“Be careful NOT TO PERFORM YOUR RIGHTEOUS ACTS before men TO BE SEEN by them. If you do, you will HAVE NO REWARD from your Father in heaven….” Matthew 6: 1 BSB (Emphasis mine)
Prayer is humanity seeking the intervention of divinity for sanity. It is also engaging the supernatural to overrule the natural with serenity. Prayer can either be spontaneous or organized form of petitioning and/or thanksgiving. It is therefore expedient to know how to pray the right way for a guaranteed result. This can only be achieved by learning how to organize and arrange the content of the prayer through format or pattern that Jesus expressed in the book of Matthew 6:9-15.
We have all recited that portion of scripture severally from our infancy till date. We call it the Lord’s prayer. We recite it as a religious creed and that is where it ends. But what we fail to grasp is that; the Lord’s prayer is a pattern or formula by which we can adopt and articulate the content of our prayer in order to get effective results. At a point in time one of the disciples of Jesus asked Him to teach them how to pray and Jesus re-quoted the formula to them yet they couldn’t decipher the formula and Jesus had to use parables to make them understand (Luke 11:1-13).
Now let us analyze Matthew 6:9-11 as we try to demystify the Lord’s prayer in order to help us to properly organize and arrange the content of our prayer to achieve and effective results.
After this MANNER (pattern /fashion) therefore pray ye: 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. Matthew 6:9-11 KJV, (Emphasis & insertion mine).
From the above scripture the first word emphasized was ‘manner’, which means pattern, method, fashion or formula. From here it is established that the Lord’s prayer is a pattern.
The second and third phrases suggests that; every prayer must be preceded by REVERENCE. When we begin our prayer with worship, praise and thanksgiving to God either in singing or declaration it means that; we acknowledge His supremacy and justice. Since prayer is a petition, when we revere God, it is just like acknowledging the authority of the judges in the court by referring to them as “my lord”. Because we believe they have the power to rule in your favour or otherwise, therefore we accord them with humility and respect of we don’t mean them most of the time.
The difference between the God and the judges in the court is that; God knows deep down within our hearts, whereas the judge doesn’t. Therefore, our reverence must be sincere from the heart and not the ‘fun-fool’ kind of respect we them give in court. Let avoid that hypocritical and arrogance disposition in prayer. Else our petitions will always be thrown out the throne of Grace.
Beloved let us approach God in prayer with all humility in sincerity as we reverence him. When we do this, we position ourselves for effective results. This is the first principle for content organization and arrangement in prayer. We will continue in the next edition. God bless us all.
PRAY WITH ME
Lord Jesus, I thank you this day for my life. From this day forward, I have resolved in my heart to approach the throne of Grace with all humility in sincerity as I revere you. This I pray in the precious name of Jesus! Amen!
Author: REV. SOLOMON LUTTERODT