With today being the National Day of Prayer; I thought I would talk a little bit about praying as Jesus taught.
A really good quote I once heard goes like this: “We don’t pray to tell God what to do; we pray so God can tell us what to do” <– Tweet that.
The quote got me to thinking about prayer and how Jesus prayed, so then I decided to look up just what he told his disciples about prayer.
Praying as Jesus Taught:
He taught us to pray for our enemies. Matt 5:44 Pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you. And on the cross he left us a great example by praying the father would forgive them, because they didn’t know what they were doing. (Luke 23:34) Forgiveness in prayer.
He taught us to pray against temptation. Mark 14:38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation, for the spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. And again he left us an example. Asking that if God was willing, this cup of suffering would pass from him, but in all things may Gods will be done. (Luke 22:42) Praying for God’s will to be done, even in temptation.
Praying for those unsaved. Luke 10:2 The harvest is great, but the laborers are few. Pray that the Lord of the harvest would send forth laborers to the fields. Christ’s great commission to us was to reach out to those unsaved and bring them forth to God’s glory. Praying for the harvest.
Praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ. In the garden, Christ prayed for those that the Father had given him. “Neither pray I for these (his disciples) alone, but for those which shall believe on me through their word.” John 17:20. I think what amazes me so much, is the fact that while here on earth, in his hour of great temptation and distress, Jesus thought ahead to all of us, and prayed for us! He prayed that we would be in him, as he is in the Father. He also prayed for unity among us.
And finally, in one prayer, Jesus teaches us exactly what we should say. Matthew 6:9
Our Father which art in heaven, Hollowed be they name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the power and the glory, for ever. Amen
Praying as Jesus Taught, covers everything.
Glory to God.
Glory to his kingdom.
God’s will be done.
Daily provision.
Forgiveness, towards ourselves and others.
Safeguard against temptation.
Praise again to God.
One thing that stands out to me is this. The prayer begins and ends with praise, and right before the requests are made, it is asked that God’s will be done.
I know for me, it’s really easy just to jump in and start asking God for any-thing and everything that’s on my heart at the time. And there’s nothing wrong with that, but I want to start making it my focus to praise first, pray second, and to always pray that God’s will be done.
The preacher said Sunday that you can learn a lot from a four year old’s prayers. I thought, “How true!” Your little brother was four when he prayed, “Tank oo Dod for Kendra and Jason, Tank oo Dod for Daddy and Mommy, Tank oo Dod for_____ and on and on.” I doubt that God minded him calling him Dod. And I imagine he appreciated his thankfulness to Him.
Often I send single “thank you’s”, usually it’s “I want’s”, but I’m never organize enough to do it all together. Something to work on.
I remember when I went to Bible school and they talked about the our father prayer…and i loved the example Jesus set about going to God in praise, then asking for what you need, then praying for what he wants… i loved it..I love how balanced his word is. and covers all bases =)
So true. Sometimes when I hear the more new-agey saying of finding balance or your inner chi, sometimes I think that if they could just find Jesus they would have what they needed.
Any-way. I’m really sorry to hear that you are quitting blogging for now. I know I totally stink at leaving comments, but I did pop over there on occasion and read a bit. But at the same time, it is understandable, and the desire to make every-one happy is in all of us to an extent.
Jesus left us such a great example to follow! And I agree, it’s so easy to hop in there with what *I* want, and neglect to praise Him and thank Him as much as I should. Thank you for the reminder, my friend!
Thanks so much for linking up to the “Making Your Home Sing Monday” linky party today! 😉
There is only one righteous man, and that is Jesus. He is a great example to follow! I totally agree with what you’ve said, ALL true! Bless you..
Thanks Mai. He truly is the only one righteous!