The Way to Pray

The Lord's Prayer is very important in the life of a person who is walking the path of faith. This prayer teaches us who to pray to, how to pray and what to pray. With own own ability, what we can do is very little. But through the power of the Holy Spirit, through the power that comes from above, we can live and do great work. Prayer determines the outcome of an individual or a nation. Just as a good businessman is close to his business and bank, just as a good student is close to a library, a person who walks this path of faith should be close to God. And, the easiest way to be close to God is through prayer.

We should always pray and earnestly ask the Lord. As the ones who are following the will of God, we should always pray and seek His will. When we earnestly pray to God and seek, He will hear us and answer our prayers (Isaiah 50:2). When we pray to God and ask Him, He gives us overflowing.

Through prayer, we can become united in God, with God. There is no greater prayer than the one taught by Jesus, the Son of God, to His disciples. What did Jesus want us to pray? About God and the Kingdom of God. This should be the focus of our prayer.

This prayer reconfirms our relationship with God. The God we pray to is not just any god – He is our Father and we are His children. He is in heaven and we are on earth.

Through this prayer, we reveal our love for Father God. Our ultimate goal should be to praise and glorify His name. "Hallowed be your name" – We should meditate on this every moment and see whether through our words or actions, we are glorifying God's name or blaspheming Him, bringing shame to His name, whether as sons we bring pride to our father or shame to him.

Our will should match the will of God. God should be the center of our lives. The purpose of our existence should match the purpose of our creation. What is God's will? "Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." This is God's will. To bring down His kingdom to earth is our purpose. Our purpose should be to "seek His kingdom and His righteousness" (Matthew 6:33). Our food should be to do "the will of the Father" Who sent us and to finish His work (John 4:34).

When we pray, we should ask Father in Heaven above to give us "our daily bread," help us meet our needs "each day." Our prayer should not be a selfish one or a greedy one. When we pray, our prayer should be sincere and earnest.

As we walk this path of faith, we face many difficulties and hardships that may shake the very foundations of our beliefs. Hence, we should pray to Father God to protect us and lead us in the right path so that we do not face trials and sufferings so deep which may tempt us to be unfaithful to Him.

Remember the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective (James 5:16). Let us be the ones who can always keep this 'model' prayer deep in our hearts and always turn to Father God to seek His mercy and strength and wisdom from Him. Amen.