After this manner, 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.  And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from  evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.  Amen.  Matthew 6:9-13 KJV

Today, I thought it would be good to take a look at how, when and why we pray.  Let’s begin by looking at how we pray.  Jesus used the Lord’s prayer, which is our scripture passage today, to teach the disciples how to pray.  Our pastor once did a sermon on how we should pray using the Lord’s prayer and he taught us this, first adoration and praise.  The Lord’s prayer begins with  “Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.”  We are to recognize the sovereignty of God.  We are to praise his name.  Then we are to recognize his power.  “Thy will be done”.  We know that God is all powerful.  We are to thank Him for the things he has provided.  Then we are to ask for our needs and we are to finish with an acknowledgement of God’s power.  Now in the verses prior to our scripture passage, Jesus tells his disciples that they are to go into their rooms and pray in private.  We should never pray just to be seen or recognized by others.  He also tells them not to babble on like pagans.  Talk to God like you are talking to a respected Father.  Just because you use more words doesn’t mean that you are doing a better job of praying.

So when should we pray?  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 tells us that we should rejoice always.  It says that we should pray continually and “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  I set aside prayer time in the morning and I say my prayers before going to bed at night, but I pray all day.  I pray when I am driving, when I am out cutting grass, while I am cleaning house.  Anytime I think of something that I want to talk to God about, I pray.  We have an open line of communication to the King of the World, why not use it?

So, why do I pray?  Well, I’m glad you asked.  I pray because I do have that open line of communication.  I pray because I do a lousy job at managing my life.  I pray because I know that with God’s guidance, my life goes much better.  I pray because I love the Lord and I love the peace that I get from keeping in constant communication with Him.

I want you to consider a few things.  First of all, we should be grateful.  While they are trying to take so many other Christian things out of our nation, we should be grateful that we still celebrate the first Thursday in May as National Prayer Day.  Also, I believe that we need to pray to get prayer back into our schools and other governmental offices.  2 Chronicles 7:14, “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and heal their land.”  Please know this, no man can make America great again.  Only God can do this.  But He will allow us to continue in this downward spiral, unless we do what His Word says.  We must begin by getting down on our knees and humbling ourselves.  We must pray and seek Him and do his will and turn from our evil ways.  Then and only then will our great nation recover from the damage that has been done. So pray and pray often, we need all the prayer we can get!

Have a great day!