We learned earlier that God talks to us in the Bible. In prayer, you are talking with God. He knows you better and loves you more than any friend. He wants to spend time with you and hear from you.
God is more than a friend. He is the Lord Almighty. He is able to do things for you and knows the right way to help. To know what God is like, just look to Jesus (John 1:18).
When Jesus’ disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray, He gave a model prayer, often known as the “Our Father” or “The Lord’s Prayer” (Matthew 6:9-13). It is not a magic formula to be repeated over and over to gain His favor. Rather, it gives some keys for relating to Him. Let’s look at some of them:
It starts with worship
Our Father in Heaven, holy is Your name.
We should approach God with deep respect, knowing at the same time that He is our loving Father. We are called to love God with all that we are. We worship Him and declare that His name is holy. We pray that more and more people would see this.
We align ourselves with His will
Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven
God has a great plan for the world and for His people. We should find out how we fit into that plan. His plan for today includes something for us to do. And we ask Him to exercise His mighty power to make things right, here on earth. The more our prayers agree with His purpose, the more He delights in answering them.
We ask for the things we need
Give us today our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
After we worship and accept His plan, we talk about our own needs. “Daily bread” means the basics: Food, clothing, and shelter; and we are aware every day that He is the one who provides.
When we say “Forgive us our debts,” we remember that He has graciously forgiven our sins -- a “debt” too large for us to ever pay back. Jesus lived a perfect life and shed His blood on the cross. He paid that debt forever. Because He lives in us now, we are able to forgive others. We can be set free from bitterness and broken relationships.
We ask for protection
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Though we are God’s children, we still tend to sin. So we ask Him, through the Holy Spirit, to guide us away from tempting situations. Also, we have an enemy, Satan, whose goal is to "steal, kill, and destroy" (John 10:10). We ask for protection from God who can help us no matter what we are going through.
Look to Jesus in Prayer
The more we spend time with God in prayer and in His word, the more we know Him and love Him. The more our hearts beat with His. The more like Jesus we become.
What have you asked God for? Does it seem like he's not listening? Talk to a caring Christian who will help you pray for God's will in your life.