HEAL - God's Heart for Healing in LukeSample

How to Pray

We can’t justifiably say that we don’t know how to pray, because Jesus clearly gave us instruction on how to pray. And we’re told to pray incessantly. 

In today’s passage, He said, “When you pray, say….” He may not have meant that we should always say exactly the same prayer, but we can certainly use this model as guidance. First, He let us know that we can go directly to The Father and in doing so we should show Him the reverence He is due and acknowledge His holiness---“Our Father in Heaven, hallowed is your name…”. Secondly, submission to His will is important---“Your kingdom come. Your will be done. On earth as it is in heaven.” Next, we are to kindly ask for today’s provision...not tomorrow’s provision, next week or next month’s…just today’s. That reminds us to value the moment, trust in Him one day at a time, don’t worry about the future. And the next thing He says is to ask for forgiveness of our sins. Notice how He suggests that we ask the Father to forgive us just like we are forgiving of others who have sinned against us. Oh my goodness, did He really say that? Yes, He did. We should ask Him to forgive in the same manner that we are forgiving. I don’t know about you, but I need a whole lot of improvement in my forgiving of others!! The next request is about sin as well. We are to ask our Father to help us stay away from temptation.  

It’s important to note what is NOT in the model prayer of Jesus. He does not mention a request for healing of our physical bodies. Surely, He was aware of the frailty of the human body; however, He did not mention physical healing in His prayer. That certainly doesn’t mean we shouldn’t request healing because He clearly instructs us to bring all of our cares to Him, no matter what, but He has not emphasized physical healing in His model prayer. In fact, we should ask the Father for whatever concerns us and that He will hear our prayer. But in His instructions on how to pray in general, He emphasizes acknowledging our Father’s greatness, the need to submit to His authority, the importance of forgiveness, and the importance of relying on Him daily for our needs. Now we know how to pray.

QUESTIONS:

1. Am I talking to God often?
2. Am I relying on Him to meet my needs?
3. Am I living for today or trying to map out the future?