Do you pray as you ought to?
Do you know what to say when you pray?
Scripture
Don’t be discouraged, even Jesus’s disciples asked Him how they should pray. Luke 11:2-4
Jesus said, “When you pray, pray like this”.
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
When Hutson Taylor was sailing to China to begin his missionary work, his ship was in great danger. The wind had died, and the current was carrying them toward sunken reefs which were close to islands inhabited by cannibals—so close they could see them building fires on the shore. Everything they tried was to no avail. In his journal Taylor recorded what happened next: The Captain said to me, “Well, we have done everything that can be done.” A thought occurred to me, and I replied, “No, there is one thing we have not done yet.” “What is that?” he queried. “Four of us on board are Christians. Let us each retire to his own cabin, and in agreed prayer ask the Lord to give us immediately a breeze.”
Taylor prayed briefly and then, certain that the answer was coming, went up on the deck and asked the first officer to let down the sails. “What would be the good of that?” he answered roughly. I told him we had been asking a wind from God; that it was coming immediately. Within minutes the wind did began to blow, and it carried them safely past the reefs. Taylor wrote: Thus God encouraged me ere landing on China’s shores to bring every variety of need to Him in prayer, and to expect that He would honour the name of the Lord Jesus and give the help each emergency required.
Knowing that our prayers touch the heart of our loving Father in Heaven and that He can meet any need, we should be confident that He will hear and answer when we cry out to Him.
Source: The Works of J. Hudson Taylor, Hudson Taylor
- P=Praise. Start by praising God: telling him who he is to you and what you are thankful for. This will get your heart in the right place as you begin connecting with God in prayer. Psalm 100:1-5
- R=Repent. Next, move into a short time of repentance: admitting to God your faults and allowing him to convict you of the things that are wrong in your life. This is the natural response of a sinner in the presence of a sinless God. Isaiah 6:1-5
- A=Ask. Prayer requests are what most people think of when they envision prayer, and that’s the third step in this method. Paul teaches us that we should confidently present our requests to God. Philippians 4:6
- Y=Yield. The final step is to spend some time yielding to God: stopping and quieting your heart to hear from God. This is probably the most difficult step in prayer, but it’s worth the effort to make it a habit. Nehemiah 1: 4-11
PRAISE
God, You are worthy of all glory and all praise. We lift up Your name today. [Psalm 145:3-4]
We praise You for being a faithful God who never leaves us. [Deuteronomy 31:8]
We praise You for being a loving God, who gave Your son Jesus for us. [1 John 4:9-10]
We praise You for being a powerful God, the creator of the universe, who is able to do immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine. [Ephesians 3:20]
What other attributes of God come to mind? Take time to praise Him for each of them.
REPENT
God, we confess our sins to You. Thank You for the forgiveness of our sins, based on the work of Jesus on the cross. [1 John 2:2]
Fill us with Your Spirit and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. [Matthew 6:13] Help us to see the unseen. [2 Corinthians 4:18]
God, we are humble and contrite before You. Guard us against exalting ourselves. [James 4:10]
Give us a right understanding of Your Word. [Psalm 119:18]
How do you feel God working in your heart? Take time to repent before Him.
ASK
Father, we are spiritually hungry. We ask that You would meet our needs. [Matthew 5:6]
We boldly cast our cares and needs (both physical and spiritual) on You, Jesus. [1 Peter 5:7]
Give us opportunities to share the good news of Jesus. [Matthew 28:19-20]
Give us power from your Spirit to not be afraid of living out our faith. [2 Timothy 1:7]
What do you want to see God do in the world?
What do you want to see God do in your life and in the lives of others?
Boldly make these requests known to our Father!
YIELD
God, I often want to go my own way- but I choose in this moment to surrender my life to Your perfect will. [Proverbs 3:5-6]
You know what we need more than we do. Just like Jesus prayed, we ask that not our will, but YOUR will be done. [Mark 14:36]
Father, help us to follow after the example of Your son Jesus, no matter what the cost. [Philippians 2:5-11]
How do you sense God drawing you to yield to His perfect will?
So What?
Jesus showed His disciples how to pray, but does prayer really change anything? The answer to this question is twofold. Our sovereign God commands us in His holy Word to pray. Prayer is not optional for the Christian, it is required. We might ask, “What if it does nothing?” That is not the issue. Regardless of whether prayer does any good, if God commands us to pray, we must pray. At the same time, He not only commands us to pray; He also invites us to make our requests known. James says that we have not because we ask not (James 4:2). He also tells us that the prayer of the righteous man accomplishes much (James 5:16). Time and again the Bible says that prayer is an effective tool. It is useful; it works.
[Paraphrase] R. C. Sproul, Does Prayer Change Things?, vol. 3, The Crucial Questions Series (Lake Mary, FL: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2009), 8.
Remember when you pray you are communicating with God of the universe. Don’t over complicate it and don’t undervalue it.
Grow Further
Memory Verse: 1 John 5:14
‘Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.’
Other Bible passages: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Romans 8:26 Matthew 6:5-13 Luke 18:9-14
