Prayer - Jesus Taught Us How To Pray

The Lord’s Prayer

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward. But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

And when you pray, do not babble on like pagans, for they think that by their many words they will be heard. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

So then, this is how you should pray:

‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
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.’
-Jesus of Nazareth, 1st century
Matthew 6:5-13 in the Tree of Life Version

[This is the 2nd message in this series]

In the first lesson of this teaching we were reminded that Jesus prayed for all of us who will believe in Him through the message of those who believed before us.

Jesus practices what He teach. He prays.

And His prayers are simple, they are not complicated at all.

He also cautioned His followers when praying, not to pray like the hypocrites and not like pagans.

So basically, we ought not to pray like those who do not know God, and not like those who only think they know God.

When we pray it shouldn't be a production number, and not using formulas or programs.

This excerpt in the Message Paraphrase Version will be an eye opener to many. We should read through those verses.

Jesus is basically telling His followers to pray with simplicity. We do not need to impress others and certainly we do not need and actually cannot impress God.

As followers of Jesus, we have direct access to the throne of God. And that is what is needed. That, and a heart after God's own heart.

Our prayers are to be simple, from our heart to God's, from our lips to His ears. Place your phone on silent, shut the door, play this video and let God's Spirit take over.