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Praying for Your Children

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“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” 3 John 1:4

I love being a mom. And like most moms, I’ve always wanted what’s best for my children. I remember not long after I became a Christian all I could think of was how desperately I wanted to see them have hearts that longed for the Living God.

In 3 John 1:4, John’s joy overflowed as he watched his beloved Gaius living out loud for God. He may have been talking about his spiritual children, but I believe John’s words echo in the heart of every Christian mother who desperately desires to see her children walking in the truth.

There are so many things we can try to do to see them come to know Christ at an early age – to see them grow in Word – to see them become men and women of God. We can take them to church, get them involved in Christian activities, teach them right from wrong and we even try to instill a Biblical world view in their hearts.

But our greatest work as a mother is to incessantly intercede on behalf of our children.

If you’re just starting your journey as a mother, you have the blessing of bathing your child in prayer from the beginning. But no matter how old they may be now, it’s never too late to start praying for your children.

Here are a few ideas to help you intentionally and strategically pray for your children:

Pray Always: Maintain a heart of continual prayer for your children no matter where you are or what you are doing. “Never stop praying.” 1 Thes 5:17 (NLT)

Pray With Scripture: There is an unequalled element of faith when God’s children pray God’s Word back to Him because they trust Him. Insert your children’s names in the precious promises of God and acknowledge that you are believing He will fulfill His Word.

Last Thursday, Teri Lynne showed us how to pray through Scripture. Do that same thing. Only pray through each verse for your children as well as yourself.

♥ Ask God to help your children to love Him with all their heart, soul, mind and strength. (Mark 12:30)

♥ Ask the Lord to give your children the spirit of wisdom and revelation so that they would know Him better. That their eyes would be enlightened that they would know the hope of His calling. (Eph 1:17-18)

♥ Intercede for your child’s character. Ask that they would be humble and willing to put the needs of others before their own. (Phil 2:3-5)

God’s Word is chock-full of verses to pray for your children. As you read through the Bible during your quiet time, keep your eyes open for new waysto pray for your child. There is no substitute for praying God’s Word back to Him.

Pray With Urgency: We have no idea what tomorrow holds for us or for our children. So pray now. Fervently pray for your children. Pray that God would be their Shield and Defender and let your prayers become road blocks for the enemy.

Pray With Wisdom: So often we don’t know how to deal with certain circumstances in our children’s lives…but God does. Ask Him for wisdom and then pray for your children according to the wisdom He gives you. If you see an area of weakness in their lives, begin to intercede for victory in that area and wisdom to know how to parent them through it.

Pray For Their Spiritual Needs: Salvation is their primary need, so passionately pray for it. Pray for protection, direction and a heart after God. Pray they will always have eyes to see, ears to hear and a heart to believe. Pray they will be strong in the spirit and in the power of His might.

Pray For Their Emotional Needs: Pray for their emotional well being. Pray they will be strong without being hard; that they will be tender, without being weak; that they will understand their value in the sight of God; that they will not be quickly angered; that they will not hold grudges; that they will love well.

Pray For Their Physical Needs: Pray for their health. Pray for their eating and exercise habits. Pray they would not have addictive behaviors.

Pray For Their Friends: Pray God would surround them with people who will strengthen their faith, encourage their walk with God and hold them accountable.

Pray For Their Parents: Yes, pray for yourself. That you would be the parent(s) to your children that God calls you to be. That you would understand them, see their weaknesses and their needs, and would know how to walk them through each season of their childhood.

Pray For Their Future Spouse: Pray for the one God is preparing for your child. Pray for their salvation, their character and that they would truly love your child and be a godly and faithful spouse.

Pray For Your Prodigal: Please hear my heart on this, dear one. Your heart may be breaking because your children are far from God and everything they know to be right and good. I know how hard this unwanted journey is and I want to encourage you with everything I have to keep praying. Don’t give up; don’t grow weary; don’t be angry; don’t lose faith; don’t lose heart…keep praying. Drag that child’s heart to the altar of the Living God every day – lay them at the feet of the Savior – claim God’s Word over their lives. You pray like no one else will.

You can’t quit! I know it’s hard. I know you’re frustrated and I know your heart hurts like crazy. But God is a miracle working God and His arm is not slack that it cannot save. He alone is able to make beauty out of the ashes of your prodigal’s life. Hold on in prayer, my sister and live your life face down in intercession for your children. Because if you won’t – who will?

And mother-to-mother I want you to know I pray your children will live out loud for the Living God because we all know…there is no greater joy than to see our children walk in the truth.

Resourses:

Stormie Omartian – The Power of a Praying Parent, The Power of Praying for Your Adult Children

Do you have specific ways in which you pray for your children? Do you struggle with knowing how to pray for them?

Praying for your spouse

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I have a confession to make. I do not pray for my husband like I should. At the end of 2009, God and I spent some time together doing a little spiritual “evaluation” and setting some goals for 2010. One thing in particular that He impressed on me is the need for me to do a better job praying for Wayne. Of all the people in my life, my husband is the most important (besides God of course). He should always be at the top of my prayer list.

Unfortunately, over the years I’ve allowed the urgent and the critical to crowd out the important and the necessary. I’ve spent more time in “reactive” praying and less in “proactive” praying. If someone was dealing with an illness or faced a difficult decision I focused on those pressing needs. So when my husband seemed to be doing fine, prayer time for him was spent elsewhere.

I couldn’t have been more wrong! As his wife, it is my primary responsibility to pray proactively for Wayne.

As his help mate, it is my job to intercede with the Father on his behalf – to cover every area of my husband’s life in prayer. To anticipate challenges, problems, temptations, and difficulties and pray about them in advance.

God’s Word provides us with many ways to pray for our husbands’ physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual needs. One thing I plan to do is include a page in my prayer notebook just for Scriptures to use to pray specifically for Wayne. Maybe you can incorporate something like that in whatever system you use for prayer. (If you missed Teri Lynne’s blog on her prayer calendar yesterday, check it out here!) Here is a sample list of things to pray about for your husband along with the source Scriptures.

  • Guard his spirit and not break faith in his relationships (Mal 2:13-15)
  • Protection from temptation/strength in temptation (1 Corinthians 7:5) – this would include all kinds of temptations, but specifically sexual temptation
  • Wisdom in his leadership of his family (Eph 5:22-24) – on a similar note, we should pray that God would help us respect and yield to our husband’s leadership
  • Deeper love for his wife – that’s you! (Eph 5:25)
  • Patience, wisdom, and discernment in raising your children (Col 3:19-21)
  • Strong moral character, gentle spirit, disciplined, and self-controlled (1 Tim 3:1-3)
  • Wisdom in managing family finances and his family (1 Tim 3:4-5)
  • Committed to the deep truths of the faith and lives a life of repentance (1Tim 3:9)

These things are just a beginning. Whenever you read your Bible, look for more ways to pray for your spouse, then add them to your prayer system. There is a resource on my website that will lists 20 things from Scripture to pray for other Christians. You can use this to also pray for your husband. Feel free to download it and print it off!

I probably need more help and encouragement than you on this topic! I’d love to hear about how you pray for your husbands and what you pray for them.

Blessings!  Kathy

The Type A Person Prays

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In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I tend toward the uber-organized side of life.  I prefer structure, routine, and schedules.   And so, when it comes to my prayer life, likely no one who knows me is shocked to find I have a method of structuring my time there as well.

A few years ago my dad mentioned in passing that he uses a prayer calendar to organize his prayer life.  Immediately, I was hooked!  After asking him a few questions, I began to develop my own prayer calendar.

In simplest terms, a prayer calendar is a tool for organizing the major areas of prayer in your life. I use both weekly and monthly prayer calendars to insure that I spend time focused in prayer for specific people and issues.    What is included on my prayer calendar has changed over the years as our life situation has changed.  For example,  in June 2009 I shared what my prayer calendar looked like on my personal blog … at that time it involved praying through “The Power of …” books for my husband, my daughter, and myself twice a year.   While I still devote plenty of time to praying for each member of our family, I have added some other areas of prayer into the calendar.

As I mentioned before, I pray every day for my husband, my daughter, and myself and I use my daytimer to review the schedule for the day and specific prayer needs in my extended family, my church and my community.  Below are the weekly and monthly prayer calendars I use as I pray in my quiet time.

Weekly:

  • Sunday ~ Churches. I pray for mine as well as the ones pastored by my daddy and my brother and many of our friends.  In addition, I pray for those churches who are seeking pastors and are facing difficulties.   For my own church, I pray through the schedule, lifting up Sunday School teachers and nursery workers, the technical components of the services, the sermon and the music, those who are deciding if they will even attend services today, and those who need a touch from the Lord.
  • Monday ~ Church Staff and their Families. Mondays are typically the staff meeting day at our church.  I pray for all five of our pastors and their family members by name.   If I am aware of a specific request or need, I lift that up at this time.  In addition, I try to take time to send a note of encouragement (even just an email) to one of our pastors or their wives.   I also pray for Scott’s relationships with the other pastors of our church.  I ask for wisdom and humility for each of these men.
  • Tuesday ~ Specific Church Ministries. I pray for the specific ministries of our church and their leadership.  From children’s ministry to senior adults, ministries to men and to women, student ministry and family ministry – I pray for each of these as well as the other ways our church seeks to reach out to others.
  • Wednesday ~ My Family. I pray for my family members by name on Wednesdays.  I am blessed with a large family and take time on Wednesdays to pray for grandparents and cousins, my brothers and their families and many aunts and uncles.
  • Thursday ~ Community Ministries. Thursday mornings I spend at Care Net.   I pray on Thursdays for the many ministries in our community seeking to spread the Gospel while meeting the practical needs around them.  I also pray for the leadership of ministries such as the BCM on our local college campus, the Baptist Ministry Center, and the Manna House.
  • Friday ~ Scott’s Family. I devote Friday to praying for Scott’s family members.  We are blessed with very close relationships with his family and it is a joy to lift them up to the Lord in prayer.
  • Saturday ~ The Lost. I keep a list in my Bible of people who are unsaved that I am praying for.  On Saturdays I pray for each of them by name.

Monthly Prayer Calendar:

  • January ~ Focus and direction. In January, I pray through each activity I am involved with – from ministries in the church to websites I write for … and I lay each one down and ask the Lord if I should pick it  up again.
  • February ~ My daughter‘s birthday month! I pray for her using “The Power of  a Praying Parent.”
  • March ~ Government. I pray throughout this month for local, state, and national government leaders.
  • April ~ North American mission field. I devote April to praying for God’s direction for those who are missionaries here in North America.  I also pray for those who are planting churches in the United States.
  • May ~ Summer. I pray for the summer months – how we should use them as a family.  What we should include and what we need to say “no” to.   I always want to be certain we are allowing time for rest and also for ministry.
  • June ~ My husband’s birthday month and our anniversary month.  I pray for him using “The Power of a Praying Wife.”
  • July ~  Adopting families. It seems like I know so many families who are adopting.  In July I spend extra time praying specifically for their needs and desires … and for those sweet children who have not yet arrived home.
  • August ~ Back to School!! I devote August to praying for teachers and school leaders.  And for sweet families who are beginning their homeschooling year.  I especially pray for those teachers in public schools who will daily have the opportunity to shine light into darkness!
  • September ~ Friends. Just taking time to pray for those women who have influenced my life – and though our friendship may have only lasted a season, I lift them up to the Lord and pray for them throughout September.
  • October ~ My birthday month!  I pray for myself using “The Power of a Praying Woman.”
  • November ~  Month of gratitude! I want to be intentionally cultivating a thankful heart.  One way I do this is by listing the things I am  thankful for according to the date.  For example, on November 11, I list 11 things I am thankful for.
  • December ~ Our denominational missions focus is on international missions throughout this month.  I pray for those missionaries in other nations and for the unreached people groups.

So, there you have it!  A long post (sorry!) but hopefully one that will be helpful to some!

How do you organize your prayer life?

Books I have found useful:

The Power of a Praying … books by Stormie Omartian

Becoming a Woman of Prayer by Cynthia Heald

The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence

Prayer: Graphic Organizers

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Our lives have become broader than ever; we can literally touch people around the world. So much information can become heavy, even a burden, when we genuinely want to pray, but feel overwhelmed with praises to lift up and petitions to remember. We say, “I’ll pray for you,” and we really mean it, but the shear number of needs we know threatens to sabotage our best intentions.

Somewhere in all the needs, praises, concerns, and ever-present confessions, we must return to where Jesus’ pattern of prayer begins:  worship of Who God is. We may leave out worship of the One Who hears our prayers, because we are in such a hurry to tackle the mountain of information. Kathy helped us understand Jesus’ index prayer here,when she shared 3 lessons on what we know as the “Lord’s Prayer.”

Here are four ideas to help manage your prayer times and make it fruitful:

Four Square Family Prayer ~ This breaks down concerns into 4 areas, beginning close to home and moving “outward.” Use it 4 days or for a whole week.  The exercise of writing new info each week helps you to reflect on God’s power and answers. Write down needs, but also jot down answers and applicable promises from Scripture. Hole punch sheets to include in a Prayer Notebook.

One Month of Praying for People ~ This sheet is specifically designed to help you focus on all of the “others” in your life. Jesus’ prayer in Matthew 6 uses all plural pronouns; isn’t that interesting? Use this tool in your Prayer Notebook to help you manage the bigger picture of the work of prayer.

Letter of Response to My Father ~ This letter writing tool helps us express ourselves in personal letter style to our Father in heaven.  Great tool to use once a week, or use it every day for a week to sweeten your prayer life. The notes help to indicate the parts of Jesus’ pattern of prayer.

One Week of Responding ~ 7 Days of response sheets take you through a week, along with suggestions for what to focus on, space to journal, and an inset reminder of the elements Jesus included in the Matt 6 pattern. These 1/2 sheets are ideal for printing off and putting into a binder or carrying in your Bible.

I invite you to find a tool that looks like it may work for you. Like a menu on a fridge or a planner in your bag, these tools are meant to make your prayer life more fruitful and effective as you spend time communicating with your Lord.

We’d love to hear if you plan to try out one of these tools and let us know how it goes. Do you have another great tool you’d like to share?

Thank you to Tara, who designed these for our Women’s Ministry and for others who long to spend time with their Father.

Double Whammy

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Have you loved digging into prayer as much as I have?

I must confess, this is an area in which I consider myself very weak.   When it comes to Bible study and digging into the Word – I get hyped up and ready to go.  But prayer just doesn’t come as naturally to me.

I shared my struggle with an older believer several years ago and she encouraged me to pray Scripture.    Also, through reading the Power of a Praying … books by Stormie Omartian, I learned of the great power of praying God’s Word back to Him.     What could be more useful in developing a prayer life than using the very Word of God as a foundation for our conversations? It’s sort of a “double whammy” in our prayers.

I was encouraging our senior adults at church to use Scripture in their prayers and one gentlemen said to me, “We aren’t all Bible scholars like you!”    Let me assure you – I’m no Bible scholar!  In fact, as I responded to this dear man, “I wasn’t born with this knowledge of Scripture.”   I’ve been investing in it for many years.     It’s not so much about how much Scripture you know, rather praying Scripture is realizing the truth of God’s Word and claiming it in your life.

Tomorrow, during Your Turn, we’ll be going through a passage and praying through it.  But for today, I’d like to share with you some of the ways using Scripture can build your prayer life.

Understanding God’s Character

As we study Scripture we grow in our understanding of God’s character and how that relates to our lives.   By recognizing that He is love (1 John 4:8), we can come to Him acknowledging that He loves us and desires the best for us … even when we don’t understand His ways (Isaiah 55:9).

Trusting God’s Promises

Throughout Scripture we find the promises of God and as we pray we have confidence that He will save us (John 3:16), that He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7), that He will forgive us (1 John 1:9), that His plan is for our good (Jeremiah 29:11) and so many more.  Knowing God’s promises gives us confidence in our relationship with Him and helps us trust in His care for our lives.

Recognizing God’s Faithfulness

Throughout the Bible we see that God is faithful to His people … both the Israelites in the Old Testament and the early church in the New.    We can pray to the same “God who sees me” as Hagar did (Genesis 16:13), the “God who heals me” as Miriam (Exodus 15:26),  the “Lord, my Rock” as David (Psalm 144:1), the Good Shepherd (John 10:11), the Alpha and Omega (Revelation 22:13).

Claiming God’s Provision

Throughout Scripture we find abundant reminders that God will provide for all our needs.   We find that He will give us rest (Psalm 23:2), protection (Isaiah 43:2), food and clothing (Matthew 6:25-32), wisdom (James 1:5) and so much more.

Learning to pray Scripture is an amazing way to grow your prayer life. I have specific prayers for my daughter and my husband – claiming Scripture for their lives.   And as I read my Bible each day, I use the passages I have read as a foundation for my prayers … asking God to change me to match His Word.  I have found great comfort and peace in learning to pray Scripture and I hope you will be encouraged to do the same!

How do you incorporate Scripture into your prayers?

Recommended Reading:

Praying the Names of God by Ann Spangler

Praying the Names of Jesus by Ann Spangler

Any of the Power of a Praying books by Stormie Omartian

Praying God’s Word by Beth Moore

Praying the Psalms by Elmer Towns {Mr. Towns has written several books about praying through specific passages of Scripture.}


Write … in a Prayer Notebook?

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With more information to process than ever before, people are scrambling to write down what is vital to life. For you it may be a menu, appointments, lesson plans, or chores; if we want to track it, we write it down. What are you tracking?

God established a pattern of writing what matters. Since we matter to Him, He engraved us on His hands. Isaiah 49:16 In Proverbs 3:1-3 we read that His teaching, love, and faithfulness should not be forgotten, so we need to write them on the tablet of our hearts.  Do you hear the theme of writing not to forget? It’s just so …. “human” to forget. We are not only forgetful, but we are easily distracted, and easily rerouted.  God Himself shows us the value of writing down what matters:

  • writing down “our days” ~ Psalm 139:16 I can’t wait to see this Book!
  • writing down our names in heaven ~ Luke 10:20/Phil. 4:3 I want to be sure I’m IN this Book!
  • writing down His truth to bring us life ~ John 20:31 I’m so glad He thought of this!
  • writing down what fills our lives & history ~ Daniel 10:21 This one probably has a long reservation list in heaven!

In pursuing the work of prayer, we can take a cue from the God’s pattern and write down what matters most. By having a Prayer Notebook with tools to strengthen our communication and to track the content of our communication, we overcome some pitfalls that cause us to bail out on practicing prayer. The notebook style isn’t important, but using a prayer tool makes a difference. Each year I buy the cheapest planner Wal-Mart has to offer, and I record valuable contact info, dates I don’t want to miss, names of people I need to keep, and then the daily stuff of life as it happens. I write everything what matters most, and it is an invaluable tool to me. It completely changes how productive, reliable, and at peace I am. Let me suggest some tools and some content to include in a Prayer Notebook:

  • Content: A section for worship/praise, confession, thanksgiving, and requests. You may include a space to journal. Cards to respond to God’s leading.
  • Tools: Scripture about each focus area, a list of the names of God (use them), “triggers” (photos, cards, bulletins,etc)

My friend Cindy shared an overview of her Prayer Notebook last week, giving invaluable ideas & pictures. Sandra shared yesterday about Prayer Cards. This coming Friday I’ll share several graphic organizers as options for tools to include in your Prayer Notebook.

So what do you write in? A planner? A journal? A lesson plan book? A scrapbook? There’s a lot of information to remember and manage. If we were God, we could write it all on our hand. ;) Tracking our prayer lives in a Prayer Notebook helps us stay focused, recall reasons to give thanks, and stay consistent.

What do you use to help you make your prayer time prime time?

Using Prayer Cards

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You can tell what subjects people are passionate about by looking at their books. If you come over and look at my shelves, you will see book after book on prayer. You would think after reading all those books on prayer, I’d be an expert. But unfortunately, it’s just the opposite. I read all those books on prayer because I feel so inadequate. But thanks to A Praying Life by Paul A. Miller, I have learned how to be more disciplined in my prayer life, and grow deeper in my relationship with God.

Miller suggests using prayer cards as a way to focus. My categories include– family, church, missionaries, adopting families, repentance cards, and hope cards. On the card I list important requests, verses I want to pray over the life or situation, and sometimes the date of an answer.

For example, on my “adopting families” card I wrote out Heb. 10:36, “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what is promised.” Then I list families I know who are adopting. About once a month I email the couples  to see how I can specifically pray and update the prayer card.

During my prayer time (at night!) I go through my cards, praying for each one. Not every prayer is going to get an “answer date.” On my repentance card labeled “pride,” I will continue to pray “…apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5) every day of my life!

I’m a methodological person, so having a routine works for me. It helps me feel like I’m joining in God’s plan for each person and situation I pray for.

Do you struggle sometimes in your prayer life? What tools help keep you focused?

Sandra Peoples is a pastor’s wife and mom to two boys (plus one more boy her family is in the process of adopting from Ethiopia). She has an Master of Divinity degree in Women’s Studies and wants to encourage women to grow in godliness. She blogs at Heart for Him and Twitters from @HeartforHim.

Jesus’ Prayer Lesson – Part 3

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I hope the first two days of this series has encouraged you in your prayer life. Today is the third and final installment of our look at Jesus’ lesson on prayer to His disciples. Yesterday we discussed three components of prayer that help us keep our prayer priorities straight by focusing on God and His purposes. Today we will cover the three components of the model prayer that deal more directly with us.

Give us each day our daily bread

Jesus did not mean that we can only ask God to give us bread. Remember, this prayer is meant to be a model. Jesus wanted His disciples then – and now – to know that we can bring our needs, both physical and spiritual, to God.

“Bread” represents the basic necessities for life. God invites us to pray for our needs, not luxuries. However, after focusing on the person of God and His Kingdom like the first three components showed us, most of us would not consider asking God for something frivolous.

Praying for our needs “daily” fosters a constant dependence on God and His grace. As God provides for this day, our trust in His faithfulness grows. We don’t have to know how He will provide for our futures, we simply know that He will.

Jesus’ use of “us” teaches us to pray not just for ourselves but for others too. Yes, let’s flood God’s throne with our needs, but let’s also pour out the needs of our friends, families, fellow Christians, and unbelievers. The Father wants to show Himself faithful in meeting our needs.

Forgive us our debts (sins), as we also have forgiven our debtors

Confession and repentance should be a regular part of our prayer life. Often, I’m aware of sin just as soon as I’ve committed it. Those times I immediately stop and pray. Other times, God makes me aware of sin later, during my daily time with Him. So confession and repentance are also a regular part of my daily prayer time.

There is a lot of debate among biblical scholars about the exact implication of the phrase “as we also have forgiven our debtors.” More debate than we have time to cover here! But just let me make a few general comments that could be helpful.

We can do nothing to earn God’s forgiveness. Christ did that for us on the cross. Yet, if we have received God’s forgiveness with the gratitude He deserves we should be willing to forgive others. Forgiveness will be fruit of our own salvation.

Lead us not into temptation (but deliver us from the evil one)

The Greek word translated as “temptation” in the NIV means “trial, temptation, testing.”  This same word has been used in the NT to refer to God’s testing of our faith to prove it (James 1:2) as well as enticement to sin by Satan or our own fleshly desires (Matt 4:1; 1 Cor 10:13).

In the Garden, on the night Jesus was betrayed, He told His disciples to “Watch and pray so that you do not fall into temptation” (Matt 26:41). Jesus used this same word when He emphasized the vital link between prayer and standing firm in the face of temptation and trials. Sadly, the disciples failed to pray and therefore they failed to stand firm.

This humble prayer expresses our dependence on and need for God. Are you in the midst of a trial or temptation? Ask God to give you the strength to stand firm in trials and to bring you through to the other side. In the face of temptation, pray for the wisdom to see the way out He has provided (1 Cor 10:13).

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the Lord’s model prayer. Share with us!

Blessings,  Kathy

Jesus’ Prayer Lesson – Part Two

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Today is the second installment of our three-part series on Jesus’ model prayer. Yesterday, we discovered some general principles for praying found in the passages surrounding The Lord’s Prayer itself. Today we will cover the first three of six main components of the prayer and tomorrow we will cover the last three.

Remember, in this same encounter with His disciples (Matthew 6:7), Jesus told them not to simply repeat prayers without meaning. So, Jesus did not intend for this prayer to be something we recite over and over but He presented it as a model to show us the kinds of things we should pray about.

The first three components focus on God and help us give Him the proper place. Then as we begin to focus on our own needs in the last three components we can do so with the right priorities.

Our Father

The use of “Father” emphasizes our personal relationship with God. He is Creator of all people, but not “Father” of all. However, if you are a believer, Jesus’ blood has purchased the right for you to be called children of God. You have been adopted!

Matthew 6:9 adds the qualifying phrase “in heaven.” We do not pray to an earthly father. Our heavenly Father is kind and patient, but also sovereign and holy. The address “Our Father” sets the tone for our prayer. We are secure in our Father’s love and care yet we must also approach Him with respect and reverence.

Hallowed be your name

In ancient Hebrew thought, a person’s name is synonymous with their character. Whatever is done to the name is also done to the person. Therefore, if we hallow God’s name, we hallow Him. To “hallow” means to sanctify or keep as holy and sacred.

Practically, to hallow God means to acknowledge His holy character to Him and to others. In prayer, we should praise and worship Him for His nature. Praise and worship differs from thanksgiving. We thank God for something specific He has done for us. Praise simply acknowledges who God is.

One way we can praise God is by praying through His names the Bible gives us. Here are a few resources to help:

In addition to hallowing God with our mouths during prayer, our lives should also bring Him glory. We can certainly make this part of our prayers. Ask God to shape and mold your life so that it hallows His name!

Your Kingdom Come

God’s Kingdom exists wherever He rules and reigns! When we pray for God’s Kingdom “to come,” we are asking God to establish and manifest His rule and reign. Matthew adds the phrase “your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” God’s rule and reign is full and complete in heaven. His Kingdom is firmly and eternally established.

Here are a few applicable ways you can pray for God’s Kingdom to come on earth:

  • Ask God to completely fulfill on earth what Jesus initiated. That would include the spread of the Gospel and others’ salvation.
  • Pray specifically for individuals, groups, places, countries, etc. who need to acknowledge God’s rule and reign.
  • God’s Kingdom should also be manifest in our own lives! That means we should yield to His authority over our lives and submit in obedience to His reign. Daily and in every thing. Ask Him to show you His will and then obey it.

How has Jesus’ model prayer encouraged your prayer life today?

Blessings,  Kathy

Jesus’ Prayer Lesson – Part One

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Have you ever asked God to teach you how to pray? I have. The disciples also asked Jesus how to pray. Jesus’ response, which we refer to as “The Lord’s Prayer” is recorded in Luke 11 and Matthew 6. Over the next three days we will examine these two passages.

Today, we will consider the general principles Jesus gave about how to pray and how not to pray that are found in the passages immediately surrounding this model prayer. Then tomorrow and the next day we will break down the prayer itself as a guide for our own prayer life.

“Lord, teach us to pray.”

The timing of the disciples’ request is not insignificant. Luke 11:1 tells us that Jesus Himself had been praying. When He finished, one disciple, acting as spokesman for the group, asked Jesus to teach them to pray like He prayed. Jesus’ example and His relationship with the Father had fostered a desire for the same within the disciples. (This truth made me ask myself: “Does my prayer life foster a desire in my children, friends, and family to pray?”)

Motivation

Jesus’ teaching on the proper attitude regarding prayer is similar to His teaching about giving to those in need, which is found in Matthew 6:1-4. In a nutshell, He tells us to examine our motives. Are we praying to bring glory and honor to ourselves or to God? Spiritual “hypocrites” pray to gain respect for themselves and admiration from others. They want others to know how “righteous” they are.

Jesus also told the disciples not to “keep babbling” when they pray. I love the KJV’s translation of “vain repetitions” in Matthew 6:7. Jesus did not mean we shouldn’t ever repeat requests or specific prayers to God. Instead, He wanted us to understand that reciting prayers without meaning or using flowery speech to call attention to ourselves does not bring glory to God.

Prayer done with the right motives is all about God. This kind of praying is sincere and heartfelt. We will not attempt to hide anything from God because we realize He knows it all anyway. We will be focused on God alone and not distracted by other people or things around us.

Boldness & Persistence

Jesus told a parable immediately following His model prayer. (See Luke 11:5-8.) While we should not equate God with the irritated neighbor we can learn principles for prayer from Jesus’ story. First, we can approach God with boldness in prayer. We do not have to hang back or fear His reaction. Jesus’ work on the cross makes it possible for us to “approach the throne of grace with confidence” (Heb 5:16). Second, we should be persistent in our prayers. Not voicing “vain repetitions” without meaning, but faithfully sharing your heart and needs with your heavenly Father, knowing He has the power and resources to answer.

Trust in the character of God

Finally, in Luke 11:11-13, Jesus reminds us of the character of the One to whom we pray. If earthly fathers give good gifts to their children, how much more will our heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask Him? Brothers and sisters, we can fully trust that our heavenly Father has our best interests at heart. He does not hesitate to give us what we need and pour out His blessings on those who ask. Let’s ask!

Do you trust Him? Does your prayer life reflect that trust?

Come back tomorrow for Part Two of The Lord’s Prayer.

Blessings,  Kathy

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