On Prayer

Thoughts on Prayer

Luke 11:1-4 NASB
[1] … It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples." [2] And He said to them, "When you pray, say: 'Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. [3] 'Give us each day our daily bread. [4] 'And-forgive us our sins, 'And forgive us our sins, For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And-lead us not into temptation.'" …

Verse 2a
Reverence and recognize our Heavenly Father, the holiness of His name, those He is in us He is so high above us and apart rom us but we still have the privilege of calling Him our Father.

Verse 2b
Seeking His kingdom, we have an anticipation of a day when Satan's work will be done and he will literally be toast but we should seek God's kingdom to be established and expanded upon earth.

Matthew 6: [10] 'Your kingdom come Your will be done, Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. …
Seeking God's will can include the physical healing of someone, someones salvation, God's guidance. As we seek God's will we surrender to His will, knowing that He works all things for the good of His true children.
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Romans 8:28 NASB
[28] And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Verse 3
We seek God or our provision. Though God knows what we need, I think prayer is for our benefit. Not to let God know what we need but to remind us of how dependent we are upon Him

Verse 4a
God's forgiveness.

1 John 1:9 NASB
[9] If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The need to forgive others.

Matthew 6:13-15 NASB
[13] 'And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]' [14] "For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. [15] "But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions. …

I do not believe we experience the forgiveness of God until we extend forgiveness to others. I believe it hinders our fellowship with God.

Verse 4b
A prayer for deliverance from evil. God does not tempt us with evil but He may allow us to go through situations that may tempt us. We should pray that God would keep us from those temptations that might cause us to stumble. I believe God already has a path He is leading us down, prayer helps us to open up our mind to that path.

The more we open up ourselves to God in prayer, reverencing Him and acknowledging Him as our Heavenly Father, seeking His kingdom and His will, depending on Him for provision, forgiveness and guidance I believe the more we allow Him to work in our hearts and lives and I believe we will see more of His glory and others will see more of His glory in us.