The Lord’s Prayer, a model for prayer.  The topic of the Lord’s prayer is frequently asked and most would like to know what the best way to pray is.  It’s an issue that raises a lot of questions and one that most struggle with.  Although an entire thesis can be written about this topic, we’re going to focus on the basics of prayer and model we should follow.

Why Do We Need to Pray

Prayer is not a request hotline to submit a request and wait for the invisible operator to process our order.   Instead, prayer has a few simple functions.  Some preachers may outline this differently; however, we’ve established a basic understanding of prayer that will help you realize the main points.

Communicate with God

The first area within the communication category is relationship building.  The first example of prayer began with Adam. Both he and God spoke together regularly, engaging in a dialogue.  In fact, every main character in the Bible had a relationship with the Lord through speaking to Him directly via prayer.   Prayer acts as a communication medium to help develop our relationship God, and communication in general helps us in our interaction with people.  Since, we interact primarily with words; prayer allows us to express our thoughts to the Lord.  By doing so, we spend time with Him, thus developing our relationship with God.

Secondly, it will align our will with God’s will.  Most people misunderstand the concept of prayer and think that it’s a process of submitting requests. As I just mentioned in the first point, the communication with God and Relationship Building is the primary reason.  Through the relationship building, we learn to connect with the Lord and ask for His will.  There are two main verses that speak about His will; Matthew 6:9-13 most commonly known as the Lord’s Prayer and 1 John 5:14-15.

Thirdly, it’s to seek protection and guidance.  We are to use prayer as means of seeking protection from the evil one. The Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane urged his disciples to pray and stay awake.  When we pray, we redirect our focus from the problem to the Lord.  We acknowledge that our means our limited and we are unable to defend ourselves from the attacks of the Evil One.  It is the Lord that will shield our hearts and minds and create a hedge of protection during times of attack – Matthew 26:40.

The Lord’s Prayer – A Model to Follow

Jesus in Matthew 6: 9-13 provides us with the perfect model: 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 And 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.

Dissecting the Lord’s Prayer

As we can see in the first 3 statements, Jesus acknowledges the Father and His holiness followed by asking for His will and for His Kingdom to come.

• He doesn’t begin with requests, rather by giving thanks, praising the Lord and seeking His will.
• Once the important points are covered, Jesus then prays about our daily needs, forgiveness for sins, and highlights the importance of forgiving others. Without forgiving others, how do we expect the Lord to forgive us?
• Finally, Jesus highlights the importance of praying for protection from Satan, seeking God the Father’s hedge of protection and deliverance from sin.

These are the basics of prayer that we must fully understand in order to develop our walk with the Lord.  I hope this message has been helpful and it assists you in praying according to God’s will, not your own.  AMEN.