HOW TO PRAY
This message is longer than usual, but it is urgent, especially in the world we live in today. I have found that most people have no idea how or what to pray. Invest the time; you will be glad you did.
Jesus told folks to pray, repeatedly, while He walked on the earth, which generates the question: How do we pray?
A teaching from Jesus about how to pray:
“Also, when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray to stand in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets so that people may see them. Truly, I tell you they have their reward in full already.
But when you pray, go into your most private room, and, closing the door, pray to your Father, Who is in secret; and you Father, Who sees in secret, will reward you in the open.
And when you pray, do not heap up phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think they will be heard for their much speaking.
Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. Pray, therefore, like this:
Our Father Who is in Heaven,
Hallowed (kept holy) be Your name.
Your KingdomKingdom come,
Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have
forgiven our debtors.
And bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from
the evil one.
FOR YOURS IS THE KINGDOM AND
THE POWER AND THE GLORY FOREVER,
AMEN.“
(Matthew 9:5-13)
It is very important to understand who Jesus was speaking to and what He meant when He said this. This prayer was taught before Jesus accomplished all of it on the cross. Most people, even non-believers, recite it without ever considering what they are saying. Like most prayers asked today, the requests are redundant because they have already been answered.
At this time, Jesus was teaching unsaved Jews, who were under the law, and unsaved Gentiles. He had not completed His work. When Jesus died on the cross, everything changed immediately. All people became eligible for salvation and to receive His great and precious promises by merely believing and believing in Him.
(John 6:28-29, 2Peter1:1-4)
“Our Father Who art in Heaven.“ A simple fact and the addressee of all prayers.
“Hallowed (honored above all) be thy name!” A fact! The name of God the Father, God Jesus, and God Holy Spirit is above every name that is named. The name Jesus is the name at which every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that He is Lord to the glory of God. Jesus and God are the same!
(John 14:7-11, Philippians 2:9-11, Ephesians 1:21)
Thy Kingdom Come!
This happened when Jesus came to earth. It is also a request for the end times, a request to see Heaven and the New Earth. It is akin to the request we say today: “EVEN SO, COME QUICKLY, LORD JESUS!”
JESUS SPEAKING: “Yes, I am coming quickly. Amen“. JOHN SPEAKING: Yes, come Lord Jesus.”
(Revelation 20:22)
I would add a double, please, to that.
“Thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven!”
KABOOM!
YES PLEASE! This is a beautiful preview of what Heaven is like. Imagine living in a place where God’s will is always done. There will be no evil, jealousy, bitterness, envy, unforgiveness, competition, scorekeeping, gossip, hatred, theft, brutality, war, death, sickness, blindness, deafness, and no physical disease of any kind. There will only be love, joy, gladness, peace, grace, mercy, kindness, forgiveness, and belief!
This request will be accomplished in Heaven and on the new earth after the rapture, the tribulation, and the one-thousand-year reign when Jesus returns to rule the earth. It certainly is impossible in this world, so Jesus references that glorious time.
( Isaiah 65:17-19, Isaiah 66:22, 2Peter3:13, Revelation 21)
“Give us this day our daily bread!”
Jesus was not speaking of food! He was talking about Himself!
To understand, one must thoroughly read and comprehend the entire sixth chapter of John. For space and time, we will begin on the twenty-first verse.
The multitude chased him across the Sea of Galilee after he fed fifteen thousand of them with two small fish and five barley loaves.
“Jesus said to them, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, you have been searching for Me, not because you saw the miracles and signs but because you were fed with the loaves and were filled and satisfied.
Stop toiling and doing and producing for the food that perishes and decomposes; strive and work and produce instead for the food that endures unto life eternal: The Son of Man will give you that, for God the Father has authorized and certified Him and put His seal of endorsement upon Him.
HERE COMES THE GOSPEL OF JESUS IN ONE SIMPLE SCRIPTURE:
“Then they said, What are we to do, that we may be working the works of God? Jesus replied, THIS IS THE WORK THAT GOD REQUIRES OF YOU, THAT YOU BELIEVE IN THE ONE WHOM HE HAS SENT!”
There it is! Straight from the mouth of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! All that God requires of us is that we believe in and believe the One Whom He has sent, Jesus!
There is no other man-made nonsense! No, yeah, buts! There are no other qualifiers like you must confess, repent, and be baptized! No, yeah, but after you are saved, you must never sin again. Religion hates this declaration from the only One who matters.
“Therefore, they said to Him, What signs will you perform then, so that we may see them and believe in, rely on, and believe You? What work have you done to show what you can do?
HYSTERICAL! Just before this, Jesus fed all fifteen thousand of them with five loaves of barley and two small fish, walked halfway across the sea of Galilee, stood in the boat and caused it to move eight miles to shore IMMEDIATELY.
Our forefathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as the Scripture says, He gave them bread out of Heaven to eat.
Jesus replied, I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE. He who comes to Me will never be hungry, and he who believes in and cleaves to and trusts in and relies on Me will never thirst anymore. But as I told you, although you have seen Me, you still do not believe, trust, and have faith.“
“FORGIVE US OUR SINS FOR WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO SIN AGAINST US!”
This one is a slobber knocker! When Jesus said this, He had not forgiven us. When He finished His work on the cross, we were forgiven all our sins, once and for all, past, present, and future, and our sins were forgotten and never to be brought to God’s mind again.
(Zephaniah 3:17, Psalms 103:1-3 and 12, Isaiah 53:4-5, 1Peter2:24, John 1:29, Hebrews 8:12, Hebrews 10:10-18, Revelation 1:5)
FORGIVENESS is one of those things that demonstrate our salvation. It is also an act of purification. When we let go of scorekeeping, resentfulness, bitterness, hatred, being permanent victims, and vengeance, we purify our bodies from the venom and toxic chemicals they produce. We also purify our souls by flushing the evil thinking that these things create. We also create space in our souls for good thoughts, Jesus’ thoughts.
PLEASE DO NOT STAND BEFORE GOD WITH UNFORGIVENESS IN YOUR HEART, NO MATTER HOW JUSTIFIED THAT UNFORGIVENESS IS, AND TRY TO MAKE A CASE THAT YOU ARE A JESUS LOVER AND BELIEVER. FORGIVE EVERYBODY RIGHT NOW!
Believe it or not, you and Holy Spirit can do it together, even if you can’t do it in your flesh. Ask Him to help you; the next thing you know, it will be done. It has worked for me.
Forgiveness is not about forgetting and allowing toxic people back into your lives to hurt you again. You do forgiveness for yourself, not those who hurt you.
“AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, BUT DELIVER US FROM THE EVIL ONE.”
We know that God does not tempt or test any man. Here is how Holy Spirit explained it to James:
“Let no one say when he is tempted or tested, I am tempted or tested by God, For God is incapable of being tempted or tested by evil, and He Himself tempts or tests no one.“
(James 1:13)
To get this, you need to understand the nuances of the Hebrew and Greek languages. What Jesus meant for us to ask God is to LEAD US AWAY FROM TEMPTATIONS.
JESUS TOOK AWAY ALL OF THE POWERS OF THE evil one AND GAVE US DOMINION OVER him, ON THE CROSS.
“And He said to them, I saw satan fall like lightning from Heaven! (at the speed of light because Jesus threw him.) Pay attention, I have given you authority and power to trample upon serpents and scorpions (the evil one and his minions) and physical and mental strength and ability over ALL THE POWER THAT THE ENEMY POSSESSES; AND NOTHING SHALL IN ANY WAY HARM YOU!”
(Luke 10:18-19)
“For thine is the KingdomKingdom, power, and glory forever, Amen.”
The signature affirms who God is and our acceptance of Him.
So, if all of the requests of the Lord’s prayer except the return of Jesus were completed on the cross, how do we pray?
Our prayers should be based on the knowledge, receipt, and acceptance of the Great and Precious Promises of Jesus and the Gospel of “GOOD NEWS OF GREAT JOY WHICH SHALL BE TO ALL PEOPLE.”
Remember when you pray that Jesus guaranteed our blessings with His blood on the cross. Peter taught us that Jesus has already given us ALL THINGS that pertain to life and godliness, including His faith.
Jesus saved us, forgave us, healed us, prospered us abundantly, gave us the power to gain wealth, gave us His power, gave us the ability to speak things into and out of existence, gave us His peace, gave us His joy and gladness, overcame all of the problems in our life and gave us Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth and show us the things that are to come. This means that there is nothing that Jesus has not already given us.
( 2 Peter 1:1-5, John 2:16-18, Romans 10:9-10, Isaiah 53:4-5, Psalm 103:1-3, Matthew 8:16-17, John 10:10, Luke 6:38, 2Corinthians 9:6-14, John 14:12, Mark 11:22-24, John 14:27, John 15:11, John 16:33)
SO KNOWING ALL OF THIS, HOW DO WE PRAY?
Exactly like Jesus did! Jesus was in deep trouble. He was facing a crowd of more than fifteen thousand hungry followers. He needed to feed them. All He had was five barley loaves and two small fish. Jesus did not get on His knees and beg God for the food. Jesus did not call together a prayer group. Jesus did not call together people to agree with Him.
JESUS GAVE THANKS!
“Jesus took the loaves, AND WHEN HE HAD GIVEN THANKS, He distributed to the disciples and the disciples to the reclining people; so also with the fish, as much as they wanted. When they had all had enough, He said to His disciples, Gather the fragments now so that nothing may be lost and wasted. So, accordingly, they gathered them up and filled twelve (one for each of the disciples) baskets left over by those who had eaten from the five barley loaves!”
MEANING: If you want to receive overflowing abundance and see all of the promises of Jesus come true in your life, try throwing the net on the other side of the boat. Don’t ask Jesus for things He has done; GIVE THANKS!
END OF TEACHING.
