Lord's Prayer: Our Father in HeavenSample

Talking about prayer is one thing. Actually praying is another. Sometimes we don’t know how to pray. Let’s not miss the obvious. When Jesus gives us the Lord’s Prayer, it’s to teach us how to pray.

Let’s talk about technique. Some are afraid that when they pray, they might not be doing it right. So God might not answer them. They wonder: Am I praying enough? Or too much? Am I actually talking to God or just talking to myself in my head? Am I saying the right words? Does God understand me? Am I somehow getting in my own way? Do I have enough faith to be heard?

Then there’s what we pray about. How often does our prayer life center on just asking God for things?

Then there’s the struggle of knowing what to say. Some struggle to pray in their own words. Others try, but all their prayers seem flat and boil down to phrases like “We just ask that…” or “Lord, be with…” Others don’t know how to focus. Their prayers become a rambling stream of consciousness like an overly talkative middle schooler who doesn’t know when to be still or listen.

Prayer is a natural expression of the heart. But it’s also a skill to learn. That’s why Jesus tells us how to pray. He knows we can approach it with wrong assumptions, get stale, or fall into our own head games. So he gives us the Lord’s Prayer.

When Jesus tells us to pray the Lord’s Prayer, he’s not saying we’re supposed to simply repeat the fixed, rote words. Instead he’s giving us a template. The Lord’s Prayer is a collection of focal points. It directs us from things we tend to focus on towards things God wants us to focus on. Because prayer also shapes us. And Jesus is shaping us towards a different set of expectations for approaching God and life.

Consider this today…

Instead of simply repeating the Lord’s Prayer, how can you use the Lord’s Prayer as a springboard of focal points to talk about with God? Try it today.

If this plan helped you orient towards Jesus’s perspective on life and the future, we encourage you to subscribe to the other “Lord’s Prayer” plans. Next is Lord's Prayer: Hallowed Be Thy Name.