Jesus taught us how to pray but not what to pray. In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus gave a template by which we can learn how to talk with God.
Prayer Cautions (5-8)
- If you don’t pray in private, you don’t have any business praying in public.
- If your motive is to impress people, then your prayer doesn’t actually address God.
- Prayer isn’t imploring a distant God, but it is seeking your approachable Father.
Prayer Considerations (9)
- The Lord’s Prayer was meant to serve more as a template than a script.
- It is revealing that Jesus never included any singular first-person pronouns in the Lord’s Prayer.
- Jesus’ prayer focused the first half on His Father and the second half on His people.
Prayer Categories (10-13)
- Father – Don’t rush through prayer without marveling that our Father who lives in heaven desires to hear from us.
- Kingdom – Pray that the type of eager obedience in heaven would be observable in this world.
- Provision – Don’t pray for tomorrow’s butter if you haven’t acknowledged our need for today’s bread.
- Forgiveness – Acknowledge our sin against God and address the sin between each other.
- Protection – Request help with any troubled areas of temptation present in our lives.
Prayer Guide
- What do you need to say to our Father this week?
- How should you pray for our church’s Kingdom impact?
- What needs of ours can you ask God to meet?
- What sin needs to be reconciled?
- What areas do we need help in fighting against temptation?
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Travis Agnew serves as the Lead Pastor of Rocky Creek Church in Greenville, SC. His most recent book is Just (About) Married.