Entrusted with the Gospel

Have ever wondered if you were getting prayer right? I certainly have. Especially in the times when it didn’t seem to be “working”. There are, after all, many ways to pray. 

Should you pray using a list, or just “freewheel” it? Pray silently or pray aloud? Pray in a group or pray alone? How about length? As the story goes, Martin Luther had so much to do, he prayed three hours a day. Well, you’re not Luther – will 10 minutes do? 

There are so many things to think about – and therefore, so many ways to “get it wrong”. What should I pray about? How often do I pray? Sure…there is the word to “pray without ceasing”, but that sounds quite daunting. Am I praying about the right things? Am I praying…enough?

How exactly should I pray?

Jesus’ disciples had this question – they likely worried they were getting prayer wrong – so one day they came to the Lord with the question. And thinking they needed to convince him to open up on the secrets of prayer, they explained that John the Baptist had taught his disciples about this. Maybe Lord, you could afford us the same consideration? 

Thankfully, the Lord obliged.

The result is the most famous prayer in the world – traditionally called the Lord’s Prayer.

I grew up saying this prayer every week in church, like I did the pledge of allegiance in school, and I daydreamed through them both regularly. Mindless. I wasn’t praying anything as I recited this prayer in church. I was just offering God meaningless repetition, which ironically, the Lord warned against about the same time he taught the disciples how to pray.

In truth the Lord’s prayer is not meant to be something you recite, but is a guide to praying, more of an outline to shape your prayers than a particular prayer to pray.

I’ve been praying this way for decades, and it may be the most important part of my life…and therefore who God has shaped me to be.

“Our…”

One of the key words to understanding this prayer is the very first word – “Our”; this word corresponds to the other word we see repeated in the prayer – “Us”. Apparently, when Jesus taught his disciples to pray, first and foremost, he expected them to pray for one another. So, the prayer immediately raises a standard against self-centeredness. It’s easy to pray for myself; but since Jesus said, “Pray this way…”, I need to be certain I am also praying for others.

I keep lists. When someone makes a special point of asking me to pray about something (not just an offhand comment), I try to pray at that moment with them, but I also sometimes keep it in mind and get it transferred to my prayer journal. So, not every petition from a friend makes the transfer, but if they do, I keep praying for the request…because Jesus wanted his followers to pray for each another.

“…Father…”

And who do we pray to? The Father. You can also pray to Jesus or to the Holy Spirit, as every member of the Trinity is fully God, but the most common pattern in the New Testament is to pray to the Father…in Jesus’ name.

When I start this way, thinking of the Father, I have an easy moment to remember the gospel, or, as Jack Miller first phrased it, to “preach the gospel to myself,” that is to remember God’s goodness to me in Christ. The fact that I can call God, “Father”, though easily taken for granted by all of us, is a glorious truth, and worth stopping to give thanks for on a daily basis.

As J.I. Packer said, 

Sometimes I will simply say, “Father”…and then stop, and consider. In that moment, I remember who he is..and therefore, who I am: his beloved son. And Jesus gives our Father an adjective – heavenly. I suppose this is to differentiate him from our earthly father, but it’s a word that causes me to think on his power and sovereignty, for “…our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.” (Psalm 115:3)

I’m starting a series here to give some guidance on praying the Lord’s Prayer. Keep watching here on Wednesdays and I’ll be walking through all the different aspects of this life-changing prayer.