Welcome back to another post! This is Salt and Light Commission. Now I have another post on important things a Christian should be doing, fasting. Fasting and prayer goes hand-in-hand together. So if you are interested in that make sure you Click Here to check that out. Now this article is not here to embarrass anyone because they don’t know how to pray. Jesus’ inter-circle, the 12 disciples didn’t know how to pray, so they asked Jesus how. Jesus didn’t ridicule them or laugh at them. He went into full teaching mode and laid out a blueprint to prayer that we can follow today. We will be following Jesus’ example to teach you how to pray.
I should start by saying you should not be intimidated by prayer. Prayer is just a religious word for “talking with God.” That’s all it is. It can be as simple as talking to God as if he is sitting right beside you and you are having a conversation with your best friend. That type of prayer works best when you are one on one with God. However, that prayer does not translate well when you must pray for another individual or in a group setting. At some point you may be called on to pray for someone or pray for the meal. At that time, you need to follow the blueprint Jesus left behind.
Let’s look at the prayer Jesus taught his disciples…Our Fathers Prayer also referred to as The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13). Pay close attention to the plurals in the prayer.
The Our Father Prayer
Our Father, Who art in Heaven,
hallowed be Thy name;
Thy Kingdom come,
Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, the power, the glory, for ever.
Amen.
As you can see, this prayer works well in a group environment, because it is addresses blessing for everyone there, not just for you. The conversational prayer would not be as effective here.
There is another formula in the Our Fathers Prayer that we need to look closer. This one might be the most important of all. Jesus give us the blueprint and we should follow it as well. Let’s look at the prayer again.
The Our Father Prayer
Our Father, Who art in Heaven,
hallowed be Thy name;
Thy Kingdom come,
Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Amen. For Thine is the kingdom, the power, the glory, for ever.
Amen.
It might not be obvious here, but there is an underlining structure to Jesus’ prayer. All you have to do to learn this structure is remember the word ACTS. It’s an acronym for:
Admiration
Confession
Thanksgiving
Supplication
Prayer should start with admiration to the Father. This should be the first thing done. Put simply it is to give Him the Honor and respect He deserves, as the creator of the Universe. Let’s look at how Jesus demonstrated this in His prayer.
Our Father, Who art in Heaven,
hallowed be Thy name;
Thy Kingdom come,
Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven
…For Thine is the kingdom, the power, the glory, for ever.
Amen.
The next point we should include in our prayer is a confession. We need to come to God daily for confession. To fully examine ourselves and make ourselves presentable to a holy God. Here we should confess any sin that we may have committed known and/or unknown. Now confession is one of those points that doesn’t have automatically come second, but since you are a beginner, it is best to stick with the acronym until you comfortable with the structure. For me I like to confess any sin or wrong doing whether I know I have done it or not, before I proceed with anything else in my prayer. Let’s see how Jesus placed this part in the Our Father’s Prayer:
forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us
The next point we should include in our prayer is the Thanksgiving. This is another one that can be placed anywhere in your prayer once you get the foundation down. We should thank God for all the provisions He has given us and the provision that He will give us in the future. Let’s look how Jesus demonstrated this in His prayer:
Give us this day our daily bread;
The fourth and final point to place in your prayer is the Supplication. That is just a fancy way to say begging or asking, to make a petition. For me, after I have given God the glory, asked him to forgive me for any wrong doing, and thanking Him for all He has done and is doing in my life; now I feel it’s appropriate enough to ask Him for another need or desire. Again, Let’s look at how Jesus demonstrated this in the Our Father’s Prayer:
…and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
So, there you have a precise blueprint on how to construct a prayer that is fitting for a group. Now you don’t need to fear if you are called on to pray for another person or a group of people. If you follow the blueprint Jesus left, you will do fine. So now using the blueprint, let’s produce a simple prayer to show you that it works, using the ACTS method.
O’Holy and Everlasting Father God, Creator of the universe. Forgive us for the sins we may have committed unknowingly and the sins we committed knowingly. Thank you, heavenly Father, for all your provisions in our lives; past, present, and future. Lord, I ask you to rain down your favor and blessings on our lives. In Jesus name, Amen.
And it is just that simple. Jesus has taught us how. That was just a simple example but of course you can go as in depth as the Spirit leads you. If this post has been helpful to you don’t forget to like and share this post to those who may need it as well. We have links to make it super easy to connect with us or connect with your favorite social media sites. This as been Salt and Light Commission and remember…you are the Salt and the Light of the world, be blessed.
The Our Father Prayer
Our Father, Who art in Heaven,
hallowed be Thy name;
Thy Kingdom come,
Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, the power, the glory, for ever.
Amen.
