Pray This Way

When we became a part of God’s family, our Father gave us access to His throne of grace and presence (Heb 4:16). We can boldly come before Him in times of need, worship, or merely bask in His presence and love on Him. How do we communicate our love for Him and our needs? Pray. Prayer is talking with God. Some people say they are uncomfortable praying publicly; others say they don’t know how to pray.

One of the twelve disciples said to Jesus: “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:2).

Jesus had already instructed His followers that their praying wasn’t to impress others or God by a pious appearance, using meaningless and repetitious words (Matt 6:5–8). He says to them, pray this way—not memorized petitions, but in like manner, talk with God:

Approach the Creator of everything that exists, the holy God of heaven and earth, with reverence and desire that everyone does the same. Our desires should be that He reigns everywhere, and all would obey His laws and be holy as He is holy. The daily bread we pray for is everything we need, not only food. We depend on God to sustain us daily, so we should pray daily. And if we want God’s forgiveness, we must forgive those who have wronged us. Evil cannot tempt God, and He doesn’t tempt anyone with sin, although He does allow testing times. We can ask Him to help us recognize temptations, for strength to overcome them, and deliverance from Satan’s deceits. Praying that God accomplishes His will is an incentive to choose His way, not ours.

“And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us. And if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.” 1 John 5:14–15

Some commentators say the second half of verse thirteen of the model prayer in some Bible translations was not in the original manuscripts: praising God for His dominion, power, and glory and ending with, “Amen.” Whether it was, I think God accepts our gratitude and praise for His greatness when we talk with Him, just as He received King David’s (1 Chron 29:11–13).