A PATTERN FOR PRAYER

LUKE 11:2-4 NKJ 
2 So He said to them, “When you pray, say: 
Our Father in heaven, 
Hallowed be Your name. 
Your kingdom come. 
Your will be done 
On earth as it is in heaven. 
3 Give us day by day our daily bread. 
4 And forgive us our sins, 
For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. 
And do not lead us into temptation, 
But deliver us from the evil one.” 

The disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray.  Jesus' response was what we have called The Lord's Prayer.  Luke's account is a bit different than Matthew's, but the basics are the same.  

If you look at this prayer as a pattern to build upon, it will give you a good basis for a prayer life.  Of course, you can repeat these words as is, but prayer is communication with our Heavenly Father, so as we grow, we want to expand on this pattern.   

We start with praise for our Father in Heaven and the greatness of His name.   

Your Kingdom come and will be done are asking for God's plans and purposes to be accomplished.  Notice we are praying about God's plans before we pray for our own.   

Give us this day our daily bread.  This is what we need for today and notice it's ok to ask.   

And forgive us as we forgive others.  This is something to do on a regular basis. As we go through our days it’s easy to pick up some knocks and dings, so keeping forgiveness at the forefront is a great idea.   

Lead us away from temptation and deliver us from evil we face.  This promotes an awareness that we live in a fallen world and need God's guidance and delivering help.   

APPLICATION 

Take this prayer pattern this week and begin to pray along these lines.  Start with the prayer as it stands, then add your heart and needs.   

Know that as you seek God to please and know Him, prayer time is not a waste of time.   

PRAYER 

Heavenly Father, You alone are great and wonderful.  Please teach me more about prayer and how to pray.