spells. The power doesn’t flow from words being pronounced right and in the proper order. Having said that, it’s insightful to realize that when His disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, He didn’t just say, “Let ‘er rip.” He taught them what’s usually called the Lord’s Prayer.
“When our children were small and we were trying to teach them to pray, we had three kinds of prayers: ‘Please Prayers’, ‘Thank You Prayers’, and ‘Sorry Prayers.’” – Stuart Briscoe
In teaching them this prayer, He didn’t mean “Use these exact words.” (There’s nothing wrong with praying the words out. I do it all the time. Just remember to say them meaningfully, not mindlessly.) But the value in the Lord’s Prayer is found in recognizing it as roadmap to guide your praying. The roadmap has six sections to it.
Praise. “Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name.”
The Lord’s Prayer reminds us that when we talk to God in prayer, it’s good to begin with worship. We’re to “enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise” (Psalm 100:4). One of the quickest ways I find to jumpstart my praying is to just begin thanking the Lord for ways I’ve recently experienced His goodness. Worship is a love word. We worship something which for us possesses high worth and gives us a profound sense of meaning. (Worship comes from the old English word worthship.) When we worship something, we’ll serve it, sacrifice for it, feel joy in its presence, and misery in its absence. Praise comes easily to a heart that feels these things about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Petition. “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Some people think of prayer as unloading a long list of things to God. But do you know that God has His own list of desires and dreams? He dreams of establishing the rule of His kingdom in places where that’s not happening yet.
So another good prayer habit is to start first with God’s list before your own. Pray for churches, missionaries, political leaders, suffering Christians, those working on the front lines of righteousness and justice issues, and for people and situations where God’s will is not being done yet.
Provision. “Give us this day our daily bread.”
Then pour out your heart to God about the things affecting your personal life. He cares for you! He is for you! He loves you! The beauty in having a God we call our Heavenly Father is that he longs to have us share with him all our hopes, dreams, longings, fears, and burdens. And so “Let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6).
Pardon. “And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
Another vital prayer habit is to do a moral inventory each and every day. Come clean with God about areas where you know you’ve broken his laws and heart. Some of those sins we don’t even see. (“Declare me innocent from hidden faults,” cried David in Psalm 19:12.) Ask God to reveal them to you. Also be willing to go to the people that are hurt by your sin and make things right with them.
Protection and Power. “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
There is an all-out war being waged against you and those you care about. “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion.” (1 Peter 5:8). Temptations are everywhere we look. (So ask God to help you, your family, and your brothers and sisters of faith to “be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might” (Ephesians 6:10).
Peace. “For Yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory. Forever and ever. Amen.”
Always try to sign off your time of praying by resting in the love of God for you, while speaking out your love and trust for Him. Remind yourself again and again that “the Lord is your life”, (Deuteronomy 30:20). He is sovereign over all, and He alone has the power to “work all things together for good” for those who love Him and are called by Him (Romans 8:28).
An Exercise For This Week
This week, we encourage you to use the Lord’s Prayer in your praying. One suggestion: Set aside a 30-minute block of time two or three times this week. Then work through the Lord’s Prayer praying through each of the six sections, for five minutes each. Most are not accustomed to praying for a half-hour straight, so this will likely stretch your prayer muscles. But let the Lord train you. (An added benefit – it will get you ready for the third Prayer Challenge we’ll issue in a couple weeks, when we challenge you to pray for an hour straight!)
Pick Your Favorite Lord’s Prayer Song:
Andrea Bocelli’s take on the traditional classic gives me chills. It begins at 1:50.