Prayers

---

In the first steps of my Christian walk, I hardly spent 30 minutes in prayer. I was astonished to hear some people could spend one hour in prayer or even more . And this became a serious concern to me, which I could not hesitate submitting to the Lord. Fortunately, the Lord has taught me how to pray for more than one hour without a break. Among the many methods susceptible to be used in order to pray for at least one hour, I would like to comment on the prayer which the Lord Jesus recommended to His disciples who had asked Him to teach them how to pray (Luke 11:1). This prayer is also found in Luke 11:2-4, but I would rather comment on the passage of Matt 6:9-13 as it is more developed.


ABUSE OVER THIS PRAYER

Up to now many people still textually quote this passage, making it a prayer to the point of even repeating it several times. Actually I do not condemn them because I used to do that too. Neither is it a sin to quote the words of this passage since they come from the Lord's own mouth. But the real problem lies in how to accurately use of this passage for prayer. Jesus Christ clearly said:" After this manner pray ye", but He did not say " This is what you should say when you pray." In addition, when going through the New Testament, none of the disciples ever repeated this prayer (see acts 3:6; 4:24-26; 7:59-60). If the Lord has really told us to textually repeat it, then the disciples of the early Church, whom we take as examples, did disobey the Lord' instructions, and were therefore wrong! But as we know that they prayed properly, it is understandable that the words of Matthew 6:9-13 are not designed to be repeated textually. Rather they are to be used as a pattern for prayer.


PROPER USE

Thanks to also the Lord's revelation I have understood that this passage is not to be recited. Instead it is to be used as a pattern or plan for prayer. Imagine a teacher gives you a plan for a presentation with the key points to be developed. I hope that on the presentation day a normal and sensible student will not stand in front of the audience and recite the points of the plan textually as the teacher gave them. That would be stupid! Instead an intelligent student will use them as a guide to in order to make a coherent speech which comes from himself. The same goes for Matthew 6:9-13.
Nevertheless it is advantageous to have this passage in mind in order not to be lost. Still it is not to be recited.


HOW TO DEVELOP THIS PLAN?

Looking at this passage closely will bring us to the understanding that the Lord has given us the key points which can make a complete prayer. The key points are nothing but the sentences we are going to analyze one after the other.

1. "OUR FATHER WHICH ART IN HEAVEN, HALLOWED BE THY NAME"

Here the key words are "Hallowed be thy name." Through this sentence Christ has asked His disciples to begin prayer by blessing the Father's Name (Jesus), because to hallow the Name of the Lord is to regard it as Holy. The holiness of this Name is shown by Its power to sanctify (purify or set apart) man from evil (sin, death, accidents, diseases, failures, Satan's works, etc.). In fact this is true because in the Name of Jesus our sins are forgiven, and we can sweep away Satanic actions (death, accidents, diseases, failures, etc.).

In short at this stage Christ wants His disciple to bless His Name which is also the Name of the Father (see Matthew 29:18, John 17:10). So we can bless the Name of the Lord for what He has done in our lives during the night, during the day, in our churches, families, studies, jobs, ministries, etc..
In other words, the first point is about thanksgiving.

2. "THY KINGDOM COME"

This stage is about asking the Lord to reign (i.e. to take the control, to guide, to exert authority) in diverse areas of your life (namely in your thoughts, household, bedroom, compound, ministry, studies, jobs, etc.). In my view the first area to mention is the very prayer you are conducting; You should ask the Lord to reign in the prayeryou are saying, namely by inspiring and guiding you, and by giving you the right words to speak so that your prayer can align with His will.

In brief, this step is about calling up on the reign of God in diverse areas of your life.

3. "THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH, AS IT IS IN HEAVEN"

This sentence urges us to ask for the will of God about diverse subjects. It may be about a decision or a choice to make, or a need for precision on a subject, or even a need for a revelation of God's opinion on a given issue. Moreover you may ask the Lord to the arrange events (pertaining to the mentioned subjects) according to His will.

In short, this step is about asking God to reveal His will on one or more subjects and/or asking Him to arrange events according to His will.

4. "GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD"

The word "bread" is symbolically used in order to mean the needs which are vital in man's life. For Christ said "Man shall not live by bread alone…" (Matt 4:4). This verse affirms that bread makes man live. By speaking about daily bread, Christ means the daily needs vital for human life.

In brief at this stage one should expose one's daily needs (spiritual, material, affective, social, moral needs).


5. "FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS AS WE FORGIVE OUR DEBTORS. "

Here Christ invites His disciples to ask for forgiveness for their own sins and for the sins of their offenders. It is advisable to do it with genuine supplications. As for me I even suggest that you also ask God for more strength so that you cannot fall again into the same sins.

6. "LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION."

At this stage it is a question of asking God for power to withstand temptations. It is good to specifically mention the most encounted temptations. A mature Christian can even go as far as nullifying every satanic agenda that foresees falling into temptations, while also nullifying their weapons and strategies, as well as the spirits in charge of making him/her fall into the temptations mentioned.


7. "DELIVER US FROM EVIL."

At this stage Christ urges His disciples to pray for deliverance from evil. Concretely, it is about cancelling every plan of evil (already set up or not) by the kingdom of darkness, while declaring their weapons and strategies null and void, and by biding all spirits in charge of all those evil works. It is good to mention those evils: death, disease, accidents, conflicts with others, failures, witchcraft, etc..


8. "FOR THINE IS THE KINGDOM, AND THE POWER, AND THE GLORY, FOR EVER "

This sentence simply urges us to end prayer by praise and worship to God, by highlighting the facts which prove His Eternity (boundlessness), His Kingdom (authority or reign over men, nature, events), His Power (dynamism), His Glory ( brilliant honor, immense value).

Developing this passage in this manner, you will realize you have touched practically all the areas of your life. And if you proceed properly and without haste, you will scarcely spend less than one hour without break.

This pattern may be used at any time, but mostly in the morning and in the evening depending on the ruling of the Holy Spirit. While developing this prayer, you may also intercede for some person. For instance, you may ask for God's kingdom in your own life and in the life of someone else.

It is possible to extend the use of this pattern of prayer on the scale of communal prayers during which the prayer leader may use this plan.
Intercessors may also use this method in order to intercede systematically for their respective churches and for other people.
In respect of all that has been said above, it is obvious that the Lord Jesus has given us an incredibly nice pattern of prayer which we can proudly use in order to produces great results.

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE