Before Jesus taught us what to do in prayer He taught us what not to do. Don’t pray to be seen or impress people, don’t use repetition, don’t think speaking a lot of words and formulas will get you heard and don’t pray like religious people pray.
One of the most powerful things He taught was a warning and an instruction at the same time when He said, “Your Father knows what you have need of.” The warning was don’t pray as if God doesn’t know your needs. In other words, this is not where you beg God, check off your grocery list and tell Him all your problems. However, because He knows all of our needs and has now met them all through the resurrection of Jesus, all that’s left for us to do is use our authority to establish in our lives what He has freely given.
Religion teaches that we must beg to get God to respond to us, implying that He doesn’t really love us, doesn’t really understand our needs and didn’t really meet all our needs through the resurrection. Faith, on the other hand, teaches us to respond to what is already ours in Christ.
The Lord’s Prayer gives us priorities that we must address to set our life in order, to establish God’s will and God’s Kingdom in our life. If we do this and live in peace, walk in love and avoid the struggles of temptation we are free to learn the simplicity of entering into His place of rest and provision.
Join me this week as we discuss How to Set Your Life in Order. It could be the beginning of a brand new, fresh and powerful prayer life that actually works! Click here to step into this week’s CyberChurch message.
