Read Matthew 6:9-13
Wouldn’t it be cool to have Jesus teach you how to pray? He did! Today’s Scripture reading is a transcript of Jesus’ response to a question on how to pray. The outlined prayer has become known as the Lord’s Prayer, the Our Father. If you haven’t already, memorize this prayer. It will provide you with a ready springboard for connecting with God. This prayer demonstrates a variation of topics that will enrich your experience of prayer as you model the outline.
An introduction and a conclusion sandwich seven different petitions. We address God relationally, as “Our Father.” Then the first three petitions focus on God and His agenda for the world. This is a good reminder that prayer isn’t simply our vending machine or Aladdin’s Lamp. But the last four petitions remind us that God readily and graciously meets our needs: providing for us, forgiving us, helping us, and rescuing us. This outline will keep you from fatiguing on saying the same things, day after day. Every line in Jesus’s prayer example will grow your prayer vocabulary and broaden the scope of your intercession.
Another popular way for praying is using the ACTS outline:
A stands for Adoration—express praise to God, for He is worthy.
C stands for Confession—confess your sins to God, expecting grace.
T stands for Thanksgiving—our lists of gratitude are long!
S stands for Supplication—this old word has lost usage in English. It means “to humbly ask.” One little girl upon hearing it suggested another word for our requests: “How about S is for ‘Suggestions’ since it’s God’s will we want done, anyhow?” She got the point.
Wouldn’t it be cool to have Jesus teach you how to pray? He did! Today’s Scripture reading is a transcript of Jesus’ response to a question on how to pray. The outlined prayer has become known as the Lord’s Prayer, the Our Father. If you haven’t already, memorize this prayer. It will provide you with a ready springboard for connecting with God. This prayer demonstrates a variation of topics that will enrich your experience of prayer as you model the outline.
An introduction and a conclusion sandwich seven different petitions. We address God relationally, as “Our Father.” Then the first three petitions focus on God and His agenda for the world. This is a good reminder that prayer isn’t simply our vending machine or Aladdin’s Lamp. But the last four petitions remind us that God readily and graciously meets our needs: providing for us, forgiving us, helping us, and rescuing us. This outline will keep you from fatiguing on saying the same things, day after day. Every line in Jesus’s prayer example will grow your prayer vocabulary and broaden the scope of your intercession.
Another popular way for praying is using the ACTS outline:
A stands for Adoration—express praise to God, for He is worthy.
C stands for Confession—confess your sins to God, expecting grace.
T stands for Thanksgiving—our lists of gratitude are long!
S stands for Supplication—this old word has lost usage in English. It means “to humbly ask.” One little girl upon hearing it suggested another word for our requests: “How about S is for ‘Suggestions’ since it’s God’s will we want done, anyhow?” She got the point.