The Practice of Prayer (2)

“In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name…
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”  Matthew 6.9, 13

A simple guide to prayer
OK, we’re firming up our resolve to pray. We’re going to work at prayer so that, increasingly, it has the primacy of place in our lives, we are always praying, and praying in everything, conscious of the Lord and maintaining communion with Him, whatever we’re doing.

We’ll need additional help to organize our thoughts as we practice prayer without ceasing. The Lord’s teaching, in what we refer to as the Lord’s Prayer, is the best place to look for simple, concise guidance in how we should come before the Lord in prayer.

Because we’ve already dealt with confession of sin (v. 12) in a previous installment, I won’t say anything more about that here, except to remind us that whenever we come to prayer, we need mercy, and we will find mercy as we admit our need for it, confessing our sins to the Lord. We don’t necessarily need to begin every prayer with confession; however, we need to keep short accounts with the Lord in this matter. So whenever He piques or prods us concerning some matter, and as we seek the Lord for mercy, let us always pause to confess our sins and seek the filling of the Spirit, before we get too far along in our prayers.

Praise the Lord
In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches us to give praise to God the Father in heaven. We hallow the Lord by setting Him apart, as He is indeed set apart, because of His intrinsic being and greatness, and because of the variety and majesty of His works. Our prayers should always include praise for some aspect of God and His work. By praising the Lord in all our prayers, we set Him apart as the focus, not only of our prayers, but of every moment of our lives.

But how do we praise God? To listen to some believers praying, we might think that praising the Lord involves something like saying, “Lord, we really just praise You.”

But that phrase, and others like it, are so overused as to be almost devoid of any real power or meaning. To praise God is to enumerate His many singular qualities, to remark His greatness, beauty, wisdom, kindness, compassion, provision, love, goodness, power, and so forth, as we read of these in His Word or observe them in the world. Each of these terms invites us to pause and reflect more deeply: What makes God beautiful? How has He shown you His wisdom? What specific act of goodness, kindness, or compassion have you seen Him work?

The more we praise God, and the more thoughtful our praises of Him are, the more we are lifted into His presence, so that we encounter Him in His glory. This draws out even more praise from us, and sometimes praise so unspeakable that all we can say is, “I praise You, Lord, I praise You!”

Praising God in this way will help us to be more alert to the evidence of God’s presence and power all around us all day long. This, in turn, will help to offer us more opportunities for praising the Lord throughout the day, whenever we observe, experience, or express some aspect of the character or work of God. The more we praise the Lord, the more we will find our admiration, adoration, and love for Him growing; and this, in turn, will make us eager to know His presence with us always, in every situation, every moment of our lives.

Give thanks to the Lord
Closely associated with the work of praising God is that of giving thanks. Begin by giving thanks for God Himself – for the Father, Who made you, the Son, Who saved you, and the Spirit, who keeps and shapes you. Then give thanks for the gift of life, salvation, and the Kingdom and glory of God, to which He daily calls you, and which He urges and aids you to enter more deeply. Give thanks to God for the many gifts He bestows upon you each day – time, breath, life, work, family, friends, and the world you see all around you. Remember that He gives these blessings every day, and not just once. Keeping this in mind should help to make it more likely that we will give thanks in everything, and that, increasingly, giving thanks will become the kind of people we are – grateful, not grumbling.

Throughout the day we will receive cues and prompts from the Lord, which can serve to call forth words of praise and thanks, if only within ourselves. Every good and perfect gift comes down from God – a friendly greeting, a project finished on time, the beauty of the day, the wonders of culture, protection from harm, strength when you feel weak, a welcome meal or conversation, every good and perfect gift – so we should be ready with a word of praise and thanks as we recognize all the blessings God brings to us.

We love God because of Who He is and what He does. He is holy and loving and kind, and His works are full of blessing for those who know Him. Make sure to include in your prayers ample, specific, heartfelt praise and thanks to God. You can never exhaust gratitude or praise, and you never want to offer such prayers in a merely perfunctory manner. Set your mind on God, and let your heart range over His many gifts.

Then hallow our Father in heaven by pouring out prayers of praise and thanks to Him, every time you pray.

For reflection
1.  How much do praise and thanksgiving occupy your time in prayer at present?

2.  What could you do to be more alert to and mindful of the many ways God blesses you each day?

3.  Suggest some ways you might use Scripture to guide you in praising God.

Next steps – Transformation: Begin to add more praise and thanks to your prayers, and to take more opportunities to praise and thank the Lord throughout the day.

T. M. Moore
Each of our “next steps” exercises is tied into goals and disciplines involved in working your Personal Mission Field. If you have not yet identified your Personal Mission Field, watch the brief video showing you how to get started right away (click here). Learn how to work your Personal Mission Field by finding a friend and signing-up for our Mission Partners Outreach.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.