6 things to include every time you pray, based on the model prayer that Jesus gives here in Matthew 6:
- Praise: “Hallowed be Your name.” The Bible tells us in Psalms that God “inhabits” the praises of His people. Always take the opportunity to thank God for who He is and what He’s done.
- Submission: “Your will be done.” This is not the last time we hear Christ praying this to the Father. God does His greatest, most intimate work through those who are broken before Him.
- Needs: “Give us this day our daily bread.” Interestingly, Christ does not encourage us to pray for material abundance, but rather only for our “daily” needs. In other words, living paycheck-to-paycheck is a gift from God and something to be desired!
- Forgiveness/Repentance: “Forgive us…” Demonstrates humility and a desire to remove all things that impair our fellowship with our Heavenly Father.
- Others: “as we forgive those who have trespassed against us.” It’s good to pray for yourself, but there is more power when we pray for each other.
- Submission: Christ ends His model prayer much as He began it, in acknowledging and anticipating God’s will, and praising Him. “Amen” literally means “so be it” or, “let it be so.”
I’ve also recently heard from one of my leaders that he grew up learning the acronym PRAY: Praise, Repentance, Ask for others, Yourself. I thought that was pretty good also!
Blessings,
John
