Step 2: Prayer
BE WITH JESUS
The first goal of the Christian life is to be with Jesus. In reality, Jesus is always with us. The problem is we are not always aware. So this goal is really about practicing an awareness of his presence. The foundation and culmination of an awareness of his presence is conversation. God speaks to us through his Word (the Bible), and we speak to God through prayer.
Do you ever find praying to be difficult? Why or why not?
Prayer is difficult when we do not know what prayer is or forget why we pray. For example, consider the following questions: Is prayer more of a formal religious activity or is prayer more about a relationship with God? Do you more often pray for something? Or do you more often pray to someone (God)?
Prayer is talking to God and enjoying his presence. That doesn't mean there is no place for formality in prayer—as we will see, liturgy can greatly help. Nor does this mean there is no place for asking for something in prayer—as we will see, asking is a foundational part of how we relate to God. The foundation and culmination of prayer are enjoying the presence of God.
Let’s see how we can practice the presence of God through prayer in three levels:
LEVEL 1
JUST TALK TO GOD
LEVEL 2
THE LORD’S PRAYER
LEVEL 3
PRAY CONTINUALLY
How is the idea of one God different from what you have heard or thought about the existence of a god or gods? Does this seem like good news to you?
LEVEL 1: JUST TALK TO GOD
The prayers of Jesus are the best place to learn examples of prayer. The Bible gives us a few glimpses of Jesus’ practice of prayer. 1 Jesus’ disciples, who were always with him, were deeply impressed by Jesus’ practice of prayer. Though Jesus is the Son of God, the intimacy and fellowship with God that he practiced in prayer is an attainable model for us. Look at how Jesus taught disciples to pray.
MATTHEW 6:5-8
“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
Jesus taught us not to pray as a religious activity to impress others. Jesus told his disciples not to pray in order to “be seen by others.” Sometimes, praying in front of others is very intimidating, but prayer is between you and God. God is not impressed by how skilled someone’s prayers sound in public. God wants our hearts to be attentive to him, not others’ perceptions of our prayers. Prayer is about a relationship with God, who is our “Father who sees in secret.”
Jesus also taught us not to pray only as a means to get something, but rather as a way to approach someone—namely our Father in heaven. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t ask God for help when we pray to him. In fact, prayer is more about “desperation” than “discipline.” In our desperation, we ask God for what we need. 2 The point Jesus makes here is that disciples should not pray and “think that they will be heard for their many words”. We should not think that God will answer our prayer if we say the right words, do good deeds, or give offering. This type of prayer forgets why we pray, which is to talk to “your Father [who] knows what you need before you ask him.”
Jesus taught us how to pray by focusing on our relationship with God as our Father.
Read God’s words in 2 Corinthians 6:18.
2 CORINTHIANS 6:18
“I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”
When you read 2 Corinthians 6:18, how did it make you feel?
The key to prayer is believing (knowing, accepting, and remembering) that God is our loving Father and we are his beloved children.
No matter what your relationship with your earthly father is like, God is an unconditionally loving, always welcoming, perfectly kind and good Father. Just talk to him. This is the first level of prayer—just talk to your heavenly Father.
God exists in all places at once, so we can pray to God anywhere! There are no special places where prayers are more effective or where God will hear you more clearly. You can pray while walking down the street, in your room, or at a park. You can pray out loud, silently in your head, or even while writing your prayers down in a journal. You can pray in any posture: sitting down, standing, or kneeling.
What should you pray about? At this level, you should pray about anything—whatever is on your heart. Talk to your Father about whatever you are happy about, grateful for, afraid of, worried about, or need. There are no special words or phrases that need to be used. Just talk to him.
LEVEL 2: THE LORD’S PRAYER
Jesus gave disciples a model of how to pray.
MATTHEW 6:9-13
Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread, 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
This prayer is often referred to as “the Lord’s Prayer.” However, more accurately, it might be called the “disciples’ prayer.” It is a model for Christian disciples to follow.
Disciples can benefit from this prayer in many ways. You can recite this prayer word for word, praying each phrase to God as your prayer. Another way is to pray and expound on the theme of each phrase in your own words. By using the Lord’s Prayer, our prayers will be shaped and formed by the values and priorities of God’s kingdom.
Let’s consider the theme of each phrase. This way, we can understand the meaning as we recite this prayer as our own and expound on the themes in our own words in prayer.
Our Father
God is our Father, and we are his beloved children in Christ. We can do nothing that makes him love us more or less. At the end of this day, his love and pleasure with us will be just as it is right now in Christ. Begin your prayer with a reminder of your relationship with God.
In heaven
God is in heaven, which means he is the transcendent, sovereign King ruling over the whole world and our lives. Apart from his good will, nothing can ever happen to us. 3 Heaven is not far away; it is as close as the air around us. Our Father “in heaven” means he is immanently near to us. Begin your prayer with a reminder that God is transcendent and immanent: he is King and with you.
After the opening, notice how the first half of the prayer is focused on God by using the word “your” three times.
Your name be hallowed
“Hallowed” means to be set apart as holy or special. This part of the prayer is a request that God be worshiped for who he is and what he has done. Worship God in your prayer.
Your kingdom come
God’s kingdom is wherever God is honored as King. Where God is King, there is faith, love, justice, mercy, and peace. 4 Pray for the goodness of God’s kingdom to spread in both broad and specific ways.
Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven
God’s will is best for everyone. Often, God’s will is different from our will. Jesus himself surrendered his will to the will of the Father in prayer shortly before he went to the cross. 5 Pray for God’s will to be done in your life, in the lives of those around you, in your city, country, and throughout the earth.
Next, the model prayer continues with three categories of requests about our needs by using the word “us” three times.
Give us this day our daily bread
“Daily bread” represents both our physical and spiritual needs. What needs do you have? Freely bring these requests to God in prayer.
Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
“Debts” are the sins and offenses we have committed against God and others. Make a specific confession of your sin to God. Also, forgive others for their offenses against you in God’s presence.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
This part of the prayer is an honest admission of our weakness to temptation and a request for God to deliver us (save us) from any evil we encounter. Ask God to rescue you from any problems or evil you are facing.
There are many other models and examples of prayer in the Bible: the book of Psalms, the prayers of Paul, Jesus’ prayers, prayers in the Old Testament, and more. Use Jesus’ model and other prayers to guide you as you pray.
LEVEL 3: PRAY CONTINUALLY
Prayer is a way of practicing and enjoying an awareness of God’s presence with us. Therefore, praying continually should be a goal of our prayer life.
1 THESSALONIANS 5:17
“PRAY WITHOUT CEASING”
At first, this may seem like an unattainable goal. How could you pray without stopping? When would you eat, work, or rest? Imagine spending a whole day with a close friend. Though you might not spend the day in constant conversation, you can still enjoy an awareness of their presence. Similarly, disciples want to live their daily lives with an awareness of God’s presence, frequently turning to God in prayer. Let’s consider two ways to do this.
PRAY AS YOU GO
One of the wonderful things about being in the same room with a friend is you do not have to make a concerted effort to speak to them. You simply raise your voice and speak. Though you might be doing different activities, you can share an interesting idea you just read in a book or ask them about tomorrow’s schedule. Likewise, we can regularly and frequently turn to God in short, spontaneous prayer throughout our day.
Praying as you go might be a word of thanks for an experience—the sun's warmth on your face, good news from a co-worker, or a feeling of God's empowerment to resist sin—"Thank you." On the other hand, these spontaneous prayers may be a plea for help—"God, help"—when facing temptation, a difficult problem at work, or a frustrating situation at home. These prayers do not need to be long. They are simply talking to God because he is present and cares.
PLAN TO PRAY
Christians in the Bible are often described as practicing “the prayers” or “the hour of prayer.” 6 This was a practice that grew out of generations of faithful men and women seeking the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob through prayer. There were generally three times of prayer that corresponded with the times of sacrifice and altar burning in the temple— morning, afternoon, and evening. Furthermore, people would pray upon first waking in the morning and right before sleeping at night. 7 There were also customs of thanking God before each meal. Though following these patterns of prayer is by no means an obligation, these daily rhythms can help Christians remember, seek, and enjoy God’s presence at scheduled moments throughout the day.
Here is an example flow of daily prayer:
Prayer after waking up
Morning Prayer
Breakfast Prayer
Lunch Prayer
Afternoon Prayer
Dinner Prayer
Evening Prayer
Before Sleeping Prayer
If you live with other Christians or have children, you might enjoy practicing the prayers before meals as a time of praying together.
The “morning prayer” and “evening prayer” might be suitable times for extended, focused prayer time alone. Though it is good to pray as you go throughout our day and shortly before meals, we should make time for focused, unhurried prayer at least once a day.
Which level of prayer are you at right now? Make a plan for prayer.
1 For example: Luke 5:16, 6:12, 9:18, 9:28, 11:1, 22:41
2 Luke 11:5-13, 18:1-8
3 Matthew 10:29-31
4 Part 3: Join Jesus in his Work (Page 74)
5 Matthew 26:39
6 Acts 2:42, 3:1
7 Deuteronomy 6:7