Daily devotion – praying with purpose and direction
Matthew6: 5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 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
Do you struggle to know what to pray after you have laid out your needs to the Lord?
Don’t be too hard on yourself as the Apostle Paul tells us there are times when, in our prayer closet, we are stuck for words, not knowing the direction we should seek on a matter, or we struggle to understand how to start or finish.
Rom 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Jesus gives us this fantastic passage in Matthew 6 that is much more than just a prayer to repeat verbatim.
Use it as your guide and GPS when you set yourself to pray before the Lord.
It is beautifully simple yet complete in guiding us just how to pray.
It covers praise, intercession, and adoration whilst seeking God’s will in every area of our lives.
The next time you settle in for your prayer time, have a copy of the Lord’s prayer alongside you with a pen and paper. Begin with praise. “Our Father who is in Heaven…and acknowledge God’s sovereign power and will to rule over all His creation…for Yours is the kingdom the power and the glory…”
Your prayer time will take on a far more mature direction, and you will be amazed at how fantastic the Lord’s prayer is. It is our model to follow.
There are two things I want to finish with: remember Jesus, the greatest prayer of all time, wrote this prayer for us – secondly, on its own, it is still a wonderful prayer for all of us.