The only thing His disciples ever asked Jesus to teach them
was prayer. Of all the spiritual disciplines they saw Him practice, prayer is
the one that stood out to them. “Lord, teach us to pray.”
Jesus’ response to their request is what we often called “the
Lord’s Prayer.” (See Luke 11:2-4 and Matthew 6:9-13). Some churches, like the
one I grew up in, recite it every Sunday as a part of congregational worship.
I’m not a fan of just reciting it, because I think Jesus gave
us a pattern to follow, not a rote
prayer. And for a long time I have used “the Lord’s prayer” as an outline to
guide and shape my daily devotions.
Years ago I came up with a simple acrostic, P-R-A-Y-E-R, to
help me remember the specific focus of the different parts of Jesus’ sample
prayer. (I’ve summarized this in a little chart, included at the end of this
post). Over the course of the next several posts, I’d like to share this outline,
with the hope that it might be helpful in your prayer life.
So the first part of the Prayer is the P: Praise Him. Our
Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
I begin by praising Him, and especially thanking Him that He
is my Father. My words might be brief, or I might linger here, but I usually say
something like, “Thank You, Father, for being my true father. I know You made
me Your child through the sacrifice of my Lord Jesus, and I am so grateful.”
The next phrase is hallowed be your name. To “hallow”
means to treat as holy, to set apart. Jesus is teaching that we should pray for God’s
name to be “set apart” in our lives – that His reputation and character
would be glorified and magnified in the way we live.
At this point it’s a blessing to pray through and meditate
on the various names of God in the Scripture. I have a list in my prayer journal,
and usually I pick a different one each day to pray over. (You can get a good
list of God’s names by clicking here).
For example, one of the Lord’s names is El Shaddai. It means “God Almighty,” and speaks of His ultimate power.
I might say something like, “Dear Lord, You are El Shaddai, the Mighty One. May Your power be magnified in my
weaknesses today. May people see that You are my Strength, and may You be
glorified in me today.”
Jesus was a Man of prayer, and we can learn so much from
Him. His guide is a great place to start. May the Lord give you grace to pray
through it, and to grow in deeper fellowship and intimacy with Him as you do.
FOR NEXT TIME –
pRayer (Render Allegiance)
