Pray

MATTHEW 6:9-13

Pray, then, in this way: Our Father who is 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 do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Mark 1:35

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He departed and went out to a desolate place, and there [Jesus] prayed.

Brief Overview

Jesus tells us to pray. He gives us a model for how to have a personal conversation with God and He frequently sought out time alone with the Father.

Key Points

  • What does your prayer life look like? Carve out a time and place to be consistent.
  • You can use PRAY (Praise, Repent, Ask, Yield) as a model for how to pray.
  • Let the Holy Spirit lead you.

Common Questions

God always responds to our prayers. While He might say no, and this is terribly hard when we believe we are praying for good and beautiful things, you can rest assured that God always answers. But, when He doesn’t answer in the way we desire, we can remember Jesus’ teaching from Matthew 7. Here He promises that if fathers on earth know how to give good gifts to their children, “how much more will your Father who is in Heaven give good things to those who ask him!” When we ask, God our Father will give good things, but it doesn’t say that He will give us exactly what we ask for. Tim Keller writes, “God always gives you what you would have asked for if you knew everything that He knows.” While this doesn’t make it easier when God says no, it does allow us to eventually rest in God’s goodness, even when we can’t see or understand what He is doing in our lives.

Resources