In my previous post, I shared with you an appetizer on prayer from Matthew 6, and this week I wanted to continue this topic because I believe it’s important to know how to pray effective prayers.
Who better to teach us than Jesus himself in the famous Lord’s prayer.
Let me just say that I’m not an expert on the subject; I’m just a woman seeking to know His heart better to approach His business here on earth the best way! His way!
So, let’s look into what Jesus tells His disciples.
“This, then, is how you should pray:
Matthew 6: 9-13 (NKJV)
‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
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 lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power
And the glory forever.
Amen.’”
I remember that as a little girl I used to recite this prayer before bed. Even though I wasn’t a Christian then, my parents had Catholic roots, so they taught it to me. I knew this prayer in Spanish by heart!
I didn’t pray it every night, but I did pray when I felt like I needed peace before bed, or when I was really scared and didn’t want to have nightmares. I was just a girl who didn’t understand what I was repeating, but in a way, I felt “close” to God when I prayed it.
It wasn’t until I became a Jesus follower that I finally understood the heart and goodness behind it.
I understand now that this is not just a prayer for us to repeat over and over and get what we want or what we petition. It’s a prayer that teaches us how to enter God’s presence so we can pray for His will in a particular matter.
I understand that when I pray, I should make sure to come with an honest heart if I want to be effective.
The Lord is the best listener, and He will always have ears for us, but I believe there’s a way to go about bringing heaven on earth! And the Lord’s prayer gives us an idea on how to prepare our hearts for it.
A look into the Lord’s prayer
In my previous post, I shared briefly how to prepare and where to pray, but if we look closer in the Lord’s prayer, we can see there’s more to it.
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.”
This shows us that the way to approach our Heavenly Father is with praise and reverence. I would dare to say that by approaching Him with praise and honor, we can learn the real fear of God, which brings us closer to Him.
When we honor the Lord with our praise and reverence, we enter His courts. As scripture says in Psalm 100:4, “enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.” And what does entering His courts mean? Well, we have come to His presence, to His secret place; and that’s the best place to be to talk with Our Father, in His own living room.
Now, when we’re in God’s presence we can know Him better; thus, we can learn what His will is and declare it! Which leads me to our next verse.
“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
This next verse addresses the fact that our prayers should express what heaven is saying! Our prayers are a conduit for His realm, His glory, His presence to be manifest here on earth.
That just makes me think of how powerful our words are, and how meaningful our prayers are. It makes me think that every time that I enter the Lord’s presence, I should be mindful of the words coming out of my mouth because they do have power and can make or break the manifestation of His glory around me.
Then again, once we enter His courts, there’s a unity that happens with His presence that we can be sure that our prayer will align with His word. And once that happens, we start declaring His will!
“Give us today our daily bread.”
I remember that when I was child, this verse made me think about food. And I think that’s how most people around me interpreted it. It was like telling the Lord, please fill our tummies today, and may nothing lack in our pantries.
But now I see that this verse does not point us to earthly food but to Jesus. He is the bread of life, so it only makes sense that we ask for the only superfood that can feed our spirits, our minds, and our souls, Jesus.
Our day-to-day becomes so much better when we don’t hunger for the things of this world, but we’re filled with the abundant, joyful life of Jesus.
He is our life, our bread, and our provider, so we can be sure that nothing will be lacking in our lives if we remain connected to Him.
“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”
This verse shows us that Our Father will receive us and hear us when we come to Him with a forgiving heart.
He has forgiven us so much, so why would we think that it’s ok to ask Him for something while still harboring unforgiveness in our hearts?
Here we address the posture of our hearts in relation to God and others.
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen”
I believe this is a great ending for prayer because this is where we ask God for His grace and protection against the enemy and ourselves! Yes, you read that right, ourselves!
We sometimes blame the enemy for our own poor decisions. Don’t get me wrong, I know he is the greatest manipulator and deceiver, but we have been given authority over him! So, we can decide not to be self-seeking or selfish; we can make a choice to follow God’s commands and love one another instead of trying to justify the reason for our offense.
It’s so easy for us to fall into fleshly, self-seeking desires when we’re apart from God, and as believers, we’re not exempt from temptation and the cravings of our flesh. But the good news is that we can ask the Lord to lead us by giving us wisdom, but for that, we have to fully surrender to Him.
Surrender is tied to trust, and honestly, I have not been the best in that area, but God doesn’t judge my performance, but my heart to please Him. He knows I want to trust Him and He also wants me to get there. So that when I’m fully surrendered, He can protect me from the attacks of the enemy because He is the King of kings, the One who rules and whose kingdom will prevail above all else!
What a good way to end our prayer than to acknowledge God’s greatness, power and reign! To establish His kingdom above our circumstances and to declare His might and sovereignty above it all.
Glory to God here, now and forever!
Prayer time
My prayer for you is that you may be enlightened in the knowledge of His might and His goodness; that you may have new revelation of His glory and that when you pray, you will encounter Him in a different way every time. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
