By Steve A. Hamitlon

Introduction: Prayer – to entreat, implore, beg, beseech, plead, praise, thank, confess, petition.  In other words, praying is speaking or talking to God.

I.  How to Pray (Matt. 6:9-13; Luke 11:1-4)

          A. This prayer is not the Lord’s Prayer.

                   1. Jesus gives this prayer as an example prayer.

                   2. Jesus would not personally ask for his sins to be forgiven (Heb. 4:15).

                   3. Therefore, it’s a prayer given for instructional purposes only.

B. What do we notice about the mechanics in prayer.

                   1. Starts by addressing God (Matt. 6:9; Luke 11:2; Col. 1:3).

                   2. Our requests, etc. are given next (Matt. 6:10-13; Luke 11:2-4).

                   3. It concludes with “Amen” (Matt. 6:13).

          C. We are also required to pray through Christ our mediator (1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 7:25). 

1. Our words in prayer must be given by His authority (Col. 3:17).

2. Therefore, we conclude all prayers recognizing our permission by Christ’s authority to address God.

          D. Considerations in public prayer (1 Cor. 14:15-16).

1. Others cannot say “Amen” if they can not hear your prayer; understand what you said in your prayer, or disagree with what you said in prayer. “Amen” means “so let it be,”  When we say “Amen” to a public prayer we make that prayer our own prayer.

                   2. Others cannot say “Amen” if we fail to address God in some manner, fail to recognize Christ’s authority in some manner, or fail to say “Amen.”

3. Understanding the prayer is a prerequisite to saying “Amen.” One common mistake made in prayer is beginning a prayer with “continuing in prayer.”  If the previous prayer was concluded with “Amen,” what are we continuing?  More often then not, I’ve notice that those who use “continuing in prayer” fail to address God in that prayer.

E. Prayers do not need to be long.  The example prayer Jesus gave His disciples was only 66 words long (Matt. 6:9-13). 

II. Does our posture matter?

          No single position has ever been bound in scripture. 

1. Some stood and bowed (Luke 18:13; Matt. 6:5; Mark 11:25).

2. Some kneeled (Luke 22:41; Acts 7:60; 9:40; 20:36; 21:5).

3. Jesus fell on His face in the garden before His crucifixion (Matt. 26:39).

III. Other considerations:

          A. Pray always (1 Thes. 5:17; Eph. 6:18).

          B. Pray in secret (Matt. 6:5-6).

          C. Pray according to his will (1 John 5:14-15).

Conclusion: This evening we will learn how to pray according to His will in a lesson called Prayer.  Prayer is a Privilege we should not take lightly.

Last modified: 05/02/08