1 John 5:14-15
14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
2 Corinthians 10:5
5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
It is not the body’s posture, but the heart’s attitude that counts when we pray. ~ Billy Graham
The church I go to (Mount Horeb United Methodist Church) has has on it’s main billboard for years these words: “Prayer Driven Church”
For several years they were just nice words to me. Now as I’m really making an attempt to become a better man and a better man of God, those words have great meaning!
Lets Begin with the Most famous Prayer within our Christian Faith (Commonly known as the “The Lords Prayer”). I want to tell a brief story first…
My Mom (Mary Ellen Hall) is a devout Catholic Christian and assist every Friday at the local Hospital (Good Samaritan Hospital) in Vincennes, Indiana. She makes the rounds seeing people who are bed ridden and offering both prayers and communion. Here’s a picture of her leaving for that below:
The prayer she does with these patients is the “The Lords Prayer”. She told me something interesting about this prayer I’d never thought of or heard before. Since many times she’ll see patients who’ve had strokes or are in various stages of dementia you’d think my Mom would be saying the “Our Father / Lords Prayer” out loud by herself. But, she told me that even in advanced cases of dementia patients begin reciting our Lords Prayer with her.
Where is the Lord’s prayer in the bible?
The Lord’s Prayer can be found in two places in the New Testament section of the bible, as recorded in the Gospels of Matthew (chapter 6) and Luke (chapter 11) . The wording as it appears in Matthew forms the basis of the popular prayer version:
Our Father, which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth,
As it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
Amen.
The following is added by many to close out our Lords Prayer:
For thine is the kingdom,
The power, and the glory,
For ever and ever.
What Jesus said about Prayer ~ Matthew 6: 5-15
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, [a]
but deliver us from the evil one. [b]
14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Footnotes:
- (a) Matthew 6:13 The Greek for temptation can also mean testing.
- (b) Matthew 6:13 Or from evil; some late manuscripts one, / for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Jesus’ Teaching on Prayer ~ Luke 11: 1-4
1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
2 He said to them, “When you pray, say:
“‘Father, [a]
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come. [b]
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. [c]
And lead us not into temptation. [d] ’”
Footnotes:
- (a) Luke 11:2 Some manuscripts Our Father in heaven
- (b) Luke 11:2 Some manuscripts come. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
- (c) Luke 11:4 Greek everyone who is indebted to us
- (d) Luke 11:4 Some manuscripts temptation, but deliver us from the evil one
* PRAYING IN THE NAME OF JESUS *
NOTE: The below information is borrowed from www.gotquestions.org
Question: “What does it mean to pray in Jesus’ name?”
Answer: Prayer in Jesus’ name is taught in John 14:13-14, “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” Some misapply this verse, thinking that saying “in Jesus’ name” at the end of a prayer results in God’s always granting what is asked for. This is essentially treating the words “in Jesus’ name” as a magic formula (and un-biblical).
my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right. ~ Abraham Lincoln
Praying in Jesus’ name means praying with His authority and asking God the Father to act upon our prayers because we come in the name of His Son, Jesus. Praying in Jesus’ name means the same thing as praying according to the will of God, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him” (1 John 5:14-15). Praying in Jesus’ name is praying for things that will honor and glorify Jesus.
Book of John (chapter 14) that leads up to “Asking in the Name of Jesus”
John 14: 11-14
11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in Me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask Me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
15 “If you love Me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be [c] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves Me will obey My teaching. My Father will love them, and We will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love Me will not obey My teaching. These words you hear are not My own; they belong to the Father who sent Me.
25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Footnote:
- (c) John 14:17 Some early manuscripts and is
Book of 1 John (chapter 5) asking and approaching God
Concluding Affirmations
1 John 5:13-15
13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.