Prayer Practices Part 1
The Lords Prayer
Prayer is a strange thing. For many of us there are seasons when it comes easy to us. And there are other times when it gets squeezed out because we have other things to do.
We get busy, maybe for some of us we get bord or distracted, maybe we make excuses like I cant turn my brain off, when I start praying my mind shifts to groceries and plans for the next week. And then instead of praying we pick up our phone, or anything else. And then for some of us the guilt starts to push in. I’m not good at this, there must be something wrong with me.
If you struggle with prayer, you are not alone. For many of us, prayer becomes like eating our vegetables, we know it is good for our health, but few of us enjoy it.
So what is prayer?
Prayer is the medium through which we communicate and commune with God. Eugene Peterson described Prayer as technology. He described humans as uniquely set up to uses tools. We need them, and prayer, according to Peterson is a tool for being and becoming.
Prayer is not just a tool to get things. It is a tool for becoming.
“Prayer is both conversation and encounter with God…We must know the awe of praising his glory, the intimacy of finding his grace, and the struggle of asking his help, all of which can lead us to know the spiritual reality of his presence.”
~Tim Keller
For context Jesus went on his own often to pray. In Luke chapter 5 verse 15-16, Luke wrote that Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. It was pretty common for him to spend the night praying, or to get up early for prayer. It seems clear that Jesus was empowered by prayer. When Jesus was asked to teach his followers about prayer, he didn’t give them a lecture on prayer or a doctrine of prayer. He actually gave them a prayer they could pray, a quotable, and portable prayer, The Lord’s Prayer is a theology for prayer. So let’s break down The Lords Prayer from Matthew 6:9-13.
Our Father in heaven..
Notice he starts with Our Father, not my father. Our prayers are not isolated even when they are private. We prayer with others, because once we have been given new life in Christ, we are also brought into a family and we become a part of a whole. Later in the prayer you can see give us, forgive us, lead us, deliver us. And of course he teaches us to address Him as our Father which is mind blowing lets be honest. This was new for the Jewish people. They recognized God as King and sovereign, and creator but not father.
…hallowed be your name.
What does this mean? To hallow means to revere and respect the holiness or the uniqueness of God. And lets be clear, God does not need us to remind him of how great he is. He already knows this, but we need to be reminded. This prayer is that God would be known and celebrated by everyone. That his name would be recognized for his greatness.
Think about how different this might be from what we normally expect from prayer. We might want to get things from God, we might want to feel happier or less stressed, and all of these things are fine and good, but Jesus said here is where I want you to start. Start by recognizing who God is, and once you sit in that for a moment…. You may find a desire to have others know him as well.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
This begins to open our eyes to our mandate, or our assignment. Because Jesus asked us to pray this, we can assume that there is work to be done and that His kingdom has not yet fully come. I’ve heard it said this is not a prayer of resignation where we say, God there is nothing we can do, you do your will – it’s a prayer of participation. This also reminds us that our prayers make a difference, so there is a sense of expectation that comes with this part of the prayer.
The prayer shifts now to things Jesus asked us to ask about ourselves. And there are three asks…
Give us this day our daily bread,
This is a prayer for daily provisions. This is a posture of surrender where we learn to trust on a daily basis that God sustains us. There is a call back here to the mana in the wilderness where God provided food every day for his people as they wondered, but what they collected would not last to the next day, so they had to trust him again. God wants us to ask. And when we trust him to provide we learn something about contentment right?
Rather than strive for the next best thing, God says leave it with me to provide what you need.
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
This is a prayer for daily forgiveness. It’s a reminder for us to accept God’s grace through Jesus, and to embody that same grace to others. When we ask for forgiveness we remember God’s grace. When Jesus talked about forgiveness, he told a parable about someone who was forgiven but failed to forgive others, and the story was meant to be an indictment. If you aren’t gracious to others, chances are you haven’t considered God’s grace.
And lastly….
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.[d]
This is a prayer for daily strength and protection. This final ask recognizes that there is a spiritual battle and that we are powerless without the Spirits influence.
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When Jesus’ disciples asked him to teach them how to pray, Jesus gave them a prayer. Prayer is supposed to be free flowing and spontaneous. That’s the mark of a true relationship. Maybe for you pre made prayers feel impersonal or inauthentic or too intellectual.
But there is a reason that Jesus gave us a model prayer. Because sometimes we could use some help, and sometimes we need prompters to help guide our minds while we pray. At times reading prayers reminds us that we are not alone, that we join with believers through history as we worship the same God. Sometimes reading prayers helps us find words that make things clear to us.
There are a few times when reading prayers might be helpful.
1. When you are first learning to pray.
2. When you are exhausted and you are having a hard time focusing. Maybe you have a newborn, or you are in a busy time at school. You
have tests or exams or other things that are making you distracted.
3. When you are unwell emotionally or physically.
4. When you are having trouble articulating what you are feeling and you need help finding the words to express your heart to God.
5. When you are in a time where you aren’t feeling as close to God as you have in the past.
Other pre-made prayers that we can use:
1. The Lords Prayer (the most famous pre-made prayer).
2. The Psalms (sometimes the Psalms are called the Bible’s prayerbook).
3. Other Scripture. You may find other places to read that you can pray back to God as you read them.
4. Singing is also a kind of pre-made prayer.
5. You may find other liturgy helpful.
6. There are a few apps to help as well, such as Echo App.
Here are two really simple practical ways that will help you engage with prayer:
1. Create a daily prayer rhythm: The best way to learn to pray is to be praying.
So how do we do this? Simple is better. If you don’t have a daily habit, start small. What may help is to have a location, like a chair by the window, or at your office desk before you start the day. It could be in your car on the way to work, or just being with your Bible at the kitchen table.
Have you ever heard people say that if you want to run in the morning try putting your shoes by your bed? So when you wake up you are reminded of your intentions. For prayer you may want to open your Bible to the Psalm you want to read in the morning, or you could post a scripture reference on a sticky note in the bathroom mirror. Whatever you do commit to a daily rhythm.
2 Pick out a pre-made prayer and talk to God
The Psalms, scripture, a song, we have already touched on a few options here. Pick something and recognize that pre made prayers are not absent of meaning, they can be incredibly helpful to focus and shape our prayer.