For a majority of my Christian life, any time there was an opportunity to pray out loud, I would quickly shy away. Not that I didn’t think prayer was essential or necessary, but I was fearful that I would do it wrong. I would hear people pray and I was convinced that my prayers weren’t good enough, which led me not to pray at all. My insecurity to pray out loud made its way into my other areas of prayer. I found myself not wanting to pray for others or even myself. I let the opinions of others dictate the fruitfulness of my communication with God. Then, I came across a passage in Matthew where Jesus was teaching his disciples how to pray. And if the guys who walked with Jesus needed to learn to pray, then why would I be any different!

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil Matthew 6:9-13

GOD IS OUR FATHER & WE ARE HIS CHILDREN (v. 9) Before a request was made or a complaint spoken, God is praised for who He is. God is Holy, Mighty and Sovereign. Our prayers should always begin with the recognition of who God is and not about ourselves. Through prayer, we have access to God and this access is an immense privilege. When we come to God, we are fully admitting that we don’t have it together and we need Him because He is perfect, and we are not. When you pray, you are not talking to a distant figure or unknown entity. You are speaking with your Father who created you and called you His own. “Hallowed be your name” is the admission that all praise and glory belong to God. When we see God correctly, we see ourselves correctly.

GOD’S PLAN IS BETTER THAN OUR PLAN (v. 10) When we have a right view of God, it begins to shape the rest of our prayer. When God is seated properly on His throne, we realize that our plan doesn’t seem so important. Instead of reciting a list of desires and perceived needs, we can come to God knowing that He is in control. This is how our prayer life moves from being transactional to relational. We see here that Jesus loves the business of God. Jesus recognizes that the things of God are the most important things. Before expressing a single need, Jesus expresses His desire to see all things made new and the will of God be completed here on earth. Jesus wants to live a life in full acknowledgment and submission to the plan God has for Him. GOD MEETS OUR EVERY NEED (v. 11) When our aim is the things of God, our requests are put into perspective. Thankfully, our God is in the details and God cares about the needs of His children. However, the line begins to get blurry when our perceived needs are not our real needs. The hope is that if we are focused on the will of God for our lives, we know that He will provide for us. Jesus asked for bread, not for the month or for the year, but for the day. Today, what do you need from God? Do you need peace or joy? Do you need wisdom and guidance? God is in complete control; all we have to do is ask God and He is good and faithful to give us what He knows we need. WE’RE FORGIVEN; THEREFORE WE MUST FORGIVE (v. 12) After giving over our needs to God, we must look at our lives. Looking to God alone for forgiveness of sins and the restoration that comes from it. Jesus lets us know that part of our regular prayer life should be coming to God with a heart of repentance towards sin. Living a life submitted to God is laying aside anything that weighs us down and moves our hearts away from bringing Him glory. This practice not only strengthens our relationship and obedience to God, but it moves us to better relationships with others. A life of submission to God and acknowledgment of sin leads us to have a heart of grace and forgiveness towards others, even our enemies. WE HAVE A REAL ENEMY (v. 13) Our needs have been given over to God, our sins have been declared, we have checked our own unforgiveness towards others and now we look to God for strength. Jesus encourages us to remember that the battle we’re in is a spiritual one. We live with the threat of a real enemy, who seeks to devour us and kill us. The Christian must always be on guard against sin and know that our strength comes from God alone. We can’t fight the enemy in our own power, but it’s the power of God that protects and sustains us. Most of the time, we are afraid of what we don’t know. And for me, that meant learning how to pray in such a way that brings God glory. Jesus teaches us how to talk to the Father; all we have to do is be obedient in doing so. Cry out to your Father; He is faithful to listen.