Jesus taught us how to pray…

Matthew 6:9-13

This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

So following the model of Jesus this is a great way to P.R.A.Y. the way the scripture tells us…

P = Praise “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name…”

Start with praise. Get your heart in the right place by putting the focus on who it is all about! Lift up the name of Jesus and call out God’s faithfulness. When we start praying with praises it RAISES our faith when we speak of who God is…CREATOR GOD. Give Him all the honor and all the glory due His name before you go into anything else. Praise gets our hearts positioned under God as opposed to us trying to control God. Praise puts us as the creation and Him as the Creator. We serve Him, He does not serve us!

R = Repent “Forgive us our debts…”

Remember the scripture we read in James 5:16 ? If our heart is not right we miss it. Repent is to change your mind. It is about forgiving yourself and forgiving others. Spend time humbling yourself before God admitting your failings. Being honest about our condition before God acknowledges our dependance on Him. As followers of Christ it is not that we are in danger of missing salvation as much as it is about our acknowledging our brokenness before Him. Repentance is to recognize our sin and do our best to turn away from it to be more like Jesus!

A = Ask “Give us our daily bread…Lead us not into temptation…”

Present your requests before God…BE specific – so you can recognize it when He answers! Remember the movie Evan Almighty? The wife of the modern day “Noah” was pouring out her spiritual frustration with the waiter (who was supposed to be God…a.k.a. Morgan Freeman) and this is what he says to her…

“Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?

We don’t recognize when God answers prayer because we are too vague. Present your request to God and pray B.I.G. prayers! Asking God is worth it! You never know what His will at all times so present what you would like for God to do. Let your desires be known!

Y = Yield “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done…Deliver us from the evil one.”

After we ASK God we then are subject to His PLAN…remember it is HIS STORY. Even Jesus yielded to God’s will right before He went to the cross…check this out…

 Mark 14:32-36

They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.” Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

Here is how I think about prayer…Commit then Submit. Commit your request and desires before God, but then let Him do what He does best. It may not turn out the way you wanted, but it is always the best way! Submit to what God has for your life! Don’t be discouraged when prayers are not going answered according to your request, trust that God knows best at ALL times! There is always a reason He is either answering our prayers or isn’t. Some of the greatest things God has done for us is unanswered prayers! We think we know what is best when we are asking, but God knows what is truly best! Yield to His plans and His timing! He is the one in charge!