Have you ever heard someone pray and it seemed different? It didn’t seem to come from their head but somewhere deeper. In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 6 and the Gospel of Luke, chapter 11, the Bible records Jesus teaching His disciples how to pray. At first glance, this seems right because Jesus is their Rabbi (teacher); He should be teaching on prayer.
The interesting thing about this interaction is that the disciples weren’t prayer-illiterate. Like any Hebrew boy, they grew up attending Hebrew school, learning the scriptures, the practices of their faith, and how to pray.
But, in Luke 11, it records one of the disciples asking Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray…” (vs 1).
I believe the disciples asked Jesus how to pray because something about Jesus’ prayers seemed different. They didn’t sound like the other teachers of the law. Jesus’ prayers came from an intimate place as if He knew God.
After the question, Jesus records the famous prayer, “The Lord’s Prayer,” practiced by many Christian denominations worldwide. Unfortunately, some have memorized this prayer but have yet to learn the significance behind the words. I want to highlight a few.
“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.” (Matt 6:9-13)
One of this prayer’s most significant and revolutionary parts is the beginning “Our Father”. Up to this point, the Bible doesn’t record a prayer with this address for God. The Hebrew address for God was typically Adonai (Lord). But Jesus introduces God differently. He calls him “Abba” (Father).
Jesus was displaying something that may have been missed in Hebrew school. God isn’t a distant spiritual being, but He is close. He is a father who loves His children.
I wonder how many times we’ve prayed and missed the point. The point isn’t to get what you want. The point is to connect with Abba, to connect with our Father. Ultimately, our deepest need is to be loved by God, and Jesus introduces that here in His prayer.
“Hallowed be your name,” or holy is your name. Before we ask, we should recognize. Recognizing who God is, is crucial to our prayers. Yes, He is a father, but He is also Holy. Recognizing that God is Holy will impact your prayers. First, it may help you realize that your worries aren’t as big as you think. Two, it may give you peace that God cares about making things right more than you do. He is holy and there is no darkness in Him. He is a caring, loving Father and a holy, righteous judge.
The last phrase I want to highlight is “your will be done”. The commentary on this one may hurt a little.
Think about the last time you prayed. How much of it involved the things you want? Are you praying for your will or His will? Now, knowing His will can be difficult because our hearts are muddled with our desires, but the point is to help us pause and put our hearts through a filter. Are the motives of my heart to please Him or please myself?
God cares about our desires, but only the ones that will bring us closer to Him. He wants goodness and favor in your life, but you won’t experience the trueness of that if you get things the way you see fit. Our desires won’t release God’s favor in our lives; only His will can.
As you can tell, the very beginning of this prayer is about connecting with God, establishing who He is, and helping us get to the motives of our hearts. This is effective prayer. This entire prayer is filled with depth. Do yourself a favor and read it, meditate on it, and research it. As you do, you will have a more effective prayer life.
Blessings,
Pastor Chad
Chad Fagundes is Men’s and Outreach Pastor at Koinonia Church in Hanford, CA. He can be reached at chad@kchanford.com or 559-582-1528.