Lord, Teach Us To Pray

Even though I've been praying for years and I've seen results, I still say, "Lord, teach me to pray." There are times when I feel so inadequate—like I just don't what to pray about some situations. Or I wonder if I am praying the right thing. I believe God is okay with that. I've never gotten the impression that He would be upset by us asking for help.

¹ Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”
² So He said to them, “When you pray, say:
      Our Father in heaven,
      Hallowed be Your name.
      Your kingdom come.
      Your will be done
      On earth as it is in heaven.
       ³ Give us day by day our daily bread.
       ⁴ And forgive us our sins,
      For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
      And do not lead us into temptation,
      But deliver us from the evil one.”  Luke 11:1-4 NKJV

The disciples had seen Jesus pray . . . many times I'm sure. One day one of them asked that He teach them to pray. Jesus didn't say, "Really? . . . . You don't know how to pray by now?" No, He gave them/us an example of how to pray. His example, which some call The Lord's Prayer or the Disciples' Prayer, is simple instead of some long oration.

Matthew records it like this:

⁹ In this manner, therefore, pray:

      Our Father in heaven,

      Hallowed be Your name.

       ¹⁰ Your kingdom come.

      Your will be done

      On earth as it is in heaven.

       ¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread.

       ¹² And forgive us our debts,

      As we forgive our debtors.

       ¹³ And do not lead us into temptation,

      But deliver us from the evil one.

      For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.      Matthew 6:9-13 NKJV

If we use this as our sample, and we should, prayer begins with acknowledging God as Father and how holy He is. Then we pray that His kingdom and will is accomplished on earth (as opposed to our plans for the world.) We ask for what we need. This can include more than food. What else do we need today? Wisdom, joy, peace, the Word for the day. He will provide. Then we ask for forgiveness as we forgive others. We ask God for spiritual strength to stand faithfully obeying His Word, no matter what. Finally we end our prayer again acknowledging who God is. That's my take on Jesus' prayer example.

I know how to pray most of this. The part that especially comes in handy is "Your kingdom come.

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

I pray this when I don't know how to pray for a specific situation. We know by the Word, what the will of God is. It is God's will that no one die in sin, but that everyone repents and knows Him. 2 Peter 3:9 It is His will that we are healthy. Matthew 8:16-17, etc.

But what about the details of our lives like where should I work? Where should I live? Whom should I marry? We can pray, "Let Your kingdom come and Your will be done in my life."

I like to sing Jason Upton's Teach Me How To Pray.

The lyrics that I can relate to are:

Not my will or my plans or
the way I want it
I’m so tired of my hands in the way

That last line makes me think of a story that my spiritual pop, Ron Haynes, would tell. He talked about buttoning his son's shirt, when his son was young. The little boy wanted to help. So Haynes said they would end of up with 20 fingers on one little button. Of course, that slowed progress. You know how little kids are; they like to say, "I do it myself."  When I hear this song, I imagine myself drawing my hands back and saying to Daddy God, I'll let You do it. And just like the button story, we accomplish the task faster with only Daddy's hands . . . when I say, "let Your will be done."

Pray out loud with me:

My heavenly Father, not only are You holy, but Your name is holy and to be spoken with love and respect; not to be used carelessly. Reign in my life. I want Your will for my life, which is better than my own plans. My knowledge is so limited. You know what's best for me. You know everything I will need today—physically, emotionally, spiritually, mentally, and financially. So give me wisdom for this day and joy in this day. Please give me the right words to say. And thank You for meeting every other need that I have for today. Forgive me of whatever I've done that was not part of Your will including my wrong thoughts and motivations and especially saying what I didn't need to say. Because You are so gracious and merciful to forgive me, I have no right to hold anything against anyone. I will not hold grudges or feel like someone owes me. I'm going to need Your help with that. Grant me spiritual strength. You know what I can and cannot handle well. Help me to hear Your voice so I will not wander into something that I don't need to be in. Help me to hang around people who are a good influence and support my spiritual growth. You know what's best for me. You are God and You reign. You deserve all praise, glory and honor. Thank you for Jesus teaching us how to pray and that we can pray in His name. Amen.