In church the other day, I was thinking about my prayers and how I need to improve. The Lord’s prayer came to mind (Matthew 6:9-13 KJV). I always knew His prayer was to be an example for us to follow as we pray, but I saw it in a different light.
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name
In my prayers, I first need to give glory to the Father, reminding myself of all His tender mercies and miracles in my life. I won’t be able to name them all, but allowing my mind to remember and dwell on those things will help me focus on my prayer. I can contemplate the biblical miracles. I can give thanks for Joseph who was sold into Egypt and the miracle of his forgiveness. I can ponder the miracles of the children of Israel in Egypt and the wilderness and remember God is the same yesterday and forever. My needs are so much smaller than those people of ancient times, but it can give me courage to know He can answer my prayers, and if I need a miracle, He can provide it according to His will.
Thy kingdom come
I need to pray for Zion to come so we can be prepared to bring in the Savior as our king and ruler. I must consider what I can do to make that happen and ask for direction and listen. We are living in perilous times. Values and mores of society are changing. Many are losing faith and becoming hardened to the truth, partly because truth is being shaped to fit political agendas and reflect the sordid misinformation all around us. There has never been more need for unity in a Zion community. I need to pray and work for that day.
Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven
I need to ask for the Spirit in my prayer so I can be discerning about what the Lord wants me to work on. It is easy to pray for the Lord’s will to be done. It is quite another to ask specifically, “What do I need to do to fulfill His will?” Right now, I am more concerned about what to do with my possessions, my worldly goods. Is that what the Lord wants me to do? I need to ask. It is important to ponder the ladder we are climbing. Is it leaning against the right wall?
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors
I need to spend time thinking about my relationships. Is there anyone I am indebted to or is there anyone I need to forgive? I know I don’t have any hard feelings toward anyone, but I wonder if anyone has hard feelings to me. Do I owe them an apology? Have I unwittingly stepped on someone’s toes? I need to ask myself, “Lord is it I?” as the apostles did when Jesus said someone would betray Him.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil
I know the Lord doesn’t lead us into temptation; we put ourselves in those circumstances by the people with whom we associate and the places we go. Those people and places can be on the internet and social media. Anything that leads us to wish for something we don’t need, or leads us to pride or envy, is temptation. If we pray for the Lord to deliver us from evil, we must make a conscious effort not to go into places that will allow us to think or do evil. In essence, it is a plea for the Lord to help us control our thoughts and our actions to align with His will. It will help if I focus on the things the Lord wants, rather than what I want to do.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever
At the end of my prayer, I need to acknowledge God’s infinite power and ability to bless me in my endeavors to do His will. I must recognize He has power to do His own work, but He allows me to be a part of it so that I can witness His majesty in my life. I also need to recognize that if I have faith, He can work miracles to help me do the things that are hard. It doesn’t take long when we imagine and contemplate the beauties and intricacies of His creations to realize He is a God of miracles and power. It is easier to worry and ponder the problems and not think God is an all-powerful solution to any minuscule problem I may face. I just need to ask.
Amen
The closure to my prayer is an agreement with God to do what I have prayed for. In other words, I need to do my part in bringing to pass His will. He has asked that we do not pray in vain. I think He is talking about words that never make it past the ceiling and the turning out of the light. We are praying with the lament of the king in Shakespeare’s Hamlet: "My words fly up, my thoughts remain below. Words without thoughts never to heaven go." We say the words without really intending to carry them out. I should be making a commitment to do what I have promised. Not just “pie crust promises, easily made and easily broken,” as Mary Poppins puts it.
When I was young, back in the time of the dinosaurs, we had this saying: “You can’t get a million-dollar answer to a 10-cent prayer.” That is so true, but what is a million-dollar prayer, and how do I know when I get the answer? A conversation is never just one-sided, which is what I catch myself doing much of the time.
I have learned there is more to prayer than a grocery list and checklist. “Thank you for this and thank you for that, and please bless me with this and please bless me with that.” Certainly, that is the pattern we often teach our children, but when we are grown up, we need to put away childish things. Our prayers need to change. Prayer needs to be real communication with our Heavenly Father.
Scripture reading, pondering and searching the Holy Word are all part of communication with God. Back in my youth, I didn’t understand why the Scriptures were so important. They were written by people thousands of years ago. Now I realize that the Scriptures build faith. They tell of people’s dealings with a God who loved them, and it is no different today. God hasn’t changed, and for the most part, human nature hasn’t either. Just look around. Are we not plagued with the same sins and shortcomings as the children of Israel? Do we not sometimes long for the flesh pots of Egypt or long for the pleasures of the easy life rather than the life that will help us grow in favor with God and man as Jesus did? Do we still need to love our neighbor and pray for those who hate us? Do we still need to ponder God’s power and recognize His ability to bless us with miracles? Do we still need His guidance and protection? Yes, more than ever.
When I was in school, I always had a pen and paper handy to take notes so I could remember the points the professor was making on the subject matter. I didn’t want to forget everything the minute I walked out the door. It would be a good thing to allow the Lord the same respect. After all, He is the greatest professor of all time. He knows all the answers to every subject, past, present and future. If He is going to give you bits of wisdom, wouldn’t it be a good idea to write them down so you can remember them? Oh, I know we are past pen and paper. A tablet is the order of the day, but a pen and paper doesn’t tend to lead us to social media and away from our prayer. God doesn’t want to compete with the world, and if we want what God wants, we don’t either.
