PRAY TO OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN

Proclamation:

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done …” Matthew 6:9-13 (NIV)

Explanation:

This is the model prayer which Jesus, The Christ, used as an example when He taught His disciples how to pray.  After giving them several examples of what not to do, He said to them “This, then, is how you should pray: …”  

Application:

Prayer is simply us talking to God.  When we think of prayer this way it becomes easier to understand why Jesus told us what not to do.  We should not pray to be seen. (Matthew 6:5)  There is a time and place for corporate prayer but we are not to draw attention to ourselves.  Also, we should not use vain repetitions when we pray. (Matthew 6:7)  No one would believe us if every time we spoke to them we used the exact same words and said the same thing every time.  I am sure that God is not pleased with us when our prayers to Him are always a combination of the same trite, over used expressions which we heard someone else say.  The model prayer is an example of how we should pray.  In our prayers we should acknowledge who He is.  We should thank Him for what He has done.  We should confess our sins and ask to be forgiven.  Then we should ask for what it is that we want.  We should also ask for something for some one else and not just be selfish.  A helpful acronym is “ACTS”, which stands for acknowledgement, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication.  We should pray regularly and frequently. (Luke 18:1 and 21:36)  In case we unknowingly ask for something which is inappropriate, we should also ask that His will be done and that He give us the ability to accept His will.  Our prayers should be sincere and heart felt in order to be effective. (James 5:16)