DAY 4: PRAYER

What is Prayer?

We can understand prayer as communication with God. It’s more than just talking to or at God; it’s a dialogue where we speak and posture ourselves to hear from God. In the same way you would talk to a parent or friend on the phone, you can talk to God. He doesn’t require eloquent words but a sincere heart—and if you don’t know what to say, you can ask the Holy Spirit to give you the words!

Even Jesus’ students had questions about how to pray.

“As [Jesus] finished [praying], one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” Luke 11:1 (NLT)

So, we must learn how to pray; the more we pray, the more we grow in prayer.

Think about almost any relationship in your life. You likely communicate better with them today than the day you first met. The more you talked, the more you knew each other, and your communication became stronger. In many ways, it’s like this with God.

So if you don’t know what to say or how to pray, use the example Jesus gave His students (below).

Day 4 Devotion

Scripture: Luke 11:2-4 (NLT)

2 Jesus said, “This is how you should pray:

“Father, may your name be kept holy.
    May your Kingdom come soon.
3 Give us each day the food we need,
4 and forgive us our sins,
    as we forgive those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation.”

Praying Like Jesus

What Jesus gave His students was a model for prayer. There is nothing wrong with repeating this prayer (in fact, many Christians do), and it could be a great starting point! What Jesus gives us is a pattern to follow as we learn how to pray (remember, that’s what His students asked for).

  • May your name be kept holy –– Start by acknowledging who God is before jumping to requests. If you’re not sure where to start, here are some ideas to help [Character of God Videos]

  • May your Kingdom come soon –– As followers of Jesus, our ultimate focus and purpose is to something greater than our world; it’s to God’s Kingdom. This is where we surrender our wants and desires to say “yes” to God’s plans and purposes.

  • Give us each day the food we need –– We often forget that we have the basics of life (food, clothing, shelter), not just because we earned a paycheck, but because God provided us the resources to have these things. This would be a time/place in prayer to go to God with what you need, not necessarily what you want.

  • Forgive us our sins —Sin is when we do things against God’s Word. We’ve all sinned in different ways (Romans 3:23). When you become a Christian, all your sins are forgiven (Acts 2:38), but we still continue to do what we want rather than what God says. It’s important to acknowledge our sins to God and each other (James 5:16), and we can know that when we do, we are forgiven (1 John 1:9).

  • As we forgive those who sinned against us –– This one might be the hardest part, but Jesus tells us in the Gospel of Matthew, “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:14-15). We can’t expect forgiveness while holding unforgiveness toward someone else.

  • Don’t let us yield to temptation –– There’s something where we can be easily drawn away from God and fall into a life away from Him (James 1:13-15). You likely have an idea of what this might be— it could have been part of your prayer for forgiveness. Ask God to give you the strength to avoid that temptation and, instead, live in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Hear From God

Pull out a journal or your notes app, and take a few minutes to reflect on these verses.

  • Highlight –– Write down part of the Scripture that stood out to you

  • Explain –– Answer the question, “What is the Bible teaching?” Ask the Holy Spirit for insight, and use the resources below to help.

  • Apply –– How can you apply this in real life?

  • Respond –– Use what you’ve learned to pray, write out a next step, or consider who you can share this with.

Resources

How can we help?

If we can pray, support, resource, or help you in any way, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Ps. Bryson or Sarah.

Email: bryson@wearerockcity.church