Teach Us To Pray (Week 1 Prayer, Day 1)

"Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” Luke 11:1

God has given us a great tool to connect with Him called prayer. The Disciples observed Jesus engaging in this discipline and desired to know how to participate. We should also have the same desire, for it is a command from Jesus that we employ in prayer, and it is needful for us to maintain our relationship with God. In verse two of this same chapter, Christ says, "when you pray," not if you pray. Therefore, it is easy to conclude that we must pray, but for many, prayer is an obscure uncomfortable thing. So, the question then is, how do we do this thing called prayer?

Some things to consider about prayer:

• It's a discipline.

  • Prayer is something we do.

  • Prayer is something we practice.

  • Prayer is something we grow in.

• It's a conversation with God.

  • Simply talk to God like you would anyone else.

  • It can feel strange at first because we are used to seeing the person we speak to, and we cannot see God but talk to Him anyway because we are promised that He hears us (1 Peter 3:12, 1 John 5:15).

  • God wants to hear us talk to Him, but He also wants us to listen to Him speak. It's a conversation.

• It's personal

  • Jesus said: "When you pray, say: 'Father'" (Luke 11:2).

  • It's between us and God, our heavenly Father.

  • It's a safe place for us to share.

• It's NOT Complicated

  • There is no secret formula we must learn. Just talk to God.

  • There is no extraordinary achievement we need to reach to hear God. Read His word because that is Him speaking to us.

  • Pray what He told us to pray in the scriptures.

How to get started

Let's start with how Jesus taught us to begin by recognizing our Heavenly Father and how great He is.

"Father, hallowed be your name." Luke 11:2

What does "hallowed" mean? It means honored or holy and separated from everyone else. God, our Father, is not like everyone else because He is God and is sacred. Even in His great honor, He is our Father. Think of it this way, we are allowed to speak to the most powerful being ever because He has adopted us to be His children.

Prayer starts by us recognizing two essential things, relationship and honor. We must understand our relationship with God and how great He is. Everything we do in prayer is built off of these two things Jesus declares to us at the beginning of this prayer. We shouldn't even be allowed to speak to Him, but in His grace and mercy, He sent Jesus to break the barrier so that we could be connected to God the Father and so that He could become our Father.

Therefore,

Prayer must begin with worship and adoration to our Father. We are of Him now that we have been born again, and for that alone, we must praise Him. One form of praise we use is singing. We have a good Father that provides for us, so we should show our gratitude by singing to Him. This is why we do this in our services, but it should not be limited to that, nor should it be limited to songs you know. I am reminded of different times when my kids have sang for me and made up their on silly songs. One time in particular my oldest decided to make up a song for her Grammy K on her birthday. We just so happened to catch it on video.

Hearing her song brought joy to my heart, just like our singing brings joy to our Father's.

Let's Begin

Remember prayer is an activity so that means we must DO something. As we begin this 21-day journey today, let's start with an activity. This may be strange, but give it a try and see what God does. As you begin to pray open up with a song to your Father. You can sing a song that is familiar to you, or if you are brave, you can make up your own song of praise. The key is to remember who you are singing it too, our Father in heaven. Ready? Let's Go!

Our Father

Now that you have put yourself out there it is also important to know that we have a good Father that takes care of us. We are not here for his entertainment, but our songs build relationship with Him. As our Father He longs to provide for us, watch over us, and The Bible says this:

"The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing." Zephaniah 3:17

Let's pause for a moment and think about or meditate on this verse and the fact that not only do we sing to Him, but God sings over us. Do you remember your parents singing over you when you were a child or maybe as a parent you have sang over your children. He is a present Father, "in our midst," and He rejoices over us! As we move into prayer today let Him quiet your soul with His love and listen to Him sing over you. He says,

He Himself will deliver you from the hunter’s net, from the destructive plague. He will cover you with His feathers; Psalms 91:3-4

And...

Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

Now as you continue to pray, thank Him for being your Father...

• What does this mean to you? Tell Him!

• Thank Him for keeping you this day.

• Thank Him for loving you.

• Keep the conversation going...