How to pray?

Luke 11

King James Version

11 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.

Jesus was a man of prayer. He kept Himself connected to the Father at all times. He literally prayed without ceasing. The disciples see Him always in prayer and see the results of prayer everywhere Christ went. This formed in them the desire to pray as He prayed. They asked for Jesus to teach them how to pray. I find this encouraging because there have definitely been times in my life that I have asked in prayer for the same thing. Have you ever felt like, "do I pray correctly?" I believe we all have at some point. The closer we come to God, the more we feel inadequate. Good news, Christ have ugave us a model of what prayer should look like in the following versus.

2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.

We should always begin our prayers with recognizing who we are talking to, the Almighty God of creation. Giving Him praises first and foremost. We should never just start telling God please do this and do that and oh yeah this! He loves us and wants us to talk to Him about our burdens but we need to have respect and acknowledge Him. Humble ourselves before the one who sent His son to die on a cross for us. The one who proves His character even though He did not necessarily have to but wants a loving and healthy relationship with us. Most of us do not even understand this because we live in a world full of unhealthy relationships. This is why we should pray the second part of this verse of The kingdom come. We need His kingdom in our hearts so we can show the world this healthy relationship. So they will want to be in the presence of the One who loves them unconditionally.

3 Give us day by day our daily bread.

I truly love this verse because in the Bible God speaks twofold so many times and this verse is one of those times. He is willing and wanting to give us physical bread daily but more importantly spiritual bread as well. Every day we should pray before getting into the Word to ask for the Holy Spirit to lead us in our studies. God speaks through His word and we want to make sure He is able to lead us to what He has for us to learn today!

4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

This is the perfect end to our prayers! We need to pray for forgiveness of our own transgressions, pray for our brethren, our families and strangers that we come into contact with. Pray for our enemies who have hurt us and pray to show everyone in our life mercy! God desires mercy more than sacrifice.

King James BibleBut go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

And most importantly do not get up from your morning prayer until you feel the strength from God to face the day! His Spirit most be with us to keep us from all temptations and to deliver us from evil! God is able even when we aren't!