JP34: NOT SO COMMON PRAYER

Jesus' prayer life was powerful, and over time, his disciples took notice, asking if he would also teach them how to pray. What can we discover from Jesus’ willingness to teach his disciples how to pray? First, our loving Father wants us to learn how to rely on Him through two-way conversations.  

Conversations where we voice our heart and then listen for the Holy Spirit to illuminate our minds toward the truths that shape our thinking and acting.  

Second, we learn from Jesus a way to pray that places our whole person on a solid foundation each day.  

People frequently refer to Jesus’ response to the disciples as the Lord's prayer, but the Father wants us to adopt this model as our own.  

Jesus taught the first disciples to pray in this way:

“Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.  And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” (Mt 6:9–13).

Center On The Father

“Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy.”

Like a 100 pound sandbag placed suddenly on our end of the teeter-totter of life, culture loads us down with counterfeit baggage that can shift the balance off-center. Our propensity to lose balance is why we begin our daily prayer by returning to the Father as our center of gravity, intent on dropping the weight of bogus cultural norms that compete with the Father for our allegiance.

From this mindful, submitted posture, we seek to honor God by adjusting living patterns through our whole person, consecrated to Him and His purposes.  But, how do we pray in this way?

Begin slowly and reflectively praying Jesus' model prayer, remaining open to the Holy Spirit's prompting.  Allow time for the Spirit to bring to mind habits that deny the Father his authority in your life and discredit his holy name.  What needed adjustments come to mind? Do you need to apologize to someone or make amends?

Commit To His Mission

‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Jesus asks us to pray for the Father's kingdom to come and the Lord’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.  I thought for years that this part of the prayer didn't involve me.  In my mind, I was praying for God to act in ways that were separate from any personal agency, like "Father, do something about human trafficking or world hunger."

Instead, we come to the Father asking Him to show us how to bring His kingdom and will into our spheres of influence.  He wants to get His kingdom ways to earth through us.  In what ways is the Father opening doors for you to bring His love and will into broken and loveless places?

Acknowledge Our Need For The Father

“Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”

Bringing the Father's kingdom to earth as it is in heaven requires spiritual and physical resources to sustain our mission as ambassadors for Christ.  By asking the Father for our daily bread, Jesus trains us in humility and reliance with a reminder that everything we need to follow Him comes from Him by faith.

One sure way to derail our mission is to think more highly of ourselves than we should.  By acknowledging our personal need for forgiveness and seeking forgiveness from others, we move forward with a humble posture toward all people.  Realizing that we can forgive others because Jesus first forgave us.

Guard Against Spiritual Attack

“And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

The disciple of Jesus is not immune to temptation, so we must ask the Lord to keep us from situations that make us vulnerable, and when tempted, that the Lord would deliver us from the plans of Satan to discredit the Father's work in us.

As we partner with the Holy Spirit, we will find our prayers building God’s Kingdom within us so that the Father’s will can be done through us on earth as it is in heaven.

Prayer: Jesus, thank you for teaching us how to pray.  Holy Spirit, guide me into a life of worship and prayer informed and empowered by your presence.  Teach me how to hear and to be open to your voice so that fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control will ripen in my life for the good of your name and the coming of your kingdom to earth as it is in heaven.

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Not So Common Prayer: A Whole Person Strategy For Life Beyond Ourselves

1. Center on The Father

“Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy.”

2. Commit To His Mission

‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

3. Acknowledge Our Need For The Father

“Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”

4. Guard Against Spiritual Attack

“And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

Photo by Jack Sharp on Unsplash