Introduction

We are so glad you are joining us for these daily prayer posts. Throughout these weeks we have been listening to the prayers of the Bible and learning from them how to pray. This week we turn our attention to the model prayer Jesus gave His disciples when they asked him, “Lord, teach us to pray.” (Luke 11:1)

Each devotion will take five to seven minutes of your time.

1. We will look at an insight from those who know something important about prayer.
2. We will listen to Jesus as He prays “The Lord’s Prayer.”
3. We will reflect, asking the same four questions each day that invites us to look and listen with intent.
4. And we will pray, for it is in praying that we learn to pray. And it is in praying that the Spirit changes our hearts.

May we encourage you to grab a notebook, a journal, something to write on as you do each prayer guide. Yes, it will add a few minutes to the time it takes to do the devotion, and it will also deepen your experience and shape your walk with God for years to come.

Look

It is in the knowledge of God’s Fatherliness, revealed by the Holy Spirit, that the power of prayer will be found to root and grow.

Andrew Murray, Lord, Teach Us to Pray

Listen

Today we will look at the first (and arguably most important) line of The Lord’s Prayer: Our Father in heaven.

Who do we pray to? The Creator of the universe; the sovereign Ruler of all things; the one true God; the Great I Am; the God of the angel armies; the Ancient of Days; the King of Kings and Lord of Lords; the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, transcendent One… our Father in heaven.

Matthew 6:9-13

⁹ Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
¹⁰ Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread,
¹² and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil.
*For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever.
Amen.

Reflect

1. Having read the Word, sit silently for a minute and give God’s Word a moment to settle within you.
2. Re-read the verses slowly and write down some thoughts that resonate with you.
3. Ask the Spirit to help you see the deeper longings, desires or motives in your heart that those thoughts are pointing to. (for example: you may write down, “Jesus wants the disciples to address God as their Father.” The Spirit can help you consider all that word means to you.)
4. What emotions, longings, and desires are stirred in you by the word “father”? How does it feel to address God that way?

Pray

Throughout the week we’ll pray “The Lord’s Prayer” together, emphasizing a different line each day.

⁹Our Father in heaven, 

Pause your prayer here to think about what it means for you to address God as “Father.” Talk to Him about your emotions and desires related to that word. If there is anything you need to ask Him to reveal to you or heal in you, do that now.

hallowed be your name.
¹⁰ Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread,
¹² and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil.
*For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever.
Amen.

*Some of the earliest manuscripts do not contain this line.