The Evangelist Speaks

by Evangelist Carolyn Griffin

The Prayer Model

Prayer is an essential part of the life of every true believer. Praying according to God’s Word, which is His Will, never fails to bring results. Prayer and confession of scriptures are two of the most powerful weapons we have in life. They connect us to God and allow His power to flow to us in every situation. In our last article we shared from II Chronicles chapter seven. We again emphasize that we must meet God’s conditions if we expect answers to our prayers. IF we obey His Word, THEN God will hear us and answer our prayers. (His timing, not ours)

Today we will look at the model for prayer that Jesus, our Chief Intercessor, left for us. Not only did He give us a perfect model, but His prayer life was a perfect example of that model. After spending time with Jesus, the disciples had observed His consistent and honest prayers to the Father. They wanted to experience the same kind of meaningful prayer. They wanted to pray with power and purpose and see great results like Jesus did. The disciples desired a connection with God the Father like Jesus had. As Disciples of Christ today, this too should be our desire. Many of us will say, “I know how to pray. I’ve been praying for years.” The disciples knew temple prayers, synagogue prayers, and all of the festival prayers. They knew the prayers of David, the intercessions of Samuel, and the laments of Jeremiah. When Jesus prayed, they saw an all together different level of prayer, and it made them thirsty for more. We also know all of the traditional and religious prayers. Too often we are just going through the motions of prayer and never experiencing results like Jesus did. 

If we are thirsty like the disciples were, we must return to the model that Jesus gave. The disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. In Matthew 6:5-7, Jesus emphasizes what to do and what not to do WHEN we pray. This lets us know that prayer is not a choice, but a requirement for every believer. In verses 9-13, He gives us our model for prayer. This prayer outline covers seven major topics, each representing a basic human need.

1)      The Paternal Need: “Our Father..”, Abba Father, Daddy God. Our needs are met because of the benevolence of a loving Father.

2)      God’s Presence and Glory: “Hallowed be thy Name”. Let your Name be honored and exalted.

3)      God’s Kingdom Agenda: “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done…” We must declare God’s Kingdom priorities in us, our families, our churches, communities, in our nation and throughout the world.

4)      God’s Provision: “Give us this day….” Jesus, the need-meeter, told us to pray daily, asking Him to supply all of our needs.

5)      God’s Forgiveness: “And forgive us as we forgive…” We need God’s forgiveness and we must seek His love and help to forgive others.

6)      God’s Protection and Power over Satan: “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” We must pray a hedge of protection around us and others. We must ask God to free us from temptations and rescue us when we are assaulted by evil.

7)      Divine Partnership: “For Thine is the Kingdom…” We must thank God for sharing his Kingdom, Power, and the Glory of His presence with us.

This is the model that teaches us how to pray. We need to pray for things – very specific things, gritty things, personal things, important things, kingdom things – with the pinpoint precision, focus, and consistency that Jesus modeled when He answered the disciples request, “Lord teach us how to pray”. Next time…..Hindrances to answered prayer.