Matthew 6:7-13
When you pray, don’t talk on and on as people do who don’t know God. They think God likes to hear long prayers. Don’t be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask.
You should pray like this:
Our Father in heaven, help us to honor your name.
Come and set up your kingdom, so that everyone on earth will obey you, as you are obeyed in heaven. Give us our food for today. Forgive us for doing wrong, as we forgive others. Keep us from being tempted and protect us from evil.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
The second/third graders and I studied an excellent model for prayer a few weeks ago, and I think it bears offering today for us to consider. I’m paraphrasing, but it goes something like this:
P – Praise God for all that He has done for us.
R – Repent - humble yourself before God and confess that you have sinned.
A – Ask God to meet your needs and those of others.
Y – Yield to God’s will.
This is a simplified version of Jesus’ guideline…perhaps one we can more readily understand and put into practice. Many of our prayers tend to be dull…and somewhat repetitive and monotonous. If we are not careful, we can get into a rut of offering God our words…but not our heart. Using this guideline helps us to tailor each conversation with God to what is happening in that moment.
In the course of a day, there are moments when all we need to say is simply, “Father, help me.” There are other times when we need to talk to God and thank Him for all of His blessings. I have read recommendations that immediately upon waking up each morning, we should tell God how grateful we are for Him and ask Him to bless and guide our day. This would be a good time to use the “P.R.A.Y.” model to get things off to a good start!
When a prayer request or need pops up on my Facebook wall – or I hear of something during the day – I like to stop right then and whisper a prayer for that person or situation. My point is that while there is a time and place for the “P.R.A.Y.” model to be enacted fully…there are dozens of opportunities throughout the day for us to reach out to God through brief communications. No utterance is too small…God cherishes every conversation!
HOW you pray is not as important as the fact that you maintain a continual dialogue with God. Let’s stop getting caught up in ritual and man-made notions that we have to be lengthy and eloquent - and simply begin a prayerful conversation. God already knows what we will say…He’s just waiting to hear you say it! Have you spoken with Him lately?
©2016 Debbie Robus
When you pray, don’t talk on and on as people do who don’t know God. They think God likes to hear long prayers. Don’t be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask.
You should pray like this:
Our Father in heaven, help us to honor your name.
Come and set up your kingdom, so that everyone on earth will obey you, as you are obeyed in heaven. Give us our food for today. Forgive us for doing wrong, as we forgive others. Keep us from being tempted and protect us from evil.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
The second/third graders and I studied an excellent model for prayer a few weeks ago, and I think it bears offering today for us to consider. I’m paraphrasing, but it goes something like this:
P – Praise God for all that He has done for us.
R – Repent - humble yourself before God and confess that you have sinned.
A – Ask God to meet your needs and those of others.
Y – Yield to God’s will.
This is a simplified version of Jesus’ guideline…perhaps one we can more readily understand and put into practice. Many of our prayers tend to be dull…and somewhat repetitive and monotonous. If we are not careful, we can get into a rut of offering God our words…but not our heart. Using this guideline helps us to tailor each conversation with God to what is happening in that moment.
In the course of a day, there are moments when all we need to say is simply, “Father, help me.” There are other times when we need to talk to God and thank Him for all of His blessings. I have read recommendations that immediately upon waking up each morning, we should tell God how grateful we are for Him and ask Him to bless and guide our day. This would be a good time to use the “P.R.A.Y.” model to get things off to a good start!
When a prayer request or need pops up on my Facebook wall – or I hear of something during the day – I like to stop right then and whisper a prayer for that person or situation. My point is that while there is a time and place for the “P.R.A.Y.” model to be enacted fully…there are dozens of opportunities throughout the day for us to reach out to God through brief communications. No utterance is too small…God cherishes every conversation!
HOW you pray is not as important as the fact that you maintain a continual dialogue with God. Let’s stop getting caught up in ritual and man-made notions that we have to be lengthy and eloquent - and simply begin a prayerful conversation. God already knows what we will say…He’s just waiting to hear you say it! Have you spoken with Him lately?
©2016 Debbie Robus
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