Luke 11:1 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. 2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. 3 Give us day by day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
This passage of scripture outlines for us the general format for our prayers, as Christ gave us the example in His own praying. As the disciples beheld the fervor and intensity with which Christ prayed, they saw clearly that something was lacking in the morbid, lifeless way in which their prayers were being made, and it was in response to this obvious insufficiency that their request was then made, "Lord, teach us to pray". It's worthy of note that in Christ's prayer, The Father in heaven was the focus of attention, for after addressing Him in His capacity as the heavenly Parent, Christ then seeks the interests of His kingdom. This is in stark contrast to many of our prayers where we are the focus of attention, instead of God and His interests, and thus Christ sought to correct this attitude by putting God first in everything.
But there is another very important aspect of Christ's model prayer, which must never be lost upon us, that of asking God that His will, and not ours be done. Often when we pray, we come to God with a prepared list of things that we have figured out and thought about on our own, and then we seek His approval and signature for that which He was not first consulted. This practice needs to addressed, for it is contrary to the will and methods of God. If there is a serious decision or movement that needs to be made in our lives, we should consult with God first before even thinking about it, in this way God is included and involved at the front end, rather than at the back end, when we have already run into serious trouble with our own choices and decisions.
There is a popular chorus that is often sung in Christian circles, and the words should be examined closely for both the content and the meaning, for it directly impacts our views and understanding of prayer. The lyrics go like this: "Jesus on the main line, tell Him what you want, just call Him up and tell Him what you want". Even though the words to this chorus might be sung in innocence, yet it excludes a very important element, that of finding out what is God's will, for if we were to "Tell" Him what we want, we would thereby be excluding His advice and input in the matter in question, and by so doing we will be going contrary to the example of Christ who said "Thy will be done".
Again, the issue of our daily bread is addressed not first but only after the interests of God and His kingdom is sought. Our temporal concerns are never to dominate our prayers, for this puts the focus of attention squarely on ourselves, instead of on God and others. As a matter of fact, the concept involved in the following brief counsel should be adopted by each and everyone of us, for it will go a long way in bringing us into harmony with God's will and purposes for our lives. It reads: "God first, others next, self last".
When the interests of God's kingdom, and the burden of the salvation of souls is the theme of our song, then our prayers will take on an entirely new and different meaning, and we will thus be able to enter into the spirit and joys of The Lord, that of seeing many sons and daughters being born into His kingdom. We therefore end with a passage of scripture which reiterates this truth, and it is the will of God that our attitudes to prayer be modified where need be, to suit the general format laid down by our Lord. Let's read:
Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.
May the Lord add His blessing to the study and practice of His every word. God bless!