What is prayer? – The dictionary says it is a reverent petition to God.
I would expand that to say it is a conversation with God. Salvation is to bring a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. In any personal relationship communication and conversation is key to nurturing that relationship. So, therefore, communication with our Lord is key to developing our relationship with Him. We have the word of God to learn more about our Lord and God and what Jesus did for us with His death and resurrection. And certainly God knows us better than we do, so why would we need to have conversation with God?
Mat 10:30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Jer 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee…
Consider with your spouse or the person you love being around. Sometimes just being around them is enough, but more often the conversation needs to be there also. Without both, the relationship will not continue to exist or improve.
I love sitting in the presence of God. However, sometimes I just need to express my love for Him and all that He has blessed me with. So, just as we need to have communication and conversation with our loved ones here on earth, we need to have the same with our Heavenly Father. That is part of developing the close personal relationship with Him.
So, then the next question is “how do we converse with God”? His word again gives us direction. We often say and repeat the Lord’s prayer, but do we truly miss what He was saying to us. Many times, we forget what he said just before declaring His prayer.
Mat 6:7-8 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knows what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
Mat 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye:
So He was not telling us to repeat this prayer, actually just the opposite. He was telling us the things our Heavenly father wants to hear from us.
…Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
First is acknowledgement of who He is. He is our Father in heaven and His name is to be praised. Our Creator from whom all good things come. James 1:17. Always come before the Lord with praise and worship.
The Psalms declare this many times. Many were by David, whom the bible says ‘Was a man after God’s own heart’ Acts 13:22.
Here is one example:
Ps 100:4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
Others are Ps 7:17, 34:1, 66:2, 68:4
The more we humble ourselves and reverence who He is, the more we prepare our hearts and mind to receive from Him. This is why most church services start with praise and worship. It is to remind us who we are coming before.
Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
We should want God’s will to be done. Let us see your will here on earth as it is heaven.
This is also confirmed elsewhere in His word.
1Jn 5:14:15 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing 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.
This should remind us that the answer we get may not be as we expect, but it is according to what He wills.
Mat 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.
Feed us Lord. Help us to be nourished by you. Both physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Joh 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
Remember the Lord reminds us to not worry about tomorrow, but on the things of today in this same chapter.
Mat 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
So, why do we need to do this when He just said previously?
Mat 6:8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
If our Father knows our needs, why should we need to pray? The following passage should confirm to us that our Heavenly Father loves to hear the desires of our heart. He loves to hear our voice and what is on our minds. He told us:
Mat 7:7-8 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Ps 37:4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
This is where the Lord wants details of what you are feeling, needing, wanting, what is on your heart. He wants us to express our deepest thoughts to Him.
1Pe 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
This is part of where we develop that closeness to Him and find out how much He wants to communicate and converse with us. Many times, as I have done this, I hear His still small voice speak back to me. It is truly some of the most wonderful times with the Lord I have experienced.
While that verse is short, it is the often the area where we express ourselves the most.
Mat 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
This verse should remind us about how much we have been forgiven of. He paid a debt he did not owe. Our debt. So, we if have been forgiven, ought we not to quickly forgive others. Sometimes, we forget about verse 14 & 15, and it is rarely recited with the Lord’s prayer but is vital to receiving an answer to our prayers. We should not expect any answer to our prayers if we have unforgiveness in our hearts.
Mat 6:14-15 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Mat 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
The next part is to ask for the Lord’s protection, to watch over us this day.
I love this passage of scripture where He promises to watch over us, but again, He wants to hear us ask.
Ps 91:9-12 Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
…For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
So, as we come to the end of the Lord’s prayer, we come back to praise and worship of our Lord. Remember prayer with thanksgiving. Always be thankful that we can come to the Lord with our requests. Then always realize who you are coming before. All glory be to God.
Php 4:6-7 Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Mar 10:27 And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.
If we follow the principles Jesus gave us in this example of how to pray, we can be confident of the passages below:
Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Joh 14:13-14 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
Take time to have a conversation with our Lord and Savior each and every day, through whom all things are and will be.
Frankly, we should be conversing with our Lord all through the day. He wants to be involved in every part of our day and life. Remember, He is always near, so talk to Him.
Pro 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Rom 11:36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.