The Suburbs of HeavenI remember hearing a well-known minister and theologian talk about how he had once been asked to write a book on prayer when he was younger. He declined, citing his feelings of inadequacy to meet the required challenge, and instead gave the publisher several names of other ministers whom he believed…
Have you noticed that the pronouns “me” and “my” never occur in the Lord’s Prayer? Jesus doesn’t tell us to pray to “My Father in heaven” but to “Our Father in heaven.” He doesn’t teach us to pray for “my daily bread” but for “our daily bread.” And the same…
In the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6, Jesus implies that we should be praying every day. He does this especially when He teaches us that we are to ask God to, “Give us this day our daily bread” (v. 11). If we are to ask God for “daily” bread and…
Jesus intends the Lord’s Prayer to be a pattern for His disciples to follow. We know this because Jesus Himself tells us so. In Matthew 6:9, He says that when we pray, we are to pray “like this,” which obviously means that Jesus intends this prayer to serve as a…
As important as the heart is in our praying, it is not everything. God is not just looking for rash sentimentality or irrational feelings when we pray. Jesus actually gives His disciples words to say when He teaches them to pray in Matthew 6:9-13. He doesn’t tell them to simply…
Another reason why we so often feel inadequate when it comes to prayer is that we do not feel confident that we know how to pray. This is especially the case when it comes to praying in front of other people and is, thus, a big contributor to the long…
