Pour Out Your Heart Through PrayerSample

Praying from Belovedness

When Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, he began by teaching them how not to pray. Don’t pray like the Pharisees; pray instead like little children. Don’t pray from insecurity; pray from belovedness. Don’t pray to get God’s approval and affection; pray from God’s approval and affection. Jesus is setting two postures before us. Our prayer lives depend on which posture we take, moment by moment, day after day.

The Scriptures often set before us two paths to evaluate side-by-side. We can build our house on the sand or on a solid foundation; we can take the broad path or the narrow one; we can remain in the darkness or live in the light. Moses’s famous words in Deuteronomy 30—though they are primarily about following God’s Word—form an appropriate secondary challenge to each of us as we compare insecure, performative spirituality with a secure, childlike spiritual life.

Jesus is doing nothing less than inviting us into the Father’s embrace. He’s challenging us to lay down our pride, self-sufficiency, and performative life. And he’s inviting us to approach God as Father—a good and loving, ever-present, all-knowing and all-powerful Father. He has set before us a way of life and death. And he’s compelling us, “Choose life!”

So the question is, do you want to live your whole life like a Pharisee? Or like a child? Consider the trajectory of your life and faith. How do you want to end up? Angry, moody, and murderous in heart? Always on the defense and proving yourself? Or would you rather operate out of a heart that is safe, stable, and open to the world? Able to laugh at misunderstandings instead of getting offended by them? Not having to prove yourself in every room? Free and secure.

Jesus offers you the choice.

Remembering the Truth (and Praying It)

This is where we must begin our praying lives: God is our good and loving Father. He has done all the work to prepare our adoption. Jesus is our atoning sacrifice (1 John 2:2). He was forsaken on the cross (Matthew 27:46) that we might be adopted. And now, he’s also our big brother, intercessor, and advocate (Romans 8:17, 29; Hebrews 7:25; 1 John 2:1). The Holy Spirit is God’s abiding presence within us and our promise of future good (1 Corinthians 3:16; Ephesians 1:14). He brings about our adoption (Romans 8:15–17). The Spirit takes our orphan’s heart, aching to be welcomed in, and transforms it into the heart of a beloved child.

Pray it now: God, you are my Father. Because of your Son’s work, I am already your beloved child—I do not have to perform to become one. Your love is better than life. In you, I have everything I need.

Thank you for reading!

This plan was adapted from Pour Out Your Heart by author Jeremy Linneman. Click here to learn more or purchase your copy.