Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.
Luke 18:1 NIV
17 pray continually,
1 Thessalonians 5:17 NIV
12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Romans 12:12 NIV
14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
Acts 1:14 NIV
9 God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10 in my prayers at all times;
Romans 1:9-10 NIV
The Necessity of Prayer
Stay awake and pray, so that you won’t enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Matthew 26:41 CSB (same thought found in Mark 14:28, Luke 22:40,46)
The Call for Prayer
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,
Ephesians 6:18-19 NIV
25 Brothers and sisters, pray for us.
1 Thessalonians 5:25 CSB
Jesus’ Teaching on How to Pray
| The Prayer of Jesus Today’s inspiration comes from: Pray Firstby Chris Hodges |
| For Yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever.— Matthew 6:13 NKJV I’ll never forget when my understanding of prayer changed forever. I was a sophomore in high school, fifteen years old and newly saved, when my pastor, Larry Stockstill, taught on the Lord’s Prayer. Pastor Larry was passionate about prayer — to the point that I half-expected him to preach on the power of prayer any given Sunday. He even made sure we had prayer in the name of our church: Bethany World Prayer Center. But hearing him teach on prayer this time was different. It was the first time I realized that the Lord’s Prayer wasn’t just a prayer — it was an outline for prayer. My mind was blown! I thought you were just supposed to memorize the Lord’s Prayer and recite it whenever it was time to pray. And at that particular age and stage, the twenty-one seconds it took for me to say the Lord’s Prayer was just about how long I spent in prayer. The main reason I didn’t pray longer was that I didn’t know what to say. So, like most of my friends and many of the Christians I knew, I would simply recite the Lord’s Prayer, give God a few requests, and call it a day. Learning to consider the Lord’s Prayer as an outline, a model for prayer, remains one of the greatest discoveries in my entire Christian life to date. I hope this discovery can have the same impact on you. When His disciples asked Him to teach them to pray, Jesus used a technique that many rabbis used — teaching God’s truth by providing an outline drawn from the Scriptures. The disciples already knew how to pray based on their upbringing. They had learned traditional prayers that most Jewish males memorized as part of their upbringing. But when they saw and heard Jesus pray, they were stunned. He wasn’t praying as they had been taught, so they asked their Master to teach them to do it His way. So that’s exactly what Jesus did — He gave them the gift of an outline for how to talk to the Father. It changed everything for the disciples that day, and it changed everything for me too. Now I hope it changes the way you understand the Lord’s Prayer — and perhaps all prayers! Our Father in Heaven: Respect and Intimacy Having a deliberate plan in place when you pray goes a long way toward deepening your relationship with God. Rather than stifling your connection, a prayer plan facilitates staying focused and going deeper. The primary components of prayer planning are model prayers. These are not scripted prayers to be read verbatim but simply outlines, templates, and blueprints that help you include the major elements of prayer such as praise and worship, confession, petition, and intercession. While we’ll explore several distinct models found in the Bible, the best starting point is the prayer outline Jesus Himself gave us. It’s the model prayer of all model prayers. In response to their request, Jesus instructed His followers to pray like this: 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 forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. — Matthew 6:9–13 NKJV |
| The Lord’s Prayer isn’t just a prayer — it is an outline for prayer. |
| It’s important to realize that Jesus wasn’t teaching us words to memorize but rather how to connect with our Father. With this relational goal in mind, Christ gave us an outline with seven distinct aspects of prayer. Similar to rabbinical teaching of the day that followed specific outlines, Jesus concisely demonstrated elements for us to explore and expand upon as we pray. A logical starting point when teaching others how to communicate is to focus on their audience, the person being addressed — and that’s exactly how Jesus began: “Our Father in Heaven…” It’s difficult to grasp how radical it was for His disciples to hear that they — and we — should connect with God relationally. And not just relationally — we should begin by calling God our Father, which Jesus implies may be His favorite title. Jesus called Him “Abba,” which conveys intimacy, and told us to do the same. It’s similar to when we address our earthly fathers as Daddy or Papa. It’s warm and personal, familiar and comfortable. Rather than starting with a formal approach, we speak to God as His sons and daughters: You have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when He adopted you as His own children. Now we call Him, ‘Abba, Father’. — Romans 8:15 NLT God wants to be in an intimate relationship with you. And your relationship with Him begins with a right view of God. Nothing will determine your relationship with God more than your view of Him. Addressing Him as your Father still shows respect but accurately demonstrates your access and closeness. When my kids were little, I loved nothing more than for them to jump in my lap, cuddle up, and tell me about their day. As they grew into adulthood, our communication wasn’t as physically close, but the love, familiarity, and intimacy remained. They know they can come to me anytime — not just when they’re struggling or needing something. I love it when they pop in and just say, “Hey, Dad, how are you? What are you working on? How’s your day going?” God loves for us to come to Him in this same way — as children who love Him and want to spend time with Him.Excerpted with permission from Pray First by Chris Hodges, copyright Chris Hodges. |
He was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.”
Luke 11:1 CSB
1 Find a private place.
But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Matthew 6:6 CSB
2 Get to the point, don’t babble, the Father knows your needs.
When you pray, don’t babble like the Gentiles, since they imagine they’ll be heard for their many words. Don’t be like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask him.
Matthew 6:7-8 CSB
3 Use this outline for your prayers:
9 “Therefore, you should pray like this:
Our Father in heaven,
Matthew 6:9-13 (also see Luke 11:2-4)
your name be honored as holy.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.[d]
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And do not bring us into[e] temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.[f]
Our Help in Prayer
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
Romans 8:26-27 NIV
Outline for Prayer
- Worship the Father
- Seek God’s kingdom
- Submit to God’s will & guidance
- Ask for God’s Provision for today
- Mend Relationships – receive and give forgiveness
- Spiritual warfare – guidance, protection and rescue
- Glorify God