When an individual is really successful in a particular area, everyone wants to know their secret. Day after day, Jesus’ followers saw Him perform unbelievable miracles: healing and delivering people, astounding scholars with His wisdom, supernaturally multiplying food, raising the dead and more. In John 5:19–20b (NLT), Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by Himself. He does only what He sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows Him everything He is doing.” Every morning, Jesus arose early just to spend time with His Father. When the disciples realized that Jesus’ time with the Father was the secret behind His power, they came to Him and said, “Teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1, KJV). Jesus then proceeded to teach His disciples how to pray. It’s important to remember that Jesus didn’t give them a prayer to memorize; He gave them a model for prayer.
Jesus taught His followers to pray with purpose. He criticized those who pray to be noticed by others or who repeat the same thing over and over because they have no confidence that God hears them (Matthew 6:5–8). He marked out a path for you to follow in your prayers: praise, proclamation of God’s will, provision, peace and protection. This five-fold approach to prayer will lead you down His pathway to victory in your life.
Jesus began by saying, “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name” (Matthew 6:9, KJV). Jesus wanted His followers to base their prayers on the fact that God sees their situations and circumstances from heaven’s perspective and responds as their Father. He then taught them to acknowledge that God’s name is holy and set apart from all other names. The word “holy” can also mean “blameless.” People often slander God’s reputation by attributing things to Him that are actually the work of the enemy: sickness, premature death, poverty, disaster. Jesus was clear that it is the enemy who comes to steal, destroy and kill. In contrast, Jesus comes to bring abundant life (John 10:10). When coming before God in prayer, declare that He’s not to blame for whatever your situations or circumstances are that you’re praying about. In addition, Psalm 48:9–10 instructs you to enter into prayer by praising God for His lovingkindness.
After praising the Father, Jesus went on to make a proclamation in His prayer: “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10, KJV). Jesus didn’t make this statement as a request; He proclaimed it as a command. To make a proclamation means to claim His will before it happens. Jesus wanted His followers to know that they could look at God’s will expressed in heaven, and through their prayers, they could establish that same divine order on earth. In heaven there is unending love, peace, joy, perfect health, abundance and the fulfillment of God’s purposes. God wants you to pray all of those things into the earthly circumstances you encounter every day. In Matthew 21:21–22, Jesus addressed this issue of proclamation in greater detail. In order to remove the problems in their life, He told the disciples to speak to their mountains by faith and command them to move out of the way. 1 John 5:14–15 promises that when you pray according to God’s will, you can be confident of receiving it. If God has already declared His will about an issue in His Word, you don’t have to pray, “If this is Your will.” When you know God’s desires, you have His authority to speak them out.
The next principle Jesus addressed in His lesson on prayer was how to request provision from the Father. He said, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11, KJV; emphasis added). Jesus’ use of the plural pronoun “us” implies that not only should you pray for your own needs, you should also pray for the needs of others as well. The phrase “daily bread” was a common expression from Jesus’ day that referred to the entire process required to bring bread to the table. This process involved many people and covered everything from growing the grain, harvesting it and making the flour, to baking and serving the bread. God is the source of every blessing, and He wants you to trust Him for everything you need.
Jesus’ prayer then covered the issues of walking in peace and maintaining good relationships. In Matthew 6:12 (KJV), He said, “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” The word “debts” used here refers to the love and good deeds you owe others but haven’t paid. Jesus was pointing out that receiving forgiveness for your debts and forgiving others for their shortcomings, is a big key to receiving answers for your prayers (Matthew 6:14–15; 5:23–24; 18:21–22; 1 Peter 3:7). When you walk in love and forgiveness towards others, three things occur: you keep a clear conscience; you stay free from bitterness; and you aren’t hindered from receiving from God (1 John 3:18–24).
Jesus concluded His lesson on prayer by saying, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen” (Matthew 6:13, KJV). Jesus wanted His followers to pray for protection over themselves so that they could avoid temptation and be delivered from evil. In His final hours with them He said, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41, KJV). No matter how good your intentions are, your flesh has a mind of its own. You must be aware and on the lookout for any potential temptations, and then you need to ask the Father for protection. By avoiding even the appearance of wrongdoing, you deny your flesh the chance to satisfy its carnal lusts, and you escape many potential temptations (1 Thessalonians 5:22; Romans 13:14). Many Christians don’t fall prey to obvious temptations. It’s the subtler temptation of busyness that draws believers away from the Lord. The enemy will try to drive you to distraction, but the Holy Spirit will lead you beyond productivity into fruitfulness. If you ask God to reveal His agenda for you each day, He will help you prioritize your daily to-do list.
More work is done by prayer than by work itself.
~ Martin Luther