Lord, Teach Us to Pray

Pastor Gary Oser

One of the most important things we can do as Christians is pray. More can be accomplished through prayer than lots of other things we could do. As the last words of James 5:16 say, “The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (KJV).

I think our enemy, the devil, knows how vital prayer is, so he does everything he can to keep us from prioritizing prayer in our lives. When one day we stand before the Lord, we will all probably wish we had prayed more. I know personally I have not arrived when it comes to prayer; I have plenty of room to grow.

Over the next few months, I want to share with you on the subject of prayer. My desire is that we might become more effective in prayer.

The disciples once asked Jesus to teach them to pray. In response, He shared with them what is often referred to as “The Lord’s Prayer” (see Matthew 6:9-13). I don’t think Jesus meant for us to mindlessly “say” the prayer, but rather use it as a pattern.

First, He began with God and things that concern Him. When we pray, we need to remember that God is our heavenly Father. We need to take time to reflect on who He is—His attributes. We need to focus on His name, His Kingdom and His will. How much time do we spend praying for these things compared to health and personal needs?

Second, after first focusing on requests related to God and His Kingdom, Jesus encourages us to pray for some things related to our needs. He encourages us to pray concerning our daily bread, the necessities of life. Next, we are to pray for forgiveness, that God would forgive us as we extend forgiveness to others. Finally, we are encouraged to pray that we would be aware of Satan’s schemes to tempt us and that we would be victorious over them.

The prayer ends on a note of praise and adoration: ”For yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” It is always good to end our praying on a note of praise and glorifying God.

As you pray, I hope you will think about the pattern Jesus gave us in the Lord’s Prayer. I hope you will incorporate things that Jesus shared in this prayer in your own daily praying.