There are times when we don’t really know how to pray. This is true for both new and veteran believers and followers of the Lord Jesus. Sometimes we need help in ordering out thoughts. Ordering our thoughts helps us focus on the eternal while diminishing the temporal. Prayer, itself, need not be something difficult. The greatest difficulty resides in disciplining ourselves to take the time and make the effort to pray.
Much of the modern day teaching on prayer focuses on moving or manipulating God to respond to our needs. Yes. God answers prayer and does supply our needs. However, while this position may be quite popular in our westernized culture, it tends to fall short of drawing or enveloping the finite into the infinite. It’s not enough to insist that God jump at our command and move at our will simply because we think our will is His will. The greater intent of prayer is to draw us into the place of submission and union with God.
Modern critics make an effort to minimize the place of rote prayer insisting that rote prayers are merely vain repetition devoid of the power and presence of God. During six years of association and activity within independent charismatic churches, not once do I recall the “Our Father” (also known as “The Lord’s Prayer”) recited as part of a service. Yet, this is the prayer that Jesus taught His disciples to pray.
The Ancient Fathers of the Church realized the importance of praying the Scriptures, made this a practice in their lives, and taught their followers to do likewise. Repetition, rote, imbeds divine truth within us where it works to renew our minds and mold our lives to conform to God’s will.
The prayer that Jesus taught His disciple to pray says,
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not bring us to the time of trial,
but rescue us from the evil one.
For the kingdom
and the power
and the glory
are yours forever. Amen.”
Praying this prayer causes us to focus on the true essentials of life, essentials that are far from trivial. It also becomes a place of revelation where we realize our need for God’s care. The “Our Father” yields itself as an effective outline to lead us as we pray.
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.”
Father God, I recognize that you are our Creator and that you are holy above all your creation.
“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Lord, I know that what I see with my natural eyes and feel with my natural senses are not all there is to life. May your will be done in my life. May your eternal plan for all creation be consummated on the earth just as you have ordained.
“Give us this day our daily bread.”
Lord, help me to focus life today and not be consumed by worrying about tomorrow. I know that you have promised to supply the things that I have need of. Help me to trust you for my needs and discipline myself to not want for things merely because my desires insist that I have them.
“And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors.”
Lord, I know that I have transgressed your holy commandments and precepts. I’ve fallen short of your glory and sinned against you. Forgive my sin and wash me clean through the blood of Jesus. Just as you forgive me for transgressing against you, likewise, I forgive myself and those who have transgressed against me and brought hurt into my life.
“And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one.”
Lord, there is so much evil in the world, so much that tries to overtake and destroy me. My mind is constantly under attack by Satan and his schemes. Be my stronghold God, keep me from falling into sin. Deliver me from the plans of the enemy.
“For the kingdom and the power and the glory are yours forever. Amen”
Lord, there is none greater than you. You are God, eternal in the heavens, active in the world, resident in my heart. May all that I think, say, and do be pleasing to you, both now and for all eternity.
Rote is far from being the enemy of the Church and, though more often neglected than it is cultivated, has an important and integral place in the lives of believers today. In Psalm 119:11 (A.V.) the psalmist says, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” The NRSV renders this, “I treasure your word in my heart, so that I may not sin against you.”
Developing a prayer life, or even reviving prayer habits that have fallen to the wayside, is a challenge for all of us. Of all the programs, seminars, and books that have been designed or written by mortals, none begin to compare with the simplicity and effectiveness found in following the Lord’s example and instruction. Pray. Pray as He taught us to pray. Let His model for prayer increase and enrich your prayer life. |
