Most of us already know that prayer is a very important part of growing spiritually and building a strong relationship with God. But sometimes we just do not know exactly what to say or how to start. Today we are going to learn how to pray by looking at the best example possible. We are going to look at the exact words Jesus gave to His friends. People call this The Lord's Prayer. I want you to read this all the way to the end because I will give you a very simple three step process. You can use this easy process every single day to enjoy a life changing prayer time.
Let me share a quick story with you about a good friend of mine. She spends a lot of time writing, filming, and editing videos to post online for her church community. As a mom who stays at home, her kids are always around. They have seen her through this whole process of setting up lights, getting the camera ready, and talking to the screen. If there is one thing my friend has learned about kids, it is that they are always paying attention to you. Even if you think they are playing and ignoring you, they are watching what you do. One day, she was looking through the pictures on her young daughter's tablet. She found a video of the little girl and pressed play. It was a video of her daughter shooting her very own Bible study! I wonder where she learned how to do that? She probably learned it from watching her mom do it so many times. My friend really never thought her daughter was paying that much attention to her. She did not think the little girl knew exactly what she was doing. But she definitely did. My friend showed me the video, and you should have seen it. Her daughter was very confident, her voice was clear, and she talked all about how God loves you. It was honestly one of the most precious things I have ever seen in my entire life.
This sweet story reminds me of a scripture from the Bible. Just like my friend's daughter watched her mom, the friends of Jesus watched Him. As Jesus prayed, one of His closest followers looked at Him and felt inspired to do the very same thing. But these followers did not want to just pretend they knew what they were doing. They wanted to really know how to talk to God. So this follower asked Jesus to teach him and the other disciples how to pray. We read about this in the book of Luke, chapter eleven. It says that Jesus was praying in a certain place. When He finished, one of His followers said to Him, Lord, teach us to pray.
We know from reading the Bible that Jesus often took time away from the crowds to pray by Himself. Prayer was a huge part of His daily life. His followers saw Him do this all the time. After seeing Jesus pray with such power, they wanted to do it too. Jesus could have just given them a boring checklist of rules. He could have told them what to do and what not to do. But instead of just telling them, He showed them exactly how to do it. He gave them what we now call The Lord's Prayer.
He told them that when they pray, they should say, Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our daily bread. 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.
What a truly beautiful example Jesus gave us! But I want to make something very clear right now. This prayer is just an example. It is a wonderful template that we can use to inspire our own conversations with God. Jesus is not saying you have to use these exact words every single time you talk to God. But each sentence in this prayer highlights a very important part of talking to God. These parts are very good for every believer to use in their own life. So let us look a little closer at the example Jesus gave us.
Jesus starts by saying, Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Here, Jesus teaches us to recognize exactly who we are talking to. He starts with worship. He acknowledges that He is talking directly to God in heaven. He is not just speaking to the empty air in the room. He is not just talking to Himself. Jesus shows us that prayer takes real faith. We have to trust that there is a totally knowing, totally powerful, and totally loving God listening to us. Jesus also honors God. He praises Him by saying His name is hallowed, which means holy and set apart. He is saying there is no other god like our God.
When we start our prayers with faith and understanding, it changes what we ask for. It also changes what we receive. A long time ago, I went to my bank to handle some money business. I actually had to go inside the bank building. When I walked in, I saw a huge desk right in the middle of the floor, and some closed office doors in the back. I walked up to the lady at the big desk and explained what I needed. I then asked her if I could speak to someone in the back offices to help me out. She smiled and told me that she was actually the bank manager. She could help me with everything I needed right there. I have to admit, I felt a little bit embarrassed. I just assumed that because she was sitting out in the open, she was just a helper. I was totally wrong. She explained that at her branch, the managers sit out in the open so they can be closer to the customers. If I had known she was the boss from the very beginning, I would have just asked her for what I wanted right away. I would have gotten my answer much faster.
The exact same thing is true when we pray. When we understand and trust God, it changes how we pray. If we think God is small, we will pray very small prayers. We will not ask for the big things God wants to do in our lives. This is why it is always important to start our prayer time with worship. We need to remind ourselves how great and powerful our God really is.
Next, Jesus prays, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Here, Jesus teaches us to get our hearts in line with what God wants. A lot of people think prayer is only about asking God to give us stuff. Do not get me wrong, asking is important, and we will talk about that next. But we are very mistaken if we think prayer is basically a shopping list. One of the best parts about prayer is that it pulls us closer to God. It makes our relationship with Him much stronger. It helps us make sure we are on the exact same page with Him.
A huge part of praying is making sure our own hearts are right. If prayer was only about asking for what we want, we could pray some pretty mean things. You could pray and ask God to hurt the person who cut you off in traffic this morning. You can say those words, but God is definitely not going to answer that prayer. The Bible warns us not to be bitter and angry. But when we remember that God wants us to forgive and show grace, our prayer changes. Instead of being angry, we pray and ask God to give us the strength to forgive the bad driver. We ask God to give us His peace instead of anger.
God always wants what is best for us. Jesus showed this when He prayed in the garden right before He died on the cross. He asked God to take the pain away, but then He said, Not my will, but Yours be done. Jesus always wanted God's plan to win. What do we do when God wants something that we do not like? We do exactly what Jesus did. We pray for the grace to accept it. God tells us in the book of Isaiah that His thoughts are much higher than our thoughts. His ways are much higher than our ways. God sees the whole picture from high above. He sees things we cannot see. So even when His plan is not what we would choose, we can trust that His way is always better.
Next, Jesus says, Give us day by day our daily bread. Here, Jesus shows us that we should definitely ask God for what we need and what we want. God already knows what we need, but asking Him reminds us where our help comes from. It is very easy to think that our jobs, our money, or other people are the ones providing for us. God definitely uses those things to help us. But at the end of the day, God is the true provider. When we ask God to meet our needs, it shows that we are not just relying on our own human strength. It shows that we are humble. It shows that we know we need Him every single day. If you want to see great examples of people asking God for help, just read the book of Psalms. God wants you to pour your heart out to Him. The Bible tells us not to worry, but instead, we should pray about everything. You can confidently tell God exactly what you need.
Then Jesus says, And forgive us our sins. Jesus teaches us to repent. Jesus never sinned, so He did not need to repent. But He put this in the prayer because He knows that we need it. Repenting simply means admitting our faults to God. It means turning away from the bad stuff and asking God to give us the power to live right. We cannot do it all by ourselves. Repenting is not just making a list of your mistakes and feeling sorry for yourself. It is not about feeling guilty and ashamed. It is about recognizing your weakness and running to the only person who can help you change. So many people stay trapped in bad habits because they try to break free using their own muscle. But human strength is never enough. We need to invite God into our messy lives and receive His sweet forgiveness.
Right after that, Jesus adds, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. Jesus teaches us that as we ask for forgiveness, we must also forgive other people. This is a very important part of talking to God. If we want God to show us grace, we must be willing to show that exact same grace to our neighbors. Who are we to ask God for something that we refuse to give to someone else? Holding onto anger is a choice. And honestly, it does not hurt the person who made you mad. It only hurts you. When you choose to forgive, you set yourself free. I know it can be really hard to forgive people who hurt you deeply. I think that is exactly why Jesus tells us to pray about it. He wants to free us from the bitter feelings that ruin our hearts.
Finally, Jesus says, And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Here, Jesus is teaching us to pray about the unseen world. He is reminding us that there is a spiritual battle happening all around us. There is an enemy who wants to harm us, steal from us, and destroy our joy. The Bible warns us about this unseen fight. But these warnings are not supposed to scare you. They are supposed to remind you to use the power God gave you. The spirit living inside of you is much greater than the spirit in the world. Prayer is your direct connection to God. It protects you from bad things and keeps you walking on the right path.
To wrap everything up, I want to share a very simple trick to help you remember how to pray. I call it the three R process. The three letters stand for Reverence, Repent, and Request.
The first part is Reverence. Just like Jesus did, start your prayer by honoring God. You can worship Him, listen to a good song, or just thank Him for who He is. This gets your heart ready and reminds you how big your God is.
The second part is Repent. This is where you ask God to forgive your mistakes. Ask Him to give you the strength to turn away from bad choices. This gets your heart right with God.
The third part is Request. This is the time to ask God for the things you need. Ask Him for your daily bread, ask for strength, and ask for protection.
And I want to give you one more bonus R. The bonus letter stands for Repeat! Keep on praying. The Bible tells us to pray without stopping because it is the best way to grow closer to God.
So just remember Reverence, Repent, Request, and Repeat. It is super easy and not confusing at all. Of course, this is just a helpful little tool. At the end of the day, God just wants you to come to Him with a true and honest heart. Some days you might pray for an hour and use many words. God loves that. Other days, you might just be so tired that all you can say is the name of Jesus. He hears that prayer too. Just keep talking to Him, and watch how it changes your life.
