Lord teach us how to Pray

I was recently approached with a question from a fellow co-worker about how does one pray to the Lord.  When I began to give this some thought the Lord led me to think about the Lord's Prayer located in Matthew 6: 9-13.  This is a model prayer that most Christians believe is a prayer we should recite and I don't disagree with doing that, after all it is scripture.  But I also believe that is gives us some structure on how we should pray in general to the Father God. 

Verse 9 says the following," Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name."  What Jesus is showing us here that when we first enter into a time of prayer that it is very important that we enter into that time through the gate of worship.  So sing a song of praise to God, or remind Him of who He is.  Verse 10 states, " Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven."  What Jesus is speaking about is the need to focus on what God is trying to get done on the earth.  What you will pray for here is for one's nation leaders, the work of missionaries around the world and or the nations of the earth that need to know the Lord.  Even praying for the souls of your loved ones would be considered in this part of the prayer time.  The main idea behind this is that the focus is off of yourself and unto others who are in need. 

Verse 11 says," Give us this day our daily bread."  Here is a place where we pray for our own needs whether they be health, a job, or any other need you may have.  God wants you to tell Him what you need because as your Heavenly Father He is concerned for you as His child.

Verse 12 states, " And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."  When one is praying we need to repent for holding any grudges or anger toward those who may have offend us.  Jesus forgave us for all we have done and now He is requiring that we do the same when we pray.

Finally verse 13 states the following, " And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen."  In this verse Jesus is showing us that we need to have God gives us direction so it is important to seek God's wisdom and direction for the day so that we are led by the Holy Spirit in every little detail for the day.  Finally Jesus is teaching us the importance of ending our prayer time the same way we began it with worship unto God. 

I believe that as one follows this model you will find that your prayer time will be effective and will help one find the intimacy that one needs from God as a result.  Don't hesitate, get started on this today!

Prayer : Where has the Power Fell?

I have been a follower of Jesus Christ for the past 20 + years and in my time serving Him I have been one who has craved spending time in prayer for the saints of God and those in need of His healing touch and or deliverance.  I remember a time when people in the Church would gather together and pray and call down the power of the Lord onto a situation.  I have seen God move so mightily in those meetings but as the years have passed on it appears that fewer and fewer churches and those who are leading it do not have a desire to have a corporate prayer time. 

This reminds me of the story of the young prophet who was helping to build a bigger place for his fellow young prophets under the ministry of Elijah.  As the young prophet chopped at a tree the ax head on the ax that he borrowed came off and fell into the water behind him.  The young prophet was distraught but when Elijah heard about he asked the young prophet to show him where it fell off at.  Than God provided a miracle that allowed the ax head to float to the surface and the young prophet than grabbed the ax head and placed it back on the ax and began to work once again on the tree he was chopping down. 

The moral of the story is this.  The power of God that the Church needs in this hour has slipped off our ax handle.  We need to recover the ax head otherwise we are making no progress in the Kingdom of God without it.  We need the prophetic voice that God is using in this hour to show us where to find it and once it has been uncovered it is time for us to pick up where we last  left it and begin to use the tool of prayer to bring us to the place where the power we need to harvest souls for God's Kingdom  is made available.  God is wanting to do great things in the Church in this hour.  Are we willing to seek Him out and find where are ax head is?