TEACH US TO PRAY

Luke 11:1 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."
 2 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 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation. '"

Matthew 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

 The disciples had just observed Jesus praying and they ask Him to teach them how to pray.  Jesus' response begins with "when you pray"  that means He expected them to pray.  It also means He expects us to pray.  He had showed them by His example that prayer was important. 

Jesus seems eager to teach them and He starts by teaching them who to address their prayers to.  "Father"  When we call someone father we have to have a relationship with that person.  Jesus is teaching that we have a child/parent relationship with God.  He is our Father and since He is Holy and Good the relationship is an intimate one.  

How does one come to have a relationship with God.  The Bible teaches in

Romans 10:9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved) it is through believing and confessing that we become children of God.  We confess He is Lord and believe He rose from the dead! then a relationship is formed.  If you do not have that relationship,  God is extending and invitation for you to Confess and believe and He will be your Father.  Here is a short prayer you can say to come into this relationship with God.  "God I confess that I am a sinner and I have done things that do not please you I want to ask for your forgiveness of my sins and I accept Jesus as my Lord and savior.  I believe He died and rose again from the dead so I can have eternal life.  Thank you for making me your child.  In Jesus' Name Amen!"Just as a child can not walk up to a stranger and call him father, we also need to have this relationship as we come to prayer.   

Some people have a hard time seeing God as a Father because of the broken relationships they had with their earthly fathers.  Maybe your father was abusive, absent or just didn't care or provide for you like he should have. Like I said earlier our God is a Holy and Good He is not like a human being His love is perfect and it does not depend on anything we do or don't do, He offers it to us freely.  So let your hurts go and receive God's free love which He has given to us in abundance  1 John 3:1 says " How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. "  He doesn't just love us a little bit He has lavished His love on us that means He has given us His love without measure.   He desires to heal your wounded heart.  Receive this love so you can begin to pray "Father"

We will look at the next Phrase next time!