Day 18

18 - TALKING WITH CHRIST

“Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” Luke 11:1

I grew up in a Christian home. We went to church religiously. My grandfather was a pastor. My mother was the church secretary. I placed my faith in Christ when I was a child. Yet with all this being true, I have to confess that I didn’t really know how to pray. Oh, don’t get me wrong. I “said my prayers’ religiously, praying before meals or before bedtime as part of the regular routine of life in the Christian home in which I was raised, but I didn’t really know how to pray.

I’m sure that was how the disciples felt. They had grown up in religious homes. They had learned their prayers. This was the Jewish culture in which they were raised. Yet they quickly recognized there was something remarkably different about they way that Jesus prayed. When they listened to Jesus pray, it wasn’t religious. It was relational!

Rich had been discipling me for a while. We always ended our Bible studies together with prayer. Really, though, it was Rich closing our time in prayer. Then, one day, everything changed. Rich and I were driving to his parents’ lake house to spend the day together sailing, and as we drove, he said, “Hey Doug, let’s pray! I’ll dial and you can hang up.” (His way of saying he would start and I could finish.). As Rich began to pray, eyes open as he drove, he just began talking out loud to God, as if He were sitting there in the car with us. Rich was having a conversation with God. His prayer wasn’t religious. It was relational. When it was my turn to pray, I followed Rich’s lead and just began talking out loud to God, as if He were sitting in the car with us as we drove. It was my first real, conversational prayer with God.

When Jesus prayed, the disciples saw intimacy and passion and purpose and joy. Jesus was talking to His Father. They were hungry to learn. “Lord, teach us to pray!”

What followed, what we now call The Lord’s Prayer, was not meant to be memorized and recited as a religious exercise. This model prayer was meant to be a pattern for the disciples. Remember, Jesus was not telling them WHAT to pray, but rather HOW to pray.

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P.R.A.Y. is a simple acronym to remember the pattern for prayer that Jesus gave His disciples.

PRAISE

“Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.”

Matthew 6:9

Jesus begins His prayer with praise of the Father, recognizing His holiness. When we come to God in prayer, praise and thanksgiving is a great place to start.

• What are some things about God’s character, who He is, that you are grateful for today? What are some of the things God has done for you that you are grateful for today?

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REQUEST

“Give us today the food we need…”.

Matthew 6:11

Jesus asks the Father to meet their needs. In praying for “us,” He is bringing both His needs and the disciples needs before the Father, trusting that He will provide.

• What are some of your personal needs that you would like to bring before the Father today? What are some of the needs of friends and family that you would like to bring before the Father?”

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ADMIT

“and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.” Matthew 6:12-13

Confession of sin is a critical aspect of prayer. We are to bring our sin before a holy God, asking for His forgiveness that we might be restored to fellowship with Him. Jesus, though, doesn’t just pray a reactionary prayer, where sin is dealt with after the fact. His prayer is a preemptive strike against sin, asking for God’s strength and leading to avoid the pitfalls of temptation.

• What are some sins that you need to confess to the Father today? What are the temptations you’re currently facing that you need the Father’s help to battle?

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YIELD

“May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”

Matt 6:10”

Some manuscripts have Jesus closing His model prayer with “For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” This reflects the mindset that God is Sovereign. He is the King, and the King reigns. He gets His way. We are to submit to Him. Jesus reflected this kind of submission to the Father’s will throughout His life., obeying all the way to the cross, where He prayed, “Not my will, but Yours be done!”

• What are some areas of your life that you need to yield to the Lordship of Christ? Are there decisions or choices you sense God wanting you to make, but you are hesitant, or even resistant to saying “yes” to Him?

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Apart From Him…

• Thank the Father that He desires a relationship with you and invites you to talk to Him anytime.

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Walking As Jesus…

• Use the pattern Jesus gave to His disciples to talk to your Father right now.

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• My Personal Disciple-Making Plan: