Do you ever tell yourself that you do not have time at that moment to spend in God's presence? Maybe you feel like you never pray the right way and so God will not listen. Or do you compare yourself with someone else that you think has their time with God all planned out...?
Many people, including myself, struggle with these feelings...these insecurities about our time with God. But once you see that talking to Him is just like talking to a friend, it gets a lot less complicated.
Our personal time spent with God are not meant to be put by the wayside for when we have more time or when we can get it planned out just right. We are human and everybody has their own way(s) of communicating with God and whatever your way is, God is everlasting, love, unchanging, and will always be ready for that time with you. All you have to do is initiate your side of the commitment.
It is amazing how God gave us His Word to equip us on how to live out our Christian lives! My mom and I started listening to some sermon messages from Chruch of the Highlands (I would definitely recommend checking them out!) and in one of Pastor Chris' messages entitled Teach Us To Pray, he points out something I never really thought of before and that is how Jesus gave a guideline on how to pray. Which it is just awesome how Jesus breaks these things down for us to understand clearly and to help us get comfortable with praying, and to also help us realize that praying does not have to be difficult!
Ok, it starts off in Luke 11:1 when Jesus' disciples ask Him to teach them how to pray and I just love Jesus' humble attitude, because He never says "Are you kidding me! You guys have been with me for this long and you have not caught on how to pray yet?" Let me tell you something, if you are not sure, have doubts, or just do not know, never be afraid to ask your question(s). Pray about it to God, ask a leader/pastor at your church, and better yet, if you have God fearing parents then let them in on your doubts and questions (I'm sure they would love to talk about it with you).
Now back to our story on how to pray. :) In Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus goes on to tell His disciples the famous Bible prayer that we know now: The Lord's Prayer, and through this prayer, there is an outline that we can use in our prayer lives.
The Lord's Prayer Outline:*
"Our Father in heaven"
It is amazing how God gave us His Word to equip us on how to live out our Christian lives! My mom and I started listening to some sermon messages from Chruch of the Highlands (I would definitely recommend checking them out!) and in one of Pastor Chris' messages entitled Teach Us To Pray, he points out something I never really thought of before and that is how Jesus gave a guideline on how to pray. Which it is just awesome how Jesus breaks these things down for us to understand clearly and to help us get comfortable with praying, and to also help us realize that praying does not have to be difficult!
Ok, it starts off in Luke 11:1 when Jesus' disciples ask Him to teach them how to pray and I just love Jesus' humble attitude, because He never says "Are you kidding me! You guys have been with me for this long and you have not caught on how to pray yet?" Let me tell you something, if you are not sure, have doubts, or just do not know, never be afraid to ask your question(s). Pray about it to God, ask a leader/pastor at your church, and better yet, if you have God fearing parents then let them in on your doubts and questions (I'm sure they would love to talk about it with you).
Now back to our story on how to pray. :) In Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus goes on to tell His disciples the famous Bible prayer that we know now: The Lord's Prayer, and through this prayer, there is an outline that we can use in our prayer lives.
The Lord's Prayer Outline:*
"Our Father in heaven"
~ God wants us to connect with Him relationally. He adopted us into His family (Romans 8:15) and He loves being called "Father." I believe when we recognize Him as something more than just a God in the sky, our relationship with Him begins to form a deeper meaning.
"Hallowed be Your Name"
~ Worship God's Name when you pray, because His Name has power. In Proverbs 18:10, the author says how "God's name is a place of protection . . ."
"Your Kingdom come Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven"
~ Pray God's agenda first. God has a prayer list of His own and when we align our hearts and passions with God's everything will fit into place (Matthew 6:33).
"Give us this day our daily bread"
~ Depend on God for everything and pray for what you need even if you do not need it. We need to communicate with God that we need Him (and we need to remind ourselves of this also). Psalm 121:1-2
"Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors"
~ Get your heart right with God and others. When you pray, "Lord, search my heart and point out anything that needs fixing." This is also something that we need to do daily because as humans we cannot go through a day without sinning. 1 John 1:9
"And do not let lead us into temptation but deliver us from the evil one"
~ Since God cannot lead us into temptation Himself, the part where it talks about that can be translated to do not allow me to be led into temptation. This part of the prayer is where we engage and recognize that we are in a spiritual battle against the evil powers of this dark world (Ephesians 6:12).
"For yours is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory forever"
~ Express your faith in God's abilities. None of what has happened in your life is because what you did and even when things seem impossible in life just remember that nothing is too hard for our mighty Father (Jeremiah 32:17). Revelation 5:13
*I got this prayer outline from a sermon message that I listened to from Chruch of the Highlands and would recommend listening to it to hear the full endept message (click on the message title above).
There you go! Your own personalized outline for praying. Always remember when you pray, God wants to hear from YOUR heart. He wants to connect with you, with what your feeling and even though you might feel that He has no idea what your troubles feel like, remember that Jesus once walked this earth and has already experienced stuff and suffered just like us if not more.
Have a great spring break and enjoy your prayer time with our Heavenly Father!
<3 Izzy
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