Teach Us to Pray

This past week at Cornerstone, our pastor reminded us to "focus on prayer." This topic excites me because it has only been recently that I have found joy in prayer again.

Believe it or not many believers struggle with talking to God.
Don't believe me?
Take a walk down the "Christian Living" section of your local bookstore one Saturday afternoon. Most likely, you will find book after book devoted to prayer. Some are thin, others are thick, and all of them attempt to answer a question that has been asked by mankind for thousands of years: "How do we pray?"
While Jesus was here on earth, the apostles (the twelve men that served with Jesus during His earthly ministry) asked Him for one lesson (Lucado, 3). They didn't ask how to turn water into wine or raise people from the dead like we might have been tempted to do; no, they asked, "Lord, teach us to pray (Luke 11:1) (Lucado, 3)." 

Jesus did not deny them this request. He proceeded to teach them the following prayer,
"Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen (Matthew 6: 9-13 KJV)." 

We commonly know this passage as "The Lord's Prayer." Did it come to you? Did you quote it mechanically from years of exposure and recitation? If that was your experience, I encourage you to dust off the cob webs and allow the Holy Spirit to breathe new life into this passage for you. If you are not familiar with this prayer you can find it in Matthew 6 and Luke 11:2-4. I encourage you to read these verses and become familiar with what Jesus was teaching his disciples. Reading this prayer, again or for the first time, will be a great asset to you as you "focus on prayer" this year.

Back to the bookstore... If you go down the aisle and find a book entitle Before Amen by Max Lucado, pick it up. This is a short book on prayer with a powerful message. Max Lucado's fresh perspective was just was the doctor ordered for my prayer life and I believe it will help yours as well. 

In this book he outlines a way to pray "pocket sized prayers." This basically means that it is a prayer you can use throughout your day. Like this: "Father, You are good. I need help. They need help. Thank you. In Jesus' name, Amen." By using this simple prayer we eliminate the boundaries created by ourselves and others and go straight to the heart of God with all of our needs -- any time, any place.

Now, I'm not going to rewrite Lucado's book but I do want to share his main point with you. He attempts to communicate that if we use this simple prayer then we will have learned to pray just as the disciples did and we will be good at it. 

Caitlin, it's not right for someone to say they're good at prayer.

Why not? That means they are good at talking with God. This pleases Him. This should be our goal. You see, if more believers utilized prayer the way Jesus taught us to, we would see a greater change in the world, in the church, in our families, and in our personal lives.

This week I encourage you to pocket pray at least once every day. Do as Philippians 4:6 tells us and take every request to God (even the things that seem insignificant) because He cares for you. He cares so much that He said in the following verse: "...the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (v.7)." As you pray this week, be on the look out for God's overwhelming peace. That will be the first response. The rest of your answer is coming...

Citations:
Lucado, Max. Before Amen: The Power of a Simple Prayer. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2014. Print.