Prayer is much different than many of us understand it to be. A revolution of prayer is needed!

The concept of offering up requests in the hopes that an invisible God delivers what we desire is the primary model of prayer for many Christians today. Read the list of prayer requests and hope for the best!

I remember growing up as a young Catholic boy people reciting the Lord’s Prayer over and over again as if I was fulfilling some religious duty. Those were not happy days as I lived in unhealthy fear presuming God’s rejecting of me unless I fulfilled the quota.

Now, I do agree that even simple, faith filled recitation of God’s living Word is healthy and extremely positive. However, too many presume reading the Lord’s Prayer or other scriptures is the totality of their assignment in prayer. Read it, agree with it and move on. This is the error I want to talk about.

Prayer isn’t a stale, tedious chore that, once accomplished, we earn favor with God as our desires (or demands) are met as requested. Prayer is the expression of the passion of our heart as we come into fervent, joyful agreement with God. That expression is explosive and it’s actually laughable to presume it can be limited to the mouthing of words! True prayer is comprehensive and it overwhelms us into radical agreement with God and aggressive response to his directives.

Prayer Isn’t Mostly About Us

Prayer is at its most powerful when the focus isn’t on us.

⁵ “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. Matthew 6:5 (ESV)

While we may not bring focus to us by religiously praying on the street corners, is it possible that the content of our prayer is at times narcissistic? Is it about bringing attention to us and our situation or to God and his?

⁶ But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Matthew 6:6 (ESV)

Whatever I am passionate about is done as a part of my daily life, in public and in private. On a natural level, I don’t only watch Chicago Cubs games in public to attempt to seek positive attention from others (which would have not been possible until this past season!) but I watch them in private when nobody else is home. Why? I have a certain measure of passion for my home team.

Of course, that’s a sad example when compared to the glories of enjoying and encountering God! We should be praying continually, according to Scripture, because it just radiates in and out of us! It’s not about others being impressed with our religious fervor, it’s about being who we are—lovers of the Most High God!

Prayer Isn’t About Coercing God

⁷ “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. ⁸ Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. ⁹ Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Matthew 6:7-9 (ESV)

I was repeating the Lord’s Prayer over and over again as a young child, convinced that my devoted work of speaking out loud would please God and result in a big thumbs up. If you think about that, it’s kind of demented thinking! It reminds me of tribal religions where people sacrifice chickens and mark their bodies as an offering to their gods in the hopes that they are spared from drought, floods and other natural disasters.

Prayer for the Christian comes from the place of deep, abiding love and a wondrous relationship with Jesus.

⁴ Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. ⁵ Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. ⁶ He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Psalm 37:4-6 (ESV)

Again, our prayer is simply an expression of our revelation of Jesus! We are ignited with passion as a result of knowing God intimately. We can’t help but to declare the wonders of our God!

Imagine what would erupt out of you after having an experience like is described in Revelation 19. That outburst, that response, is prayer!

¹¹ Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. ¹² His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. ¹³ He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. ¹⁵ From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. ¹⁶ On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. Revelation 19:11-16 (ESV)

The Prayer of the Lord

The Lord’s Prayer is just that—the passions of Jesus. It is truly the prayer of the Lord!

We aren’t to be limited to a simple recitation of words on paper. There is a fervent passion that should be sizzling in our veins as we declare this potent, culture rocking prayer!

¹⁶ …The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. James 5:16 (ESV)

The Lord’s Prayer is an intense declaration of our lifestyles that are shaking and shocking our culture. It is an expression of agreement with the plan of God for the nations of the earth!

HOLY ARE YOU!

⁹ Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Matthew 6:9 (ESV)

This verse shouldn’t be easy to be casually read aloud! The call is for us to have a visitation of God and his holiness! A revelation that causes us to collapse to our knees with our faces buried in our hands as we tremble and cry, “Holy!”

Can you imagine what it will be like to gaze upon perfect purity in our beautiful God’s countenance second after second forever? Oh Lord Jesus come! What an eternity that will be! Day and night never ceasing to declare, “Holy is the Lord God Almighty!”

⁶ and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: ⁷ the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. ⁸ And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” Revelation 4:6-8 (ESV)

YOUR KINGDOM COME

¹⁰ Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10 (ESV)

The conflict of flesh versus spirit should be causing veins to bulge in our necks as we cry out to God, “I despise the limitations of the flesh! I reject my own natural wisdom and I declare with boldness that your wisdom, your government, your Kingdom is superior!”

This prayer can’t be limited to a one sentence, three second read. As we draw closer and closer to Jesus we develop a never-ending yearning for God and his leadership. Everything else will appear as foolishness in comparison with the government of Jesus.

OUR DAILY BREAD

¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread, Matthew 6:11 (ESV)

Related to the previous point we are declaring our joyful dependence on God. Instead of our Santa Clause style requests flying heavenward in hopes of having our desires gift wrapped and delivered by God, we tell him, “Get me whatever you want.”

How powerful is it to move beyond asking God for the obvious and allowing him to surprise us! Talk about an addicting prayer life! Sometimes the best prayer is not to pray at all. What I mean is, if we have faith that he will supply all of our needs, why would we beg him for our needs to be met?

We can certainly have honest discussions with God about what we are struggling with, but we should do so without worry or frustration. We simply rejoice as we trust God to give us our bread every single day, and I think it’s best if he chooses just what that bread is!

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. ⁵ Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; ⁶ do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4-7 (ESV)

³¹ Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:31-33 (ESV)

FORGIVENESS

¹² and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. Matthew 6:12 (ESV)

Again, this cry of our heart should be automatic. The Lord’s Prayer is a passionate decree of the reality of our lives in Christ. Sin should cause us to weep and grieve as we again draw near to God with confession on our lips. Unholy decisions should so disrupt our flow in the Holy Spirit that we are nearly crushed under the weight—only to find God himself running to us to forgive us and give us new life!

The seriousness and destructiveness of sin should also cause us to quickly, instantly forgive others who have wronged us. That declaration of freedom for others bellows out of us as we unlock prison cell after prison cell allowing the guilty to go free!

In fact, this point in the prayer is so critical, that it is revisited again at the end:

¹⁴ For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: ¹⁵ But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6:14-15 (KJV)

A lifestyle of setting people free should mark every one of us. It’s what God does and it’s what we do!

DELIVER US FROM EVIL

¹³ And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Matthew 6:13 (ESV)

As inhabitants of a fallen world, we are keenly aware of the power of evil and the enticement of the enemy. This passionate plea should be forever on our lips, or until we eternity at least.

The thought of anything compromising our energizing, fiery, zealous relationship with the Lover of our souls should result in sobriety and locked-in demeanor. We must understand the power of sin and we have no option but to continually be aware of it’s devastating force.

¹⁰ …so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs. 2 Corinthians 2:10-11 (ESV)

IT’S ALL ABOUT GOD!

¹³ …For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. Matthew 6:13 (KJV)

Can you imagine declaring those words, …for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen… in eternity! Imagine how engulfed we will be in him and him alone!

This is true worship!

I want to exhort you to allow the Prayer of the Lord to become your own. Let it be an expression of your overflowing, all in lifestyle of worship and surrender to Jesus.

It’s not just a good group of words to read before bed. Prayer, especially prayer like this, is a testament to who we really are and what we really believe. It’s agreement with God and an unstoppable decree of our agreement with and position in him!