Pray Like Jesus - Part 1
By Allan E. McNabb

Jesus taught His disciples to pray by giving this prayer as an example:
“‘Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name.  Your kingdom come.  Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.  And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.  Amen]’” (Matt. 6:9-13).

In this short series, we want to explore the components to Jesus’ prayer, and apply them to our prayers in the 21st century.

Pray for Brethren
In teaching His disciples to pray, Jesus began the prayer by saying, “Our Father. . . .”

The first word in Jesus’ model prayer is “our,” a plural pronoun.  Notice that He continued to use plural pronouns throughout the prayer (“us” and “we”).

From Jesus’ usage of plural pronouns, we learn to pray for other disciples when we pray for ourselves.

Often times, the things we pray for personally are things we can pray for other brethren.  Things like material and spiritual blessings, health, peace, etc.

By praying for others when we pray for ourselves, incorporating plural pronouns into our prayers, we make the most of our prayers.

Pray to God as Your Father
The second word Jesus spoke in the model prayer is “Father.”

As Christians we’ve been adopted by God, by which we cry out, “Abba Father” (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6).  We’re incredibly blessed to beseech God as our Father, having access to Him through Jesus (Eph. 2:18; 3:12).

God’s designation as our Father speaks volumes regarding the relationship we have with Him, and the relationship He has with us.

  • It communicates God’s love, and our hope as His children (1 Jn. 3:1-3; Rom. 8:17).
  • It communicates God’s nurture, and our dependence on Him (Eph. 1:3-6; 5:29-30).
  • It communicates that God teaches us (Jn. 6:45).
  •      It communicates the security God extends to us in Christ (Col. 3:3-4).
  • It communicates that God disciplines us (Heb. 12:5-11).

Praying to God as our Father makes a meaningful impact on our prayers, lovingly speaking to Him with total dependence, accepting His answers to all our prayers.

Praise and Glorify God
At the beginning and end of the prayer, Jesus praised and glorified God.  At the beginning He said, “hallowed be Your name.”  And at the end He said, “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.”

“Hallowed” means to make holy, sanctify.  In the prayer Jesus acknowledges that God’s name is holy, praising and glorifying Him.

The fact that Jesus praised and glorified God twice in His short prayer, teaches us to do the same in our prayers, spending a good amount of time glorifying God when we pray.

Pray About the Kingdom
Jesus prayed about the kingdom, saying, “Your kingdom come.”

“Kingdom” denotes the domain of the king.

Although the kingdom has already come and men enter it by obeying the gospel (Col. 1:13), there are many things to pray about regarding the kingdom today.  For example, we can:

  • Pray for Christ’s rule over the kingdom.
  • Pray for people in the kingdom (Christians) — that they put God’s kingdom first (Matt. 6:33).
  • Pray for the numeric growth of the kingdom — that more people obey Jesus and become members.
  • Pray for Christ to come, and take citizens of His kingdom to heaven.

Pray About God’s Will
Jesus prayed that God’s will be done, saying, “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

Jesus exemplifies this attitude in prayer, when He offered up prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears in the garden, with sweat falling to the ground like drops of blood.

He prayed, saying, “Abba!  Father!  All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will” (Mk. 14:36).

Our attitude in life is the same as Jesus’, “yet not what I will, but what You will.”  As such, this attitude is reflected in our prayers, praying with a submissive heart, wanting God to accomplish His will in our lives, no matter the personal cost.

To Be Continued
In the next article, we’ll continue with thoughts from the Lord’s model prayer, while also reviewing His teachings that immediately follow.