Luke 11:1 (TPT)
One day, as Jesus was in prayer, one of his disciples came over to him as he finished and said, “Would you teach us a model prayer that we can pray, just as John did for his disciples?”
Saint Luke’s Gospel was based on conversations that he had with Peter. Luke didn’t personally walk with Christ like Peter did, but his Gospel account is widely considered one of the most detailed. There are several stories in Luke’s Gospel that don’t appear in others. While Peter didn’t tell Luke which disciple mustered up the courage to ask Christ for a lesson on effective prayer, the fact that one of them did so is very telling.
It tells us that we don’t need to be ashamed about not having the prayer life that we want to have. If the men who walked with Christ needed a lesson in effective prayer, it’s safe to assume that we need one, too.
Christ responded to this request with the Lord’s prayer. The verses that we’re going to look at today do not come directly from the Lord’s prayer, but they follow the same outline.
Before you begin today’s study, grade your prayer life. This isn’t a “pass/fail” scenario, and if we’re being honest, most of us land somewhere in the middle of the grading scale. However, when we apply the framework that we’re going to look at today, we can rest assured that our prayer lives will become stronger, and our prayers will be more effective.
Starting with Praise
Psalms 100:4 (TPT)
You can pass through his open gates with the password of praise. Come right into his presence with thanksgiving. Come bring your thank offering to him and affectionately bless his beautiful name.
When Jesus gave His disciples the model prayer, He started by saying, “Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your name.” He opened up His prayer with praise to God simply for being who He is.
There is a potential misconception about starting our prayer with thanksgiving and praise that needs to be cleared up. This isn’t about “buttering God up.” We don’t open our prayers with compliments because we need to get on His good side. We’re already on His good side. He loves us. Instead, opening our prayer with praise ensures that we’re reminding ourselves who God is.
God wants us to ask Him for the things that we need. He loves when we pray. In the same way that a loving father loves when his children tell him the things that they need, God loves to hear our requests. However, when we open with praise, it’s a means of reminding ourselves about who God is.
The verses that come before the one we just read in Psalms 100 are all about lifting up praise to God. We can offer faith-filled requests to God when we are reminded about who He is. Spend some time thinking about the prayers that God has already answered for you. Take an inventory of the things in your life that are the result of His work. When you open your prayer with praise, you put yourself in the right mindset.
Asking for Forgiveness
Psalm 19:12-13 (TPT)
How would I discern the waywardness of my heart? Lord, forgive my hidden flaws whenever you find them. Keep cleansing me, God, and keep me from my secret, selfish sins; may they never rule over me! For only then will I be free from fault and remain innocent of rebellion.
We know that we need to repent when we sin, and we know that sin is something that we all struggle with. When you’re caught in heavy traffic and allow frustration to bubble over, resulting in the use of some words that you know you shouldn’t say, you’re probably quick to ask God to forgive you. That’s a good thing! When the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, we should certainly repent in that very moment. God is eager to forgive.
However, repentance should be part of every prayer that we pray. In the Lord’s prayer, Christ said that we should ask God to “forgive our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us.” It’s easy to assume that we don’t need to repent when we pray because we don’t think that we’ve done anything wrong. According to David’s writing in this Psalm, that’s simply not an option.
David asked God to search him, revealing any sin in his life that he didn’t know about. That is a commitment to repentance. When you pray, spend some time not only asking for forgiveness for the things that you know you’ve done, but earnestly ask God to reveal any sins that you didn’t even realize you had committed. This is a crucial component of getting our hearts in tune with God.
Ask, Seek, and Knock
Matthew 7:7-11 (NIV)
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
Once we’ve praised God and repented for our own sinful behaviors, we can move into the part of effective prayer that most of think about when we think about praying. When we need something, God wants us to ask Him. In this passage, Christ further expounds on the comparison between our Heavenly Father and a good, loving earthly father.
If you’re a parent, you already know how much you love making your children smile. While you likely don’t rush out to buy your kids everything that they want, there are few things that touch a parent’s heart as deeply as giving their children something, and then enjoying the level of joy that your children experience. God feels the same way about us!
God loves to give us the things that we want and need. You can look around your own life and see the blessings of God. While you may not be the wealthiest person you know, you may not live in the biggest home, or drive the newest car, you can see the blessings of God in your life. God loves to give us good things.
He wants us to ask Him for anything that we want or need. However, we need to know how to see those answers. If you ask God to bless your finances, He may bless you with a better job instead of supernaturally putting money in your bank account. God’s answers don’t always look like we think they should, but God always answers.
Effective prayer starts with you. When you put yourself in the mindset of praise, your faith naturally grows. When you think about the good things that God has done, it’s easier to believe that He will do good things again. When you ask Him to forgive you of any sin in your life, you remove the barriers between you and God. Then, you can ask for the things you need and want.
A Closing Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I praise You for every good thing that I have ever seen You do. Thank You for being faithful, good, and loving. Reveal any sin in my life that would cause division between me and You. Bless me with the things that I need. I know that You love blessing Your people. In Christ’s name, Amen.