I want to keep God first but then all of sudden life happens. I get so busy chasing my goals, going to meetings, and taking the kids to their activities that I lose focus. Then, before you know it, I have not prayed in a couple of days, read my bible in a couple of weeks, or worshiped the Father in spirit and in truth in a couple of months. And I cannot remember the last time I went to church multiple times in one month.
Sounds familiar? That's why I love what our church calls the Month of Consecration. Every year, during the month of January, we fast, pray, study our bible, worship, give and serve. And in doing so, it allows us to refocus and re-connect with the Father. It allows us to remember what it feels like to be in communion with Him while establishing healthy spiritual habits.
On his latest leadership podcast, Craig Groeschel says that "the best leaders aren’t always the smartest, hardest working, or best-connected people. The best leaders intentionally create strategic habits that produce their desired results".
Those daily habits of praying, fasting, bible reading, worshiping, giving, and serving that we practice during the MOC will propel us to our desired spiritual success. That close relationship that we desire with the Father as well as the ability to hear from Him comes from the exercise of those healthy spiritual habits. Having a powerful prayer life that actually changes things comes from those habits.
Sure, we want to pray and know that our prayers are making it beyond the ceiling. That we are not merely wasting our time. But, if you are like me as well as the disciples of Jesus, there are times when you have struggled to accomplish that goal.
The disciples requested help by asking "Lord teach us how to pray". Now it's not like they were unfamiliar with prayer. Jews prayed all of the time. But their question was Lord teach us how to pray effectively like you? We have seen the results of your prayers and we want to emulate you.
So Jesus provides them with this model prayer. This is not Jesus praying. We find that in John 17. But this is a template that can help us pray more effectively.
In Matthew 6, He says
Our Father Who Are In Heaven. That word translated Father is Abba, the Aramaic word for daddy. So Jesus is teaching us that prayer is not a conversation with some distant cosmic God who has created and then abandoned us. Instead, it is a conversation with our Daddy who cares for us. So, don't worry about what you are going to say and how many hallelujahs you get. Just have a conversation with your Daddy who cares.
Hallowed Be Your Name. Hallowed. What's that? It means to render sacred, to consecrate, to make holy. Jesus is stating that as we pray to our Daddy who cares, honor His name. Or to use our modern-day vernacular-put some respect on Yahweh’s name. Allow your mind to go back to that time when you were down and did not know where to turn and your Daddy who cares took care of you. Give Him praise for that.
Thy Kingdom Come. Thy Will Be Done. Every king has a place where they exercise their authority. As we accept Jesus as our Lord & Savior, we become ambassadors of His kingdom with the goal of glorifying our King. Therefore, when we pray, let’s not limit our prayers to our personal needs. Let’s not spend our entire time asking for assistance with our latest issue. But there comes a point when our prayer life must move beyond a taker’s mentality to a participant’s mentality. Lord, what is your will today and how can I participate? What are you doing at my job, in my home, and with my church and how can I participate? How can I allow your will to be done on earth as it is in heaven?
Give Us This Day Our Daily Bead. It is here where we surrender our worry to our Daddy who cares. For just like He takes care of the birds of the sky and the lilies of the field, He will take care of us. So we ask and trust that our Jehovah Jireh will provide for us.
Forgive Us Our Debts As We Forgive Our Debtors. Remember, prayer is a conversation with our Daddy who cares about us. So, don't walk around in guilt, shame, and regret. Let’s confess our sins. Then forgive others like we want to be forgiven.
Lead Us Not Into Temptation. We know what our weaknesses look, smell, sound, taste, and feel like. There is also an enemy who knows our weaknesses as well. So, Jesus says that we should ask our Daddy who cares about us for help resisting our temptations and fighting the evil one.
Make prayer a spiritual habit that you cannot live without. It is prayer that pulls us closer to our Daddy who cares. Pray.
