“Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
(Matthew 6:8 NKJ)
“One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.’”
(Luke 11:1NIV)
I was researching this subject and found some valid questions:
- Why do we pray? If God knows what He is going to do, if He has a plan for us, why bother praying?
- Why ask Him something He already knows the answer to?
- Will He change His mind if I ask long enough?
I have no answers to these questions but I have wondered them myself. Why do we pray?
I pray because I have a desire to talk to my heavenly Father. I feel the need to tell Him what’s going on in life and what I think I need, even though He already knows.
I find it comforting to know even the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. Jesus’ model for prayer has three steps:
- First, praise Him.
- Second, admit we need forgiveness.
- Third, ask for what we want.
The Lord’s Prayer:
“Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, As it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, The power, and the glory, For ever and ever. Amen.”
(Matthew 6:9-13 KJV)
So there it is. If you don’t know how to pray or what to pray, say the Lord’s Prayer.
But I have found the best way for me is to just talk to Him. Talk to Him like I talk to friends. He is listening. Give it a try. You won’t regret it.
Have a blessed day.
Kathy Keller
Writer and Prayer warrior with Answers2Prayer Ministries
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