Pray With Understanding

As a child, I was always aware of the power of prayer. My mother made sure of it. She taught us to pray over everything, big or small, urgent or seemingly insignificant. Nothing was ever off-limits when it came to bringing our needs before God.

From a young age, I knew that God was our provider. I knew I could pray when I was scared and that He was always watching over me. But looking back, I realise that despite knowing these truths, I never fully embraced God as my Father, a Father I could lean on in every season, at every point of need. I don’t know why. Maybe I never gave it much thought. Perhaps I didn’t know how. But now, as an adult, I feel a deep, undeniable longing to know Him in that way. Not just in my head, but in a way that shapes my every thought, every action, and every moment of trust.

Now, as Caleb and Chiara grow, my deepest prayer is that the love and security they experience with their Daddy will help shape their understanding of God, their Father in heaven. That’s why I’m intentional about teaching them to pray about anything and everything. I use phrases like, “Holy Spirit will help you,” or “Pray about it,” so that trusting God becomes second nature to them. I want them to know that the God of the universe, mighty, holy, and all-powerful, cares deeply for them because He is their Father.

What about you? What is your relationship with prayer? Do you pray from a place of truly understanding who God is, and who He is to you?

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. ~ Philippians 4:6-7 (NKJV)

What are you missing in your life because you didn’t ask, or because you didn’t ask the right person? If you’re like me and grew up in the church, you’ve heard and learned the Model Prayer that Jesus taught His disciples when they asked Him about prayer. Before this, they had been exposed to a different type of prayer, one filled with large obnoxious words and repetitions that made one wonder if the God who desires such prayers is hard of hearing. Then, they would see Jesus, their Rabbi, go off to pray and share such intimacy with God that they couldn’t help but desire that for themselves, so they asked, “Lord, teach us how to pray.” I wonder if they fully grasped the power of the secret their Lord was about to let them in on. That there must be dynamic, timeless power in what we say when we pray, and that Jesus was giving them just that, a dynamic, timeless template from which to build their own intimacy with God. Jesus let His disciples and all of us who would follow in their footsteps, in on the spiritual discipline that was behind the power He demonstrated while He was on earth.

Our Father…

God is neither a respecter of persons nor an exclusive God. Your God, the one you love so much, is not only your Heavenly Father, He is the God and Father of all humanity. Let me give more texture to this truth by reminding you that He is not just the God and Father of Christians, He is the God and Father of all flesh, believing and non-believing alike. Yes, friend, He is the God and Father of people we can’t stand, can’t understand and wish we didn’t have to ever relate with. By teaching us to pray in this manner, Jesus is reminding us, for all time, that prayer isn’t just about us. In only the salutation of prayer, we acknowledge who God is and that prayer calls us to love and consider others because God loves all His children. Praying in this way teaches you, every single time we look to God in need, that He is a faithful Father not just to you but to all.

In Heaven…

Many times when we’re experiencing a tough time, it’s difficult to see God’s hand working in our situation. God being in heaven is a reminder that God is always working on our behalf, out of our view. Just because we can’t see what He’s doing, doesn’t mean He isn’t working behind the scenes of our lives. Reminding ourselves that God is in heaven also snaps us back to the reality that He is God and we are not. While we’re here trekking along on earth, He is seated on high in heaven, far above all things, including our problems and worries.

Hallowed be Your name…

I love this part of the template prayer Jesus offered us. It reminds me to think about who God is and to align my soul with the reality that no matter what I’m feeling or what’s going on around me, the person I’m speaking to is holy and worthy to be praised. Psalm 131:2 says, “Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.” When was the last time you stilled and quieted your soul before your holy God, recognising that regardless of what you may be thinking or feeling, He alone is holy, good, loving, faithful, worthy, high and lifted up far above all things both seen and unseen?

Your Kingdom come…

At first, this request to God to allow His kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven seems to overshadow what’s important… our needs, trials, and concerns! As I have been praying this more and more, allowing my heart to understand that God’s kingdom is everything and that it should become everything to me, I’ve learned something. There is nothing amiss in our lives that the coming of God’s kingdom can’t fix. When the kingdom of God shows up in our lives, areas of chaos are brought into order. I listen to the song ‘We Agree With Heaven’ by Naomi Raine (featuring Todd Dulaney) almost every day to remind myself that mine is to seek out, agree with, pray for and emulate the kingdom of God.

From this place of understanding, we must pray fervently for God’s kingdom to come into our marriages, our hearts, our homes, our bodies, our jobs, our finances, our lack of understanding and everything else that our souls are concerned about. Anything broken, sick or lacking comes right side up when God’s kingdom comes, including our identity. What a privilege we have to ask God to bring His kingdom into our lives and also to bring the kingdom of God into the lives of those we have contact with. Through this part of the prayer template Jesus gave us, He is calling each one, who is brave enough to use it, to be an ambassador and releaser of His kingdom here on earth. If we understand this, we ought to be praying that His will be done in our lives as it is in heaven. This proves our trust in God. Do we trust Him enough to pray that His will be done even when we don’t fully grasp what that will is?

Give us this day our daily bread…

Every day is new, and God always has something new and fresh for His children. I’ve come to understand that our daily bread pertains to more than just our daily physical needs, it also includes His Word for us each day, His instruction, wisdom, strength and grace for that day. When we open our hearts to the fact that God is eagerly waiting for us to petition Him for what He’s prepared for us that day, it changes how we see His provision, how we acknowledge Him in every moment and our habit of thanksgiving.

Forgive us as we forgive…

Ask God to forgive your missteps because yes, you’ve had some in the last twenty-four hours. To assume that you don’t is arrogant because we all have blind spots and trip-ups, some we’re unaware of and some that are hurting others. Coming to God with this humble posture makes it possible for you to be open enough to seek His face for revelation and opportunity to make things right with anyone you may have tripped over. This also softens your heart to the reality that others may have tripped over you just as easily and they need you to forgive them just as easily as your Father forgives you. Following this template in prayer allows our hearts to stay clear of offence and unforgiveness, making it possible for us to approach a holy God with a righteous heart.

Lead us not into temptation… Protect us from the evil one…

The evil one, our enemy has set up many traps for us. His wish is to get us to fall so far from our Father that we believe the lie that we’ll never find our way back. Jesus provided for this in His template for prayer so that we would know that no matter how smart the evil one may think he is, God can keep us and protect us from His evil plans. I love to pray Psalm 91:11-12 which says, “For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands, they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.” Who do you cover in prayer each day? As well as ourselves, we ought to be praying for God’s covering to be over our loved ones, our businesses, our neighbours and our leaders. As God’s children, we have access to His protective power, let’s learn to make use of it every day.

For Yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever. Amen.

The template that Jesus gave us for prayer and building intimacy with our Heavenly Father ends again with an acknowledgement of God’s kingdom and with worship. Why? Because after we’ve laid all our concerns and petitions before the Lord, we need to remind our souls that none of these things are in our hands or on our shoulders to bear. That’s right, they are for God, and only He can do anything about them for His glory and our good. Ending our prayers with ‘amen’ reminds our souls that we have a trustworthy Father who is capable of working everything we’ve laid at His feet together for our good. 

Prayer and intimacy with God is about trust. Prayer brings us back into alignment when the craziness of this world sways us back and forth. Prayer that’s founded on God’s Word and will, that is. Prayer reminds us who we are in Christ, who God is and why He can be trusted with our heart’s concerns. I hope that as this year continues, you’ll make room in your life for prayer, not just any prayer, but the prayer that comes from understanding that God is your Father and He is concerned with what concerns you.