Confession time, I have never been one big on praying. Not that I didn't pray just that not sure how and felt like others could pray better. Never saw myself as a prayer warrior. Then a several years ago I was told by my chiropractor that I needed to pray more. Not just that but I was challenged but by the fact the he said he prays at LEAST 3 times a day if not more depending on how his day went. Since then I have been studying and reading on prayer. Slowly my prayer life is growing. Throughout this study I will share some of the tips that I have found most helpful in growing my prayer life.
So it doesn't come as a surprise that the disciples would ask Jesus to teach them to pray. They had been following Him around for awhile now and observed Him and how He would pray. They even had heard Him teach about prayer. So wee are going to take a slow look at what Jesus used to teach His disciples about prayer. We will start with the first line.
Our -
Jesus started of with Our Father not My, or Your Father. Our signifies that we are apart of a community. We are not meant to do this on our own but need others around us to help us. In this day and age where you can do everything, from shopping to going to church online and never leave your home, can be convenient, yet very isolating. Modern technology is wonderful yet it destroys the onion one connection we have with each other. We all have seen on TV, teens sitting next to each other texting each other instead of talking to each other. I confess if I want something done by one of my sons it will text them instead of walking across the house to ask them politely to do so. If any of you want to hold me accountable to change that fill free to do so.
We are a part of God's family once we accept Jesus as our Savior. Paul puts it that we are a part of the body of Christ. This makes the connection with each other more important. The human body is made to function as a whole yet, it can adapt to compensate if something is missing. We as a body of Christ tend to do the same thing. There are people that will take up the slack to help the body function if no one is there to do so, which can lead to burn out. We need each other for support and accountability purposes. We can't go through life alone in our home without connecting to other Christians and expect to be strong and finish the race that is before us.
Father -
This one word did a major change to my prayer life. Not that I never looked at God as my Father before. I just had a major disconnect with Him in my prayer life. Praying, Dear God, seemed cold, distant and impersonal. When I would pray Lord, mentally the picture the would pop into my mind was aa servant asking his master for something. Both of those views would bring fear in my heart that I would not be heard, rejected or He was too busy for me. The word Father changed my view on prayer, it was more personal, the thought of Him caring about what was going on, and the thought that He was glad to hear from me of what was going on in my life.
You might think because of my relationship with my dad that would ruin the thought of what my Heavenly Father is like. It might have except for some wonderful Christian men and women that God had placed in my life that showed or taught me what my Heavenly Father is liked. He is out for what is best for me, unlike my dad who was focused on himself. Psalm 139 tells how much He really cares and loves me. If you haven't read take the time to learn how much He cares for yo
In Heaven -
Our Father is not bound by the constraints of an earthly body nor what goes on here on Earth. He is outside of time and space as we know it. Like Johnny Depp's movie Transcendence, God is outside of His creation seeing the suffering and hurting of this fallen world and longing to be able to fix it. Unlike the movie God is not going to force His way and help people. We have to come to Him and prayer is our telephone line to Him.
We tend to think that Heaven is a far away place out beyond the stars where God is sitting on His throne. Well it is, also known as the third heaven. Yet He is also in the second heaven, space, where all the stars are at. Best of all, He is in first heaven, the very air that we breathe. When you stop and think of Him like this it can take your breath away. God of the universe, the majesty and glory of space and the size of it yet He is larger than it and yet He is close enough to be among us.
Through the Holy Spirit, we are able to have the close relationship with Him and talk with Him like it was back in the garden. We can talk to Him anytime night or day. He loves to hear from His kids.
So it doesn't come as a surprise that the disciples would ask Jesus to teach them to pray. They had been following Him around for awhile now and observed Him and how He would pray. They even had heard Him teach about prayer. So wee are going to take a slow look at what Jesus used to teach His disciples about prayer. We will start with the first line.
Our -
Jesus started of with Our Father not My, or Your Father. Our signifies that we are apart of a community. We are not meant to do this on our own but need others around us to help us. In this day and age where you can do everything, from shopping to going to church online and never leave your home, can be convenient, yet very isolating. Modern technology is wonderful yet it destroys the onion one connection we have with each other. We all have seen on TV, teens sitting next to each other texting each other instead of talking to each other. I confess if I want something done by one of my sons it will text them instead of walking across the house to ask them politely to do so. If any of you want to hold me accountable to change that fill free to do so.
We are a part of God's family once we accept Jesus as our Savior. Paul puts it that we are a part of the body of Christ. This makes the connection with each other more important. The human body is made to function as a whole yet, it can adapt to compensate if something is missing. We as a body of Christ tend to do the same thing. There are people that will take up the slack to help the body function if no one is there to do so, which can lead to burn out. We need each other for support and accountability purposes. We can't go through life alone in our home without connecting to other Christians and expect to be strong and finish the race that is before us.
Father -
This one word did a major change to my prayer life. Not that I never looked at God as my Father before. I just had a major disconnect with Him in my prayer life. Praying, Dear God, seemed cold, distant and impersonal. When I would pray Lord, mentally the picture the would pop into my mind was aa servant asking his master for something. Both of those views would bring fear in my heart that I would not be heard, rejected or He was too busy for me. The word Father changed my view on prayer, it was more personal, the thought of Him caring about what was going on, and the thought that He was glad to hear from me of what was going on in my life.
You might think because of my relationship with my dad that would ruin the thought of what my Heavenly Father is like. It might have except for some wonderful Christian men and women that God had placed in my life that showed or taught me what my Heavenly Father is liked. He is out for what is best for me, unlike my dad who was focused on himself. Psalm 139 tells how much He really cares and loves me. If you haven't read take the time to learn how much He cares for yo
In Heaven -
Our Father is not bound by the constraints of an earthly body nor what goes on here on Earth. He is outside of time and space as we know it. Like Johnny Depp's movie Transcendence, God is outside of His creation seeing the suffering and hurting of this fallen world and longing to be able to fix it. Unlike the movie God is not going to force His way and help people. We have to come to Him and prayer is our telephone line to Him.
We tend to think that Heaven is a far away place out beyond the stars where God is sitting on His throne. Well it is, also known as the third heaven. Yet He is also in the second heaven, space, where all the stars are at. Best of all, He is in first heaven, the very air that we breathe. When you stop and think of Him like this it can take your breath away. God of the universe, the majesty and glory of space and the size of it yet He is larger than it and yet He is close enough to be among us.
Through the Holy Spirit, we are able to have the close relationship with Him and talk with Him like it was back in the garden. We can talk to Him anytime night or day. He loves to hear from His kids.