Intimacy With God | Prayer & Fasting
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19
READING: LUKE 11:1-13
“LORD TEACH US TO PRAY..."
On Monday we examined our motivations for prayer, and spiritual disciplines in general. Coming to the Lord with our hearts postured toward humility and intimacy is an important, primary step. But, what comes next? How should we pray? It’s encouraging to know that the disciples themselves weren’t sure how to pray. Certainly they weren’t ignorant of prayer. They would have recited the Shema (the central statement of Jewish belief about God) twice a day, and the Amida (a series of 18 blessings) several times daily, along with public recitation of the Torah (their Scripture) and prayers around meals and feasts etc. There was no shortage of teaching on prayer.
So, what they must have meant was how to pray like he did - with depth, intimacy and power that was unlike any prayer they’d experienced before. They longed (just like we do) for something more in prayer than imitation or ritual. Notice that Jesus doesn’t respond with a lecture on prayer, rather he teaches them to pray, by praying. Here in Luke we see Jesus use the same prayer he recites in the Sermon on the Mount, so apparently this was a favorite of his…a helpful place to begin. Prayer is a conversation with God, just like deepening a friendship or relationship with anyone else in your life, it requires time and repeated, intentional vulnerability. The more time you spend together, the closer and more comfortable you become. Which is exactly how Jesus suggests they approach the Lord: as a friend, or better yet as a good Father.
So, what they must have meant was how to pray like he did - with depth, intimacy and power that was unlike any prayer they’d experienced before. They longed (just like we do) for something more in prayer than imitation or ritual. Notice that Jesus doesn’t respond with a lecture on prayer, rather he teaches them to pray, by praying. Here in Luke we see Jesus use the same prayer he recites in the Sermon on the Mount, so apparently this was a favorite of his…a helpful place to begin. Prayer is a conversation with God, just like deepening a friendship or relationship with anyone else in your life, it requires time and repeated, intentional vulnerability. The more time you spend together, the closer and more comfortable you become. Which is exactly how Jesus suggests they approach the Lord: as a friend, or better yet as a good Father.
PRACTICE
There are many different resources and tools that can help us practically apply the Lord’s prayer to our own prayer experiences, but for today let’s try this simple acronym that can help us take the structure of Jesus’ prayer and make it our own…
PRAY
- Praise: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name…”
- Praise God for who He is. What attributes of God are you thankful for today?
- Repent: “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
- What do you need forgiveness for today? Where do you need God’s hand of protection? Where do you need to experience his freedom?
- Ask: “Give us today our daily bread.”
- Ask your good Father to intervene in your life in practical ways. How do you need to experience God’s provision and power today? Who else do you know that needs to experience God’s goodness? Pray for them.
- Yield: “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
- Where do you desire to see God’s goodness and redemption in your life or the life of those around you today? Ask God how he wants to use you to bring the goodness of his Kingdom into the world. Invite him to move in power through you to bless others today.