Prayer is not just a suggestion; You've been commanded to pray. Here's how.
Matthew 6:5-13 (NIV)
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,
but deliver us from the evil one.
Listen to passage & devotional:
Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 26: The Intercession of Christ
We believe that we have no access to God
except through the one and only Mediator and Intercessor:
Jesus Christ the Righteous.
We should not plead here
that we are unworthy—
for it is not a question of offering our prayers
on the basis of our own dignity
but only on the basis of the excellence and dignity
of Jesus Christ,
whose righteousness is ours
by faith.
Since the apostle for good reason
wants us to get rid of this foolish fear—
or rather, this unbelief—
he says to us that Jesus Christ
was “made like his brothers in all things,”
that he might be a high priest
who is merciful and faithful
to purify the sins of the people.
For since he suffered,
being tempted,
he is also able to help those
who are tempted.
Since it has pleased God
to give us his Son as our Intercessor,
let us not leave him for another—
or rather seek, without ever finding.
For when God gave him to us
he knew well that we were sinners.
Therefore, in following the command of Christ
we call on the heavenly Father
through Christ,
our only Mediator,
as we are taught by the Lord’s Prayer,
being assured that we shall obtain
all we ask of the Father
in his name.
Summary
These last couple of weeks we've focused on what it means that Jesus intercedes for us before His Father. One mistake we might make in understanding this is that since Jesus is advocating on our behalf, there's not much that we need to do ourselves; after all, what more can we add to the already perfect work of our Savior?
But as our Confession begins to conclude one of its longest articles, it does so with an imperative - that is, with instructions for us to "call on the heavenly Father through Christ, our only Mediator, as we are taught by the Lord's Prayer."
In other words, the Christian life is not to be spent quietly letting Jesus speak on our behalf, but rather we must articulate the requests we've been commanded to make before our Father and make them through Jesus, our intercessor.
Dig Deeper
This is a reprint of the posted instructions for how to pray using the AAA prayer pattern.
Triple-A Prayer is an easy way to remember how Jesus taught us to pray. Prayers which we read in the Bible are often short, and quite often follow this simple pattern. As we read through the Bible, we can pray God's Word back to Him in ways that are different each day, but yet follow this same template:
Acknowledge Who God Is: We are to start our prayers by reminding ourselves of who and what God is. As you praise God for His majesty and power, you'll experience His peace as you're reminded that God is above all things and that He has the power to meet whatever needs you have. Here's how Jesus Acknowledged who God is:
Our Father, who is in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Align Your Life With God's Will: We can not expect God to answer our prayers if doing so would bring us outside of His will, so it's important that when we pray, we re-align ourselves with His will, rather than attempting to make God bend His ways to fit our agenda. Jesus gave us this example:
Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven... Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Ask God for what you need: God has promised to answer our prayers when we ask for things that are aligned with His will. When you begin by acknowledging who God is and then you align your life with His will, you can be assured that God will give you what you ask for. As we go through each chapter together, we often leave this third heading blank as all of us have different needs, but Jesus did give an example of how we should ask:
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we have forgiven our debtors.
Remember, the Bible doesn't ask you to pray long prayers, instead it tells you to pray all of the time. Following the AAA pattern throughout the day can help you do this in the midst of your other activities.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who is in heaven, hallowed be your name;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven... Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we have forgiven our debtors.
Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 2 Corinthians 2
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