“Lord, teach us to pray.” That’s what Jesus’ disciples asked Him in Luke chapter 11, and we are still in need of such instruction, aren’t we? For don’t we usually start our prayers with a lot of requests for ourselves and our loved ones? In fact, don’t we find ourselves repeating our prayers, perhaps imagining that saying things over and over will somehow force God to act? But Jesus urges us instead to focus our attention on the One to Whom we pray. In fact, He calls us to remember that God is our loving heavenly Father, the One Who knows our needs much better than we do.

And the first three requests Jesus teaches us to ask of our Father keep that focus on God Himself: we should want God’s name to be considered high and lifted up, separate from sin; we should want more and more people all over the world to acknowledge God as their sovereign lord; and we should want God’s will to be done by everyone, including ourselves. In short, at the top of our priority list must be God and His glory, not ourselves and our wants or needs.

And when Jesus finally gets around to directing us to pray for ourselves or our loved ones, notice that He instructs us to ask just for what we need each day, instead of insisting that God show us all His plans far into the future. And notice that Jesus includes our spiritual needs right along with our physical ones: to Him, it is just as important that we are restored to a right relationship with God and with other people as it is for us to have food and clothing. And no, we can’t separate our divine from our human relationships: if we aren’t willing to seek reconciliation with one another, we shouldn’t expect God to extend His pardon and welcome to us.

But it’s not enough for us to ask that God forgive us for the things we’ve done in the past. No, Jesus urges us also to depend completely on God to keep us close to Him, protecting us in times of temptation from all manner of evil. And Jesus directs us to conclude our prayers in the same way that we began them: with a focus on God’s kingdom, power and glory. In this way we will be less likely to slip back into our self-centered concerns for our own success and reputation, won’t we?

So, as we pray, will we remain preoccupied with ourselves? Or will we trust God to give us what we need and to keep us focused on Him and His glory? Let us pray….

Matthew 6:7-15 (NASB)

7 “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition, as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.
8 “Therefore do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need, before you ask Him.
9 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name.
10 ‘Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
11 ‘Give us this day our daily bread.
12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen .’
14 “For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15 “But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.”