When You Pray

God cannot be seen, yet He is worthy of our devotion! People have prayed/sought the face of God for millennia and yet many have struggled with connecting their prayers to a non-physical God.

Jesus' first disciples understood this and took it upon themselves to ask Jesus (the Messiah) how to approach God in prayer.

Jesus' answer was as follows:

Luke 11:2-4

2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.

3 Give us day by day our daily bread.

4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

King James Version (KJV)

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Or as Matthew recorded it:

Matthew 6:9-13

9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

King James Version (KJV)

Public Domain

There are some key points here in these short passages that shouldn't be missed.

First of all, God is our Father! Our Father God is in Heaven. The significance of that has to do with God being a spiritual being that carries authority and that is why we pray.

Secondly, we are to recognize the Holiness of God, His authority, and His righteousness; that He is worthy to be honored. We are to respect Him.

Thirdly, We are to recognize that God is a King, and that his subjects are those who though they are within another kingdom have accepted God's Lordship in their lives.

Fourth, The statement, Thy kingdom come, means that we are welcoming our Father's Kingdom on earth.

Fifth, When we pray, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, we are giving recognition to God's authority over the earth. One more aspect on this is that we pray that God's will be done in our personal lives, our families, our churches, our communities, and our nations.

Sixth, We should recognize that our sustenance both physically and spiritually does not come from within ourselves, but from our Heavenly Father.

Seventh, Once we recognize that we have many faults that need to be forgiven; and we ask for forgiveness, we then will receive forgiveness from our Father and can then offer forgiveness to others.

Eighth, God will not lead us into temptations, but will lead us through them. Our heavenly Father has spiritual authority in our lives and is able to deliver our souls from evil and destruction.

Ninth, Again we recognize the kingdom of God, the authority, the power He has, and the glory that surrounds Him; and will always be there forever!