One of my personal goals is to cultivate a habit of prayer. I’m sharing what I’ve learned over the last month or so in this series. Here is the line-up:

Monday, May 21st: Focusing in Prayer with Prayer Breathing
Tuesday, May 22nd: 10 Thresholds in Prayer (Giveaway Entry)
Thursday, May 24th: Praying the Lord’s Prayer Part 1
Monday, May 28th: Praying the Lord’s Prayer Part 2
Tuesday, May 29th: Praying Scripture: 10 Passages
Thursday, May 31st: Obstacles to Prayer
Friday, June 1st: Book Review: Prayer On Fire by Fred A. Hartley, III (Giveaway Winner Announced)

I will be tweeting using the hashtag #Luke11 (the Lord’s Prayer) during the series. I hope you’ll join in the conversation after you read my posts! As always, you can comment directly on the post or join us on Facebook as well.
Praying the Lord’s Prayer

The majority of our time at the prayer retreat was spent praying through the Lord’s Prayer step by step. We prayed corporately. Most often in a “popcorn” style where each person prayed aloud as the Spirit led. However, I often follow this example in my personal prayer time as well. Using the Lord’s Prayer as my guide helps me to remember that prayer is not simply asking for things.

Let’s look at the passage:

Luke 11:1-4 (ESV)
Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” And he said to them, “When you pray, say:

‘Father,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread,
and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.’”

We are going to look at the prayer line by line. Covering the first three today, two on Monday, and one on Thursday. I encourage you, as you read each post, to spend some time in prayer working through these verses. Keep the thresholds in mind.

Father

What does it mean for God to be our Father? What does Scripture say about God as our Father? Tell Him those things.

Father, you give good gifts to those who ask. (Matthew 7:11)

Father, you love us so much, you call us your children! (1 John 3:1)

Some may find it difficult to view God as a Father for various reasons (an abusive, absent, or otherwise harmful earthly father). I encourage you to ask the Lord to reveal Himself to you as a Father and search the Scriptures to see what they say of God as Father.

Hallowed be your name

Hallowed means “to make, render, or declare something sacred, to consecrate”. God’s name is holy. What does that mean? Tell God who He is. Praise His name.

God, You are good, and your love endures forever! (Psalm 136:1)

God, You are faithful! (1 Corinthians 1:9)

Chip made a great analogy for the purpose of taking time to praise the Lord in our prayers. He pointed up to the ceiling of the room we were meeting in. You could see the large beams in the rafters that supported and held together the entire building. He said, “Praise is like these beams. It holds up your prayers and builds up your faith to trust that the Lord can handle what you ask of Him.”

Your kingdom come.

In his Gospel, Matthew adds: “your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

What would our world be like if God’s will was done? Ask for it!

God, it is your will that none should perish. Soften XXXXX’s heart, so they can hear your voice! (2 Peter 3:9)

God, it is your will that orphans be cared for. Soften hearts towards adoption. (James 1:27)

Ask God to do here on earth what He says is His will in Scripture.

Join me on Twitter as we pray together using the hashtag #Luke11 or comment below.

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This post is linked to:

Thought Provoking Thursday

 

Photo Credit: Open Hand, Holding Hands, Sunset

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