The Lord's Prayer
OVERVIEW.
When Jesus was on earth, he taught his disciples to pray the well-known and ancient prayer we have come to call “The Lord’s Prayer” or the “Our Father.” When Jesus taught his disciples about prayer, he didn’t tell them to pray more or to pray harder, but to pray differently. In doing so, he was offering them a model to follow in their own prayers.
PRACTICE.
Using the acronym P.R.A.Y. which stands for pause, rejoice, ask, and yield, is a helpful way to remember how practice the Lord's Prayer.
Pause: "Our Father, who art in heaven..."
In pausing, we take time to re-orient our focus from our own perspective and agenda, to God's. To aid in this transition, it is helpful to work through three movements:
1. Remember Who God Is: Our Father
2. Remember Who We Are: Beloved
3. Remember Who We Are To Each Other: Sisters & Brothers
Spend some time praying by naming who God is. This could sound like “God, thank you that you are my Defender.” or “Father, thank you that you are Healer.” or something about God as Creator, Father, Provider, Teacher, Redeemer, Savior, etc. Next, allow God to remind you what He thinks of you. This can be through scripture or by asking God to reveal your belovedness in a new way. Finally, spend some time orienting your heart towards others who need prayer. Ask God to highlight someone, or a group of people whom you could intercede for.
Rejoice: "...hallowed be thy name..."
Now that we have re-centered ourselves through pausing, we recognize and proclaim that all that we have is from God. In rejoicing we express joy, we reflect on His goodness to us, and we express worship to God.
Spend some time reflecting on the goodness of God in your life, and then let that flow into a time of expressing your love and gratitude to Him. Declare with your own words the blessings of God in your life and thank Him for His faithfulness. See how David conveys the Psalms for an example of this.
Ask: "...give us this day our daily bread..."
Recognizing the blessings of God leads us to the place of recognizing the limits of our own agency, and our need for Him. Jesus tells us to ask for what we need, not because God is unaware, but because it is an opportunity to submit control of our lives to Him.
Take time to submit your needs, and the needs of others to Jesus. Pray for breakthrough, whether it be financial, physical, or any other kind. As you pray, submit control of these things to Him in your heart and allow Him to carry the burden of providing for our needs and the needs of the world.
Yield: "...your kingdom come, your will be done..."
In yielding we surrender our will to God’s will. We affirm that it’s by surrendering to God we overcome, by emptying ourselves that we are filled, and by yielding our lives in prayer that our lives themselves become a prayer.
Spend some time asking God to reveal any rebellion in your heart towards his loving rule of your life. Ask Him if there is any mistrust or fear of the future in you heart and release that to Him. Finish this time with declaring the sovereignty and faithfulness of the Lord over your life and all mankind.
When your time is done, ask God to continue to remind you all who he is, who you are, and who we are to each other.
When Jesus was on earth, he taught his disciples to pray the well-known and ancient prayer we have come to call “The Lord’s Prayer” or the “Our Father.” When Jesus taught his disciples about prayer, he didn’t tell them to pray more or to pray harder, but to pray differently. In doing so, he was offering them a model to follow in their own prayers.
PRACTICE.
Using the acronym P.R.A.Y. which stands for pause, rejoice, ask, and yield, is a helpful way to remember how practice the Lord's Prayer.
Pause: "Our Father, who art in heaven..."
In pausing, we take time to re-orient our focus from our own perspective and agenda, to God's. To aid in this transition, it is helpful to work through three movements:
1. Remember Who God Is: Our Father
2. Remember Who We Are: Beloved
3. Remember Who We Are To Each Other: Sisters & Brothers
Spend some time praying by naming who God is. This could sound like “God, thank you that you are my Defender.” or “Father, thank you that you are Healer.” or something about God as Creator, Father, Provider, Teacher, Redeemer, Savior, etc. Next, allow God to remind you what He thinks of you. This can be through scripture or by asking God to reveal your belovedness in a new way. Finally, spend some time orienting your heart towards others who need prayer. Ask God to highlight someone, or a group of people whom you could intercede for.
Rejoice: "...hallowed be thy name..."
Now that we have re-centered ourselves through pausing, we recognize and proclaim that all that we have is from God. In rejoicing we express joy, we reflect on His goodness to us, and we express worship to God.
Spend some time reflecting on the goodness of God in your life, and then let that flow into a time of expressing your love and gratitude to Him. Declare with your own words the blessings of God in your life and thank Him for His faithfulness. See how David conveys the Psalms for an example of this.
Ask: "...give us this day our daily bread..."
Recognizing the blessings of God leads us to the place of recognizing the limits of our own agency, and our need for Him. Jesus tells us to ask for what we need, not because God is unaware, but because it is an opportunity to submit control of our lives to Him.
Take time to submit your needs, and the needs of others to Jesus. Pray for breakthrough, whether it be financial, physical, or any other kind. As you pray, submit control of these things to Him in your heart and allow Him to carry the burden of providing for our needs and the needs of the world.
Yield: "...your kingdom come, your will be done..."
In yielding we surrender our will to God’s will. We affirm that it’s by surrendering to God we overcome, by emptying ourselves that we are filled, and by yielding our lives in prayer that our lives themselves become a prayer.
Spend some time asking God to reveal any rebellion in your heart towards his loving rule of your life. Ask Him if there is any mistrust or fear of the future in you heart and release that to Him. Finish this time with declaring the sovereignty and faithfulness of the Lord over your life and all mankind.
When your time is done, ask God to continue to remind you all who he is, who you are, and who we are to each other.