Prayers Needed

By Kyle Blackwell

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. -Matthew‬ ‭6:9-13

The first thing I sought after surrendering my life to Christ was how to effectively pray. How am I supposed to pray? So I thought about the Lord’s Prayer.  I read it in the Book of Matthew. Now his disciples, his own disciples, asked Jesus how they are supposed to pray to God Almighty. Well, that made me feel a lot better. I thought I was just ignorant. Then I learned the followers who walked with Him daily didn’t even know how to pray. Talk about comfort. I do want to say that Jesus did not mean for this prayer to be repetitious. Jesus says, in the Amplified Translation, Pray then in this way. You see, this is a model, a template. Another thing, this is called the Lord’s Prayer but I can guarantee you that Jesus never prayed this Prayer to His Father. We will get to that later. 

The first sentence:  Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Our father! No matter what kind of dad we have on earth (and I am not the best to my own kids), our Father in heaven is the Almighty God!!! He is not someone we just talk to when we’re down. He leads us through both mountains and valleys. Moreover, we must step back a couple sentences and greatly emphasize the fact Jesus calls Him Father, or Pater in Greek. You see, He is vastly different than any other little “g” god here on earth. If you mention god’s name, one may ask which you’re talking about. Thankfully, Jesus answers the question for us. Our Father is the God of the Heavens on the throne (Psalm 115: 2-3), while every other is a god of this world, satan (2 Corinthians 4:4). My Father is Holy, set apart, Lord of lords, omniscient, omnipresent and the omnipotent One.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. -Isaiah‬ ‭55:8-9‬ ‭

My Father is always looking out for me. Question is, will you allow Him to do His will?

Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done. Everything we do should be for His Kingdom in order for His will to be brought into fruition. I don’t know about you but I want Jesus to come back so I can go home. Love you guys, but honestly, I have somewhere to be. After all, I am nothing but a sojourner walking in a foreign land (Psalm 119:19).

For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. - 1 Thessalonians 5:2

We do not know when He will return. So, we cannot just sit idle and refuse to do God’s will. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that we are to be lazy Christians. In fact, the very name, Christian, means to be Christ like. When was Jesus Christ lazy? I will tell you this, we have too many “christians” who have been locked up in the Witness Protection Program far too long.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. -Matthew 28:19-20 

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? -Matthew 16: 24-26

Give us this day our daily bread. He is a providing God. Notice that he says bread and not fillet mignon. And not a Ferrari. Now, He may give us those things, but that is not how we are to pray. We pray for our needs, not selfish desires. 

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being contempt in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. -Philippians 4:12

Be happy with what you need, not what you want. My wife and I are able to testify of God’s provision over our own lives. Even though we have four children, we have spent less than $100 in groceries this past month. Life has not been the easiest, especially with this economy, but God continues to miraculously fill our freezer and fridge with healthy meats and veggies. I honestly cannot explain this phenomenon, other than one word, Jehovah.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. This is why I said that Jesus never prayed this prayer. Jesus never sinned, ever. So, why would He pray for sins that were never committed? This part of the prayer is the main reason I wanted to study this prayer template when I first gave my life to Christ. You’re saying Lord forgive me in the same way I forgive others. Really? I find that humorous and scary at the same time. How many are holding a grudge against someone right now? You must want God to hold a grudge against you as well. Be careful for what you pray. It might just happen. I prayed for God to humble me. The next day He brought me to my knees in an unimaginable way. I am not going into description of how. Just know that Ana can testify of this. After teaching this to Lucas, he loves telling his brothers they must forgive if they desire God to forgive themselves. Isn’t it amazing what our little children are able to understand?

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Some translations say to deliver us from the evil one, satan himself. Do not allow us to suffer without your presence, oh God. We all need this prayer. I cannot do this thing called Christianity without God’s intervention. I’m not strong enough to resist my own fleshly desires, or even the devil. By reading James, we know we are all led astray to sin when we allow our own sinful yearnings to take center stage. I lived with pornography as a stronghold in my life for 22 years. The only way I am able to beat that wrong and disgusting addiction is through Jesus. As seen in Psalm 22, His Blood washed me white as snow. I tried many years to quit but my fleshly desires, when partnered with the devil , were just too strong. I need Him. I can’t live without Him, and neither can you!

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. This is God’s kingdom, and all good and faithful works we do are done through His power. All this is done for His glory, honor and praise. James 1:17 says anything that is good comes from above. I’ll tell you right now, anything bad in this article is of my own doings, while anything good comes from above, and that goes for any of my articles.

We are now left with one word, Amen. I had a church leader who long ago said he never says Amen at the end of his prayers. His reasoning was that his prayer line was always open. While this was one of the most God fearing men I’ve ever met, He was dead wrong in this matter. Amen is not just a way to finish, or close out our prayers. This Hebrew word literally means so be it, surely, and truly. By saying Amen, we are expressing to God we faithfully believe what has been expressed to Him will be brought to pass.

Without prayer we have nothing. It is our lifeline to Heaven. Prayer is where revival begins. We need to get back to the basics: reading the Word, fasting and praying to our father in Heaven. And if we do want revival, it must start with us, at the heart, and God at the center of it all.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge -Hosea 4:6