21 Days of Prayer: Day 11 - Kjell & Vivian Johanson
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“This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,’”
Matthew 6:9 (NIV)
Welcome back to Day 11 of our 21 Day Prayer Journey! Today, we’ll set our sails on the Sea of Galilee and come ashore at a hillside called “The Mount of Beatitudes.” There, Jesus taught His disciples about prayer in His first sermon, commonly called “The Sermon on the Mount.” Three times in Matthew 6, verses 5, 6, and 7, He began by saying, “When you pray….” not “If you pray….” He was speaking to people who already prayed. He’s giving them, and us, instructions on how to pray according to the will of God in a way that assures us God is listening and will answer our prayers. He tells them what not to do when they pray, as well as what to do. He speaks to our motives in prayer and then provides for us a model for effective, fervent prayer. Popularly known as The Lord’s Prayer, I like to think of it as The Model Prayer, as it offers us instructions on how to pray, more than what to pray. I believe this model prayer Jesus gave in The Sermon on the Mount will transform the way we think about God and talk with Him.
Let’s look at the first part together. “This, then, is how you should pray…” (I love the fact that when Jesus says we should do something, He always shows us how to do it.) How, then, should we pray?
Jesus begins with how we address God in prayer – “Our Father….” As a Christ follower, God is both my God and your God but not exclusive to either one of us, regardless of our denomination, church affiliation, or ethnic group. The kind of prayer Jesus teaches us to pray should unite our hearts as children of God. The essential relationship we must share is with Jesus Christ. Only Christ followers may address God as Father. In John 1:10-13 (NKJV), the Bible teaches us, “He (Jesus) was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” When we are born spiritually, we are born into God’s forever family and have the right to call Him Father! Look at the way The Living Bible paraphrases this in Ephesians 2:19 when it says, “Now you are no longer strangers to God and foreigners to heaven, but you are members of God’s very own family, citizens of God’s country, and you belong in God’s household with every other Christian.”
Once, I did not belong in God’s family. By physical birth, I knew Him as my Creator, but not as my Heavenly Father. Jesus Christ changed all of that when I received Him as my personal Savior and was born spiritually into God’s forever family! Now I belong! Faith is more than just believing! It’s about belonging, and when you and I pray, “Our Father….”, we are reminded that we are part of His family. We are not isolated from one another. We are connected to God and to each other through prayer!
What about you? Have you been born into God’s family? You can be – right now. Look at John 1:12-13 again. It promises, “… as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” My friend, Lee Strobel, offers a simple equation from this passage: Believe + Receive = Become! For years, I believed in God as my Creator, but only when I received Jesus Christ did I become a part of His family. That decision changed my life forever! It can change yours, too! It’s like marriage, in a sense. For years, I believed in marriage. My parents had a great marriage. I was a product of their love and faithfulness in marriage. But it was only when I said “I do” that I became married. It was a decision, an act of my will in response to a love relationship. God, the Creator, loves His creation. He loves you and longs for you to know Him as your Father. He gave His one and only Son to come to this earth and die for our sins and rise again to provide a way for us to be born again so we could become His children. Have you received Jesus Christ as your Savior? Receive Him now. Commit your life to Him today and ask Him to forgive you of your sins. When you do that, the second part of this first instruction on prayer will have meaning beyond mere words. The New Living Translation puts it like this in Matthew 6:9, “Our Father in heaven: May Your holy name be honored.” God will give you a new desire to honor His holy name in all that you do and say and are. This is the evidence of spiritual birth. Welcome to His family!
Another important part of your daily devotional is spending time with God in prayer. The Woodlands Church Prayer Board lists prayer requests submitted by our members and provides a way to send them some encouragement by using a button on the page to let them know that you prayed for them. Whether you use the Prayer Board, or pray from your heart, the goal is to build the habit of incorporating prayer into your quiet time.
Need prayer yourself? Let us know by submitting a prayer request on the Woodlands Church Prayer Board.