Learn to Praise God
"Hallowed be thy name." As we begin our prayers, we should not only address and think of God as "our Father" but begin by praising and hallowing His name — His office — His character — His beneficence.
Notice how David — a man after God's own heart — addressed God in prayer: "I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower" (Ps. 18:1-2).
Again: "I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being" (Ps. 104:33).
This attitude of praise, worship and adoration is something that draws our attention to the true God and enlarges our own human faculties to appreciate and fully sense the great Being with whom we are in contact and to whom we are praying as "our Father."
Learn the MEANING of God's Kingdom
"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven."
This section of Jesus' prayer outline is perhaps the most overlooked and MISUNDERSTOOD of all. For praying "thy kingdom come" is asking that God's literal GOVERNMENT be set up on this earth through the return of Jesus Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords! It is praying and longing for the time when God's holy and righteous LAW — as embodied in the Ten Commandments — will be the actual standard for daily life everywhere. It is asking that God's character — His law — His love — be written in our hearts and minds here and now in preparation for a part in the coming world government.
It is yearning and aching for the time when real PEACE will be restored — when the desert will blossom forth as a rose. Then there will be no more starvation and want — in the prophesied time of "restitution of all things" (Acts 3:19-21).
If you are not familiar with the Bible concept of "thy kingdom come," then write immediately for our free article: "Just What is the Kingdom of God?"
This section of your personal prayers, of course, will normally be the longest and most detailed. Here you should ask God to help you understand and SURRENDER to His will — the will of your very Creator! You should ask Him to help you study and understand the Bible.
You should ask God for His divine help in bearing the "fruits" of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance or, better translated, SELF-CONTROL (Gal. 5:22-23).
Through prayer, study, meditation and the exercise of His spiritual help, learn to express the love, the affection, the praise, the obedience, the service and the sense of adoration which you should have and feel toward your "Father" who sits at the controls of this universe in heaven. Ask Him for — and exercise — these spiritual attributes.
Also, ask His help, inspiration and guidance in expressing the love, joy, warmth and affection which you should to all your fellow men. Ask Him to help you be longsuffering and gentle. Ask for meekness and humility and for the power of SELF-CONTROL over your temper, weaknesses and lusts!
Beseech God to help you yield your will to Him and to grow spiritually so that you may say with the Apostle Paul: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but CHRIST LIVETH IN ME: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of [not merely in] the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me" (Gal. 2:20). Ask God for this living FAITH of Jesus Christ to trust God totally — to KNOW that His way and His law is right — and that He stands behind and backs up His will, His laws and His promises to those who serve Him!
Through fervent prayer — through this type of earnest meditation, surrender and study of your Bible — learn to literally WALK WITH GOD as did Enoch, Noah, Abraham and Christ.
When you pray "thy Kingdom come," understand the meaning of what you are asking, and do your part that the tremendous MEANING of this request may become a reality in the future government of this earth, in the lives of all men everywhere and in your own personal life, character and spiritual growth and power.
Ask for Your Needs — and Confess Your Weaknesses
"Give us this day our daily bread." Although certainly not put first, this request is necessary — and we can sincerely ask God to supply our daily needs as long as we are seeking first His Kingdom and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33). In these personal requests, you can break down the details to fine points and ask God to guide you to do your part. Then believingly ask Him to intervene where necessary that you may live the kind of life you ought in order to be a "light" to others.
"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."
All of us need to sincerely recognize and REPENT of our sins, our shortcomings and our innate REBELLION against the laws of God and man! Too many modern religionists seem fearful of facing up to this reality, but looking our real problems in the face — acknowledging them and, through God's help, TURNING AWAY from them is the only real solution.
"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."
In this passage, the original Greek is more correctly rendered: "Bring us not into sore trial, but deliver us from the Evil One." For God tempts no man (Jas. 1:13), but He DOES permit us to fall into trials and troubles of our own or Satan the Devil's devising if we are not keeping close to Him and seeking His help and guidance.
Knowing the deceitfulness of our human nature, we should pray regularly as did Jeremiah, "O Lord, CORRECT me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing" (Jer. 10:24). Learn to sincerely ask God that — if you can't learn a needed lesson any other way — He will rebuke and CHASTEN you, correct you, fashion you and mold you, and make you fit to live FOREVER in His Kingdom!
Close With Praise and Adoration
"For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen."
As Jesus' inspired outline of prayer begins with praise and adoration of God, so does it close. This reminds us, again, to whom we are praying and the CHARACTER and OFFICE Of the true God who rules over the nations of men!
A wonderful example of this inspired instruction regarding the opening and closing of a prayer is found in the prayer of Daniel when he cried out for the deliverance of the people of Judah (Dan. 9:3-19).
Notice how Daniel began: "O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; we have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled . . ." (vs. 4-5).
Again, notice the heartfelt appeal to God which Daniel made at the close of this fine prayer — a prayer which was heard and ANSWERED!
"O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name" (vss. 18-19).
Not only praising God's name, His office and authority, but having this right ATTITUDE of total repentance, submission and obedience — this is an-other vital "key" to answered prayer!
Close your prayers with a sincere acknowledgment — in a spirit of worship — that all real and lasting GLORY and POWER belongs to God — and that the right to all government, authority and kingship belongs to Him who CREATED us all in the first place!
If you wish for a more detailed explanation of when, how, where and how long — plus seven conditions to in-sure answered prayers — write for our free article: "The ANSWER to Unanswered Prayer!" You will find it most helpful. So request it — study it — and use it!
To live life to its fullest, to have the divine help of the true God who LIVES and RULES, you need to PROVE His existence and active power — to BELIEVE Him as you pray — to put your whole HEART into seeking and crying out to the God of Jesus Christ — and to follow the inspired outline of prayer given by the Son of God!
Do this! You will have answers and intervention in your personal life such as you may never have dreamed possible in a mixed-up world where the true God of the Bible often seems so far away.