January 3, 2022
The Lord’s Prayer
Luke 11:1 (ESV) — 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.”
Matthew 6:8–13 (ESV) —
9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread,
12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Jesus not only taught a lot about prayer, but his disciples noticed that he approached prayer differently than what they were used to (see Matthew 6:5-8). He was constantly stepping away from the demands of ministry and spending hours with the Father in prayer. There was a level of intimacy that he had with the Father that they craved, and that they failed to see in the religious leaders of that day. This led them to ask Jesus about his prayer life, and specifically, how he prayed so they could develop that intimate relationship with God as well.
The answer Jesus gave them was a model prayer that they could use to guide them into deeper intimacy with the Father. Often, we approach the Lord’s Prayer as some mantra to be rehearsed, that if we somehow repeat the words, then we’re automatically closer to God because that’s what Jesus prayed. Well, Jesus obviously prayed more than this prayer during His hours with the Father. The Lord’s Prayer, instead, is a guide that Jesus gave, showing us who we are praying to and what we are to actually be praying about.
Throughout these 40 days of prayer and fasting, we will take time to focus on the Lord’s Prayer as a guide to help us pray like Jesus and grow more dependent upon the Father through the Spirit, like Jesus did. Specifically, we are also going to use the Lord’s prayer to help us pray for the mission Jesus has called us to partner with Him in as the Church.
Consider:
Where has your prayer life grown stale, and how are you specifically hoping to become more like Jesus during these next 40 days?
Prayer Points:
Ask the Lord to give you open ears to hear and a willing heart to receive whatever the Spirit will say to you and our Church these next 40 days.
Luke 11:1 (ESV) — 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.”
Matthew 6:8–13 (ESV) —
9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread,
12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Jesus not only taught a lot about prayer, but his disciples noticed that he approached prayer differently than what they were used to (see Matthew 6:5-8). He was constantly stepping away from the demands of ministry and spending hours with the Father in prayer. There was a level of intimacy that he had with the Father that they craved, and that they failed to see in the religious leaders of that day. This led them to ask Jesus about his prayer life, and specifically, how he prayed so they could develop that intimate relationship with God as well.
The answer Jesus gave them was a model prayer that they could use to guide them into deeper intimacy with the Father. Often, we approach the Lord’s Prayer as some mantra to be rehearsed, that if we somehow repeat the words, then we’re automatically closer to God because that’s what Jesus prayed. Well, Jesus obviously prayed more than this prayer during His hours with the Father. The Lord’s Prayer, instead, is a guide that Jesus gave, showing us who we are praying to and what we are to actually be praying about.
Throughout these 40 days of prayer and fasting, we will take time to focus on the Lord’s Prayer as a guide to help us pray like Jesus and grow more dependent upon the Father through the Spirit, like Jesus did. Specifically, we are also going to use the Lord’s prayer to help us pray for the mission Jesus has called us to partner with Him in as the Church.
Consider:
Where has your prayer life grown stale, and how are you specifically hoping to become more like Jesus during these next 40 days?
Prayer Points:
Ask the Lord to give you open ears to hear and a willing heart to receive whatever the Spirit will say to you and our Church these next 40 days.
Posted in 2022 Prayer and Fasting