Organizing the Inside – Day 267 A Simple Pattern For Prayer

May 27, 2012 at 4:15 pm · Filed under Encouragement, Faith, Inspiration, Organizing, Simplicity, Wisdom, Women's Ministry and tagged: Direction for Prayer, How to Pray, Lord's Prayer, Prayer

9After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11Give us this day our daily bread. 12And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. Matthew 6:9-13 (KJV)

Lord here is my laundry list.
How do you usually approach the throne of God for prayer? Do you start out with a list of wants, then move to the don’t wants and finish it off with a sprinkle signature, “in Jesus’ name, Amen”? I believe Jesus looked through the portal of time and saw how our busyness would affect our prayer time. He knew all the cares and worries of life would bog us down causing our prayers to not have the right focus and be ineffective. I believe He wants us to enjoy prayer time and therefore He taught us what to focus on, and how to remove obstacles when praying. Jesus gave us a pattern to use when praying to help us work through the challenges He knew we would face. His pattern makes it clear that our laundry list is not the most important priority when we pray.

Jesus sets up the lesson by telling us in advance.
He tells us that a lot of words aren’t necessary; the Father already knows what you need. 7“When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. 8Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him! Matthew 6:7, 8 (NLT) Therefore, no chanting or stringing together a bunch of words to sound good, Jesus clearly teaches the fruitless nature of this sort of praying.

1. First acknowledge God and give Him honor. Expressing gratitude and thanksgiving is one way to show honor to God.
2. Prayer is not primarily about what we want; it’s about what God wants. Consider what it means to have His kingdom here on earth, just as it is in heaven. In His righteous kingdom His will is done completely. We should ask that God’s will be done in every area of our lives and in the lives of everyone else we are praying for.
3. What is it that we truly need? The bread we need for today, to live in Christ. Jesus is the bread of life (the living Word) and without Him we cannot live. We need Jesus to be our daily portion.
4. One thing that hinders prayer is unforgiveness. Jesus knew that our relationship with others would influence our prayers. We should cover both by seeking forgiveness for anyone we may have wronged and forgive anyone who may have hurt us. (read Matthew 5:23, 24)
5. Living in this evil world among a perverse and wicked generation we need to ask for help and guidance to keep ourselves from being corrupted by evil. We should also ask for protection and strength to overcome evil which we know presents itself in many forms.
6. Close out prayer by acknowledge the purpose and focus of all our prayers. It’s about God’s glorious kingdom and His righteousness. In His kingdom there is 100% obedience and those who live there are totally committed  to doing His will.

Jesus is teaching us a type of outline for prayer.
When following this outline we stay focused on how we should pray. Each individual person has to interpret the outline and what it means to them. Organize your prayer life by first studying Jesus’ teachings on prayer. Jesus gives us instructions for the beginning, middle and ending of our prayers. As we let go of our own desires and ambitions, and begin to totally seek God’s kingdom we will experience the peace and contentment that comes with answered prayer. This is praying “in Jesus’ name” when through faith and obedience we pray as we live and move and have our being in Him.

Read more on prayer
Matthew 6:5-15
Hebrews 4:14-16
James 4:3
Luke 11:1-10

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