Developing a prayer life

Developing a prayer life

Using the Lord's prayer
Luke 11: 1-4

Jesus disciples observed Him praying one day. What they saw prompted them to ask Jesus to teach them how to pray. Jesus then gave them an insight into the secret of praying. What Jesus taught them was more than a few words to be recited religiously but rather a structure on which we can base our prayer life.
Prayer structure

1. Our father in heaven hallowed be your name (Luke 11:2 NKJV)
The foundation of all true prayer is knowing God as our father. God becomes father when Jesus is received by faith as our Lord and Saviour. Our relationship with God is built on the love He has for us. That love was demonstrated in Jesus death on the cross. We respond to the love of God by receiving Jesus.
To hallow the name of God means to praise Him. You cannot praise God except you know Him by faith in Jesus. God sent Jesus to die for our sins. If you have received the love of Jesus into your heart and the forgiveness of your sins you will always have something to praise God for.
The psalms are full of the praise of God. Sometimes you might find it hard to put the praise for God you feel in your heart into words. Trying using the psalms. Read them out aloud to the Lord.

Sample some of the following
Psalm 100
Psalm 93
Psalm 95:1-7
Psalm 105

Songs, hymns and choruses can all be used to hallow and worship God. Worship Him for who He is. A loving God who sent Jesus to die for you. You will also find things He is doing presently that you can thank and worship Him for.

There are five points that we shall bring out from the structure of prayer that Jesus taught in Luke 11. This is the first one. If you spend five minutes on each of the five points mentioned here you would immediately be spending about half an hour before God in prayer already. By using the Psalms and other scriptures in your praise and worship time (hallowing His name) you could easily spend more than five minutes in the first area of your prayer

2. Your Kingdom come your will be done (verse 2)
God's kingdom comes when we allow His will to fill our hearts and His purpose and power to direct or lives (Romans 14:17, Colossians 1: 13). God's kingdom will come in full when Jesus comes again. His kingdom is also already here in the hearts and lives of those living a life pleasing to Him.
Jesus taught us to pray for the will and kingdom of God on earth. God's will is clearly stated in His Word. There are certain prayer points in the Word of God that should be a regular part of our prayer life. It pleases God tremendously when we pray for His will on earth. In fact our prayer lives are insufficient if we neglect to pray for His kingdom and His Will and only concentrate on our own needs.
Some of the glaring things in the will of God that are clearly stated in scripture and which should be taken up in our prayer time are listed below.

Pray for the salvation of peoples.
2 Peter 3:9, Psalm 2:8 - 9

God does not want people to perish. It is God's will that people everywhere come to knowledge of Jesus Christ. You need to pray for individuals, groups of people and even nations where Jesus is not known. When is the last time you prayed for someone to get saved? This should not just be a one off prayer but something that you do continuously until the person (or people) gets saved. It should also be a specific prayer. Pray for someone specific (get a name) or for a certain Nation or people group.
There are missionaries in many nations that need our prayer. Prayer is the power that gets things done. Many Christians are confused about what their God given ministry is and yet neglect the most basic and fundamental one; praying for the salvation of people.
There are numerous prayer points and Nations that are screaming out for prayer. Join up with one of them.

Prayer for leaders and those in authority
1 Timothy 2: 1-4

Leaders of countries, towns, government, our bosses at work, church leaders and all those in authority need our prayer. In many cases we would directly benefit from the answers to these prayers. When was the last time you prayed for your boss at work?
Our prayers are not to be restricted to church leaders but also to leaders in the secular world. When they make good and godly decisions we will all live in peace and harmony. Let's stop criticising and start praying for them. If we do our lives will be more peaceful and the preaching of the gospel will also be made easier.
Even where our bosses at work or leaders of government are doing a reasonable job we still need to pray or them to know Jesus. Imagine, many political leaders are using the best parts of their lives to serve mankind, they might gain the glory of the world but of what benefit would that be to them if they lose their souls, dying without a knowledge of Jesus. Something worth praying about.

Pray for labourers in God's vineyard
Matthew 9: 37-58

The need for labourers in God's vineyard is enormous. There are many Countries that are still without a good presentation of the gospel. Who will go and preach there. Even within the cities and towns of the western world, Europe, North and South American there are large clusters of people who have no access to the gospel. Do not be deceived by the few large mega-churches in a few of our cities and towns. Many areas in Europe and even the U.S.A are without churches and preachers of the gospel. Pray for labours. This is what Jesus asked.

Pray that the church as a whole will rediscover the power of prayer
Luke 19: 45 - 46

We have all read about the statistics that show that the average Christian uses less than five minutes in prayer every day. Pray that the church becomes a house of prayer. You can start it by building up your own prayer life.

Pray for unity in the Church
John 17: 20 - 26

In Christ Jesus we are one body in Christ. The way we behave as christians does not always reflect this. Unity in Christ does not mean we will all agree on the same doctrines; but it does mean that all true believers, who love the Lord Jesus Christ will also love one another.
True love means forgiving one another and accommodating each others weaknesses and differences. Racism and fighting among Christians is a poor witness to the world. Let's make our prayer for unity a constant one.

3. Give us this day our daily bread (verse 3).
The third point in the Lord's prayer is where all our personal prayer points come. For some of us this is the only prayer point we every make, occasionally extending it to our close friends and family.
God is interested about our personal needs and he desires to meet them. In fact they are no less important than the other payer points. Bring your burdens and needs before the Lord. Nevertheless make sure they are not the only prayer points you ever bring before Him.

4. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us (verse 4).

Matthew 6: 14 - 15, Matthew 18: 21 - 35
The condition of our heart is vital to our relationship with God. Unforgiveness will block our prayers and keep us from the grace of God. It is possible to do certain things that are not necessarily pleasing to God and not even realise it. Unforgiveness is not one of them. Search your heart as you stand before God in prayer. If there is someone you need to forgive do it immediately.
Forgiveness takes the grace of God and your will. By the grace of God you can choose to forgive. Forgiveness is different from reconciliation. You can forgive another person in his or her absence. Reconciliation may take place later. Forgiveness is between you and God. Forgiveness is you deciding not to hold anything against another person even though that person may not desire your forgiveness and you may not even think the person deserves it. Jesus forgave us even though we did not deserve it. Read Matthew 18 : 21 - 35 again.

5. And lead us (verse 4).
Asking for God's guidance should a regular thing. Psalm 23:2 It is helpful to make the issue of God's guidance a different prayer point from the others. This is where God's Word comes in. The more you read God's Word the easier it will become for you to be led by Him. Give time during your prayer times for the reading and studying of the Bible.

Take a systematic approach. If you are reading through the gospels go through the whole books. That way you will get a clear picture of who Jesus is and have a better understanding of His purpose in your life. The same is true of a topic study.

Some of our bible studies might help you in your study of the bible.
So there we have the five points that can help you structure your prayer. With the exception of the fourth point, all the others could take a considerable time to cover.
Following these prayer points will considerable increase the quality of your prayer time and fellowship with God. In fact after a while, one of this above points could lead you into an hour's prayer.
Let the Holy Spirit lead you. You do not need to use all these prayer points all the time nor do you necessary have to use them in the order above. Although if you intend to use all of them in one prayer session it might help to keep to the order above order.
The secret is to be flexible and the Holy Spirit will soon lead you into deeper and more intimate times of prayer with God.
Nevertheless note this, the above prayer structure will always remain valid no matter how long you have been in the faith. It is always a good habit to intentionally us it from time to time.

Please feel free to contact Rev. Mother Theresa if you have any questions or comments,

Thank you and God Bless you!

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