The Lord’s Prayer

 The Lord’s Prayer

Matthew 6:9-13

It’s been said that following Jesus without praying would be like trying to live without breathing. It’s simply not possible. Prayer is one of the most powerful ways for us to strengthen our relationship with God and become more like Jesus. That’s why we’ve spent the last seven weeks learning how to pray from Jesus by following the template He set out in His prayer found in Matthew 6.

We began with prayers of adoration, communicating our deep love and respect for God. Because He is our loving Father and there is no one like Him.

In the second week, we practiced intercession, praying to God on behalf of others. We asked Him to bless them, strengthen them, and bring a little bit of heaven into their lives and our world.

After that, we petitioned God to give us what we need. Whether it’s something as small as the food we’ll eat for lunch, or as big as asking Him to bring peace and justice to our divided and broken world.

Week four was all about confession. Bringing whatever is in the dark into the light so we can experience the healing power of God’s grace.

This final week concluded with prayers of submission. Prayers intended to help us accept the authority of our Heavenly Father in our lives. Because if we aren’t actually submitted to Jesus then we aren’t really following Him. If we don’t accept the authority of God in our lives then we’ll never truly obey Him.

Hopefully, along the way, you’ve fallen more in love with Jesus and become more confident in your ability to connect with Him through prayer. Don’t let this plan be the end of your prayer journey. Come up with a rhythm and routine that you can make a regular part of your life. And don’t forget to share what you’ve been learning with others. Because discipleship is never just about us. We do all of this for the sake of others.

Pray…

Lord, thank you for helping me grow closer to you throughout this journey. Help me to stay consistent with my prayer life. If I start to drift, grab my attention and bring me back to you. This is not the end. I’m going to keep pursuing you from here on out. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Read…

    Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. Matthew 6:9-13 NLT

Consider…

How differently do you view this prayer today than when we started? What has God been showing you throughout this process? What is different about your relationship with Him today than it was before?

Practice…

Pray to God. You’ve been given everything you need. Come to God with whatever prayer you need to bring Him.

As you do, imagine you are talking to God face-to-face. Because, at its most basic level, that’s really what prayer is: talking to God.

When you’re ready, pray to your Father using Jesus’ words, “Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy…” Matthew 6:9 NLT

Listen…

Create space to experience God’s presence by getting quiet, getting alone, and asking Him to speak. Start by setting a timer for five minutes.

Next, ask God to speak to you.

When you get distracted, because you will get distracted, bring your focus back to God by repeating the first words of this prayer: “Our Father…”

When the timer ends, thank God for the time you got to spend with Him, then head into your day looking for opportunities to better serve Him and serve others.