How to Pray

Wow, I feel like its been so long since I’ve written a blog. After Easter, I think that I plataeued in my faith for a few weeks, but rest assured that some things happened this week that got me back climbing again. I am nearly done reading Jeremiah, it has been several months now since I started reading it, but that’s for another blog. If you are new to my blogs you may be wondering why it take me so long to read Jeremiah, it’s only 52 chapters? I would encourage you to go back and read my blog post from from January sixth, (click here) titled Why I don’t read the bible.

Today I want to talk about how to pray using the Lords Prayer. For full and fair disclosure, this section of my blog did not come from me, I am taking it from Bob Kilpatrick, from His book, Secrets of the Silence. This is the 21 day journey of prayer that I read over lent while doing my Daniel Fast. It really helps to put prayer in prospective. So without further ado, here it is.

“Our Father, who 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 debts as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil,

For Thine is the kingdom, and power,

And glory forever. Amen.” Matthew 6:9-13

Jesus told us to pray like this.

Our Father…we start with a recognition that our relationship to God is as children to their Father, not slaves to a master, subjects to a king or workers to an employer.

Hallowed be Thy name…we continue in reverent worship.

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven…we voice a specific request that the rule of God should extend to all the earth.

Give us this day our daily bread…we ask for our basic needs to be met.

And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors…then we confess our sinfulness and ask for the same mercy that we give to others.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil…we admit that we have a propensity to wickedness and ask for protection from an enemy that is willing to lead us into it.

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen…we close with worship and a recognition that everything is His.

I read that, and I really liked it, and thought that it was worth sharing. In my next blog I will write about a camping trip that I will be taking next month, where I will be spending 2 full days alone with God in the middle of the woods.