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Prayer is a fundamental component of every religion that recognizes a sovereign deity, including biblical Christianity. It is therefore no accident that Jesus gave prayer special emphasis when he instructed his disciples on worship that pleases God (See Matthew 6:1-18). This raises the question: What matters most in prayer?
The answers to that question are found in the pattern for prayer, given by Jesus, and by the crucial explanation with which he concluded that pattern. This pattern, commonly known as "The Lord's Prayer" is found in Matthew 6:9-15 and Luke 11:2-4.
In this article we will be exploring the pattern from Matthew 6 and the four lessons found within that pattern and instruction.
Lesson #1 -- Know to whom you are speaking.
The fundamental nature of prayer for one who has believed in Jesus as his/her Savior and Lord is that he/she is speaking to his/her Father in heaven. Prayer that God hears is the expression of a relationship of trust, springing from knowing God as "Father." This is demonstrated in Jesus' instruction to pray "Our Father who is in heaven." That immediately raises the crucial question: Do you? Have you experienced the restoration of the relationship with your Creator for which you were created? That comes through faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus himself explained that "No one comes to the Father but through me." (John 14:6)
Lesson #2 -- Seek first the kingdom of God.
Jesus' pattern for prayer is balanced on two primary concerns, God and his glory, and then our needs. Seeking the priority of God's kingdom (God's rule) includes seeking that his name would be acknowledged and honored ("Hallowed be your name"), seeking that his rule would be experienced in the present ("Your kingdom come"), and that his will would be fulfilled here on earth ("Your will be done") just as it is in heaven. Each aspect of this first focus of prayer must find its fulfillment in the life of the one praying. If we are not recognizing God's holiness and responding to him as such, and if we are not submitting to his rule over us, and if we are not doing His will here and now, how would we ever expect others to do so?
Lesson #3 -- Let your requests be made to your Father.
The second concern in our pattern for prayer is personal, our daily bread, the forgiveness of our "debts," that we not be led into temptation, and that we be delivered from the evil one. In each of these requests we are acknowledging our total dependence on God. Through prayer we are confidently relying on our Father who already knows what we need (see Matt. 6:8). We are relying on God for that which is material (daily bread), relational (forgive us as we forgive others), and spiritual (lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one).
Lesson #4 -- Remember the forgiveness you've received and extend it to others.
After giving us this pattern for prayer Jesus then explains something vitally important about one aspect of that pattern, the request that God forgive us as we forgive others. If the fatherhood of God is the fundamental nature of prayer, the forgiveness of God is the fundamental basis for one's approach to God in prayer. Those who have experienced God's forgiveness are compelled by the Spirit to extend their own forgiveness to others (see Eph. 4:32). Conversely, to ask for God's forgiveness while refusing to forgive another is hypocritical. It demonstrates that such a person knows nothing of God's forgiveness. He or she has not tasted the goodness of the Lord.
This pattern for prayer was given not so much to be recited as to be followed in each of its aspects. The question is: Are you? Is your practice of prayer founded on a personal relationship with God, your Creator, as your Father, through your faith in Jesus Christ? Is your practice of prayer balanced with as much concern for God's kingdom and his righteousness as it is for your needs? And is your practice of prayer rooted in your experience of God's forgiveness such that you are always ready to forgive others? This is the prayer that God wants to hear.
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Finding Faith is written by area pastors. This week's column comes from Pastor Doug Packard of First Baptist Church, Lock Haven.