PRAYER

The Lord's Prayer

'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one. Amen'

Matthew 6:9-13 NIV

In other words…

Heavenly Father, help us to seek righteousness first
Let us live our lives to please you, and to do your good will
Thank you for meeting all our needs
Help us forgive others when they wrong us so that when we do wrong, we can be forgiven, too. Please help us not to sin, and keep Satan away from us. Let it be so (amen).

For Jesus prayer was a way of life. The question was not whether or not he would pray, but how much and how often. If Jesus needed prayer, how could we ever think we could get by without it?

Pray about everything. Proverbs 3:6 says “in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (NIV) He wants you to talk with him, consult him, request of him, thank him, praise him, argue with him, whatever… he wants to be part of your life, and prayer is how that happens.

Keep it casual…

Jesus had a name he liked to use when he prayed to God, his Father. That name was Abba. Literally, this word means papa or daddy. Prayer is a conversation with your heavenly Father, who loves you and wants to hear from you.

You wouldn't go to your earthly father and say, “Oh, most magnificent patriarch, please bestow upon us the grace of your presence in the warmth of the day so that we might observe the recreation of the casual combatants.” No, you're going to say, “Hey Dad, wanna watch the football game this afternoon?” Your heavenly Father wants that kind of relationship with you, too