07 Jan January 4th Weekly Devotional
Have you ever wondered how to pray? It’s not difficult. God only wants to hear from you what’s in your heart. Jesus prayed often, daily. He would wake up early in the morning to go off to pray. He would find secluded places where it could be just Him and God and all focus could be on Him.
His disciples wanted Him to teach them to pray and One day it came about while He was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.” And He said to them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. ‘Give us each day our daily bread. ‘And forgive us our sins, For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.'” (Luke 11:1-4, NASB 1973)
Jesus is not giving this example as a group of words to recite each time one wants to offer prayer to God, but merely as an example of when one does pray, who doesn’t know how to pray, somewhere to start. This version is slightly different than Matthew’s account found in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6.
In both, similarly, Jesus is saying, “They (the Pharisees) pray like THAT. You pray like THIS. Don’t pray like, and in the manner as the Pharisees and the hypocrites. Instead, pray like a true disciple of Christ. In this manner; or, After this manner; Pray like I am about to tell you; When you pray, say something like this; Keep these things in mind and heart when you pray; Use these ideas.
It doesn’t have to be difficult. Moses and God spoke as do friends. Enoch walked with God. David was after God’s own heart and sought God’s direction constantly. Paul, and the others, remind us in their writings of their constant prayer and there are many others and then certainly, Jesus Himself prayed simply, often, and they were always from the bottom of His heart, and that is just what He desires from us.
After all, He already knows what is in our hearts, He just wants us to express it faithfully to Him.
So in a busy week ahead, let’s pray like this. The world needs it.
