Principles of Prayer Part 2: Remember to brush your teeth

I have been meditating on “The Lord’s Prayer” (Matthew 6:9-14) for a while now and would like to share some thoughts I have enjoyed.  I split this into a few parts for more an easier read.  This is in no way any attempt to be a comprehensive examination of the verses in question.  It is instead a quick look at a few principles that we can apply generally in our prayer life.

Principles of Prayer Part 2: Remember to brush your teeth

 Matthew 6:-9

Verses 9 and 10 have a different flavour than the verses that follow after.  In the opening to the prayer, the Lord establishes the character of the One we are speaking with and what our attitude and outlook should be.  Even though this part of the prayer does not deal with any specifics about what is going on in our lives it is essential because it “roots and grounds” us, preparing our hearts and minds for the prayer to come and much more.  This re-centering of our focus is extremely important because we are constantly dealing with demands, distractions and difficulties that grab our attention and tries to distort our principles, purposes and priorities.  Like brushing your teeth and hair in the morning or clearing your desk before beginning a project, this part of the prayer is often overlooked but essential.

Verse 9 brings forward the nature God as we address Him.   1) He is “Our Father”, 2)He is “in heaven” and 3)He is “hallowed” (“holy”).

1) As our Father we approach a God who is not remote but is interested and involved in our lives in an intimate and loving way.  Not only that but He wants to bless us and make us prosper spiritually.  Like any Father He wants to see his children succeed, see them grow, see them mature, see them learn. And like any child, we can go to our Father for comfort, advice and companionship.

 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

                                                                                Matthew 7:9-11

Also, check out Proverbs 4 sometime for some interesting parallels to the Lord’s Prayer from a father’s perspective.

2) The fact that our Father is in heaven is evidence of His supreme power and authority.  Our prayers go to one who cares but also one who has the power to do something about them.  He can work in incredible power and wonder in your life if you pray with true faith that He can and will do what you are asking of Him. 

  

3) His holy nature brings out His perfect character.  Sometimes when things are going wrong, it seems that the whole world is dirty and grey.  What an encouragement we have in a God who is not a powerful being with a human nature like human created deities.  Instead we have a shining beacon whose very presence transforms any who approach Him.  It also means that we can’t lie, twist our words, or hide anything from Him.  We must approach Him with honesty and openness which might hurt in the moment but will always be better than self deceit.

Of course these are only a few of the characteristics of God and actually only a few of the applications to be found in this one verse.   Please feel free to share some more in the comments.  I love hearing from people.

Next week-ish, Part 3 will look at verse 10 and what it means for our perspective and attitude as we pray.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%206:7-13&version=NKJV

⁷ And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

⁸ “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. ⁹ In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
¹⁰ Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread.
¹² And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
¹³ And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen

Principles of Prayer Part 1: Don’t get run over by a prayer wheel

I have been meditating on “The Lord’s Prayer” (Matthew 6:9-13) for a while now and would like to share some thoughts I have enjoyed.  I split this into a few parts for an easier read.  This is in no way an attempt to be a comprehensive examination of the verses in question.  It is instead a quick look at a few principles that we can apply generally in our prayer life.

I have included the verses (NKJV) below the blog post.

Principles of Prayer part 1: Don’t get run over by a prayer wheel

Matthew 6:7-8

Before we get to the Lord’s Prayer itself, the verses leading up to it are important to keep in mind.  In verse 7 the Lord refers to “vain repetition” as something to be avoided.  This is essentially allowing our prayers to become rote or formulaic without any thought behind them.  God has no joy in the practice of “religion” without the heart, spirit and mind behind it.

The issue here is not repetition.  It is vain repetition.  What's the difference? For an example of repetition that is not vain, look at Matthew 26 when the Lord was praying in the garden.  Verse 44 says:
"So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words."

Jesus himself used repetition when praying about the same thing. So what makes something a vain repetition? The end of verse seven explains it as vain repetition being thinking that saying the words is enough. 

Maybe you think you never do this?  How about praying for your food?  How often do we rattle off our “standard” meal prayer without thinking about what we are saying, just following our rituals and thinking we accomplished this Christian requirement?

Buddhists use prayer wheels and flags to "pray" thinking that the turning of the wheel or fluttering of a flag is enough to reach God.  We can do essentially the same thing if we allow our prayers to become habits and not meaningful conversations with our God.

So how to avoid this?  Some people avoid developing standard prayers.  The thing is there are only a few ways to pray for things that come up on a regular basis.  We don’t need to read a thesaurus to keep our prayers fresh.  The real answer is to remember that any time we start a conversation with “Dear God” or “Our God and Father” that we are speaking to an almighty and loving God who knows what we are going to ask for before we say it.  Think of prayer as a conversation instead of a duty or responsibility.  Why wouldn't we want to talk with our God as often as possible?

So I will end Part 1 by encouraging everyone to keep your prayers fresh even in the daily routine and enjoy the blessing that will come from a more intimate conversation with God.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%206:7-13&version=NKJV

⁷ And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

⁸ “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. ⁹ In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
¹⁰ Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread.
¹² And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
¹³ And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen