WWHIYP The Lord's Prayer

On Thursday, I downloaded some podcasts on prayer. I want to learn about prayer and I like to hear what others have to say. Well, I found a two-part teaching on the Lord's Prayer. And since I had just written about it two days before, I thought it would be good to listen to. When I heard it, I thought it might be good to share, but I wanted to pray about it.

The message is Damon Thompson from The Ramp ministry in Hamilton, AL. I've heard friends speak of him, but I had never heard him. He says some things that I thought about but I did not mention in my post Lord, Teach Us to Pray. I forgot to mention that we can use the Lord's Prayer/Disciples' Prayer as a pattern, but we can also pray that prayer. Damon says that back in the day, rabbis gave people short prayers to pray. Praying the same prayer promoted unity.

There are many good truths in Damon's teaching that can help your prayer life. There may be parts in it that we don't understand or agree with, and that's okay. Use the parts that you can. I pray that it will bless you.

There is one part in which he uses the analogy of having a fitness trainer help him plan his workout routine. Damon says how much time he could waste having access to all of the gym equipment, but not knowing how to use it. His trainer came in and wrote down the order of the machines to use, the amount of weight, and the number of repetitions. This program gave Damon's workout infrastructure. The prayer Jesus gave us also gives infrastructure to our prayer life. That's a cool way to explain it.

What would happen if you prayed the Lord's Prayer? Some days you may try to pray, but you won't know how to begin. Or you may begin and not know where to go next. What would happen if we just prayed the words that Jesus said? Or what would happen if we used those words as a model or infrastructure for our prayer?

The Lord’s Prayer (Part 1)

At the end of part 2, Damon explains how to pray each part of the Lord's Prayer for five minutes so that you have a 30-minute prayer time.

The Lord’s Prayer (Part 2)

The Lord's Prayer in five-minute sections

  I. Our Father in Heaven (approach God as Father)

     Pray:

¹⁴ For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. ¹⁵ For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” ¹⁶ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. Romans 8:14-17 NKJV

⁴ But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵ to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
⁶ And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” ⁷ Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Galatians 4:4-7 NKJV

⁴ just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, ⁵ having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, ⁶ to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. ⁷ In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. Ephesians 1:4-7 NKJV

 II. Hallowed be Your name (pray the names of God)

III. Your kingdom come; Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven

for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Philippians 2:13 NIV

IV. Give us day by day, our daily bread.

a.     Ask for provision for the day for our families.

b.     Our bread – ask for provision for the community

c.     Ask for provision for those in need

V. Forgive us our sins as we forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

a.     Specific repentance.

b.     Releasing those who have wronged us.

VI. Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Pray out loud with me:

      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.

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.