“Our Father 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 lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.”
–Matthew 6:9-13
Today, I want to remind you that when you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you are given a life connection to the heavenly Father.
This means you are given the promise and privilege of knowing that when you do pray, God doesn’t hear you as a stranger or even a subject. He hears you as His own child. What an incredible reality in the life of the believer!
And to help you in your own prayer life, I want to give you a simple acrostic: P-R-A-Y. This tool will help give your prayers structure and direction as you pray to God throughout each day.
The P in pray stands for PRAISE. That’s why Jesus taught us to pray beginning with “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.” Praising God in prayer says, “It’s about you, Lord, Your kingdom, Your glory, Your greatness, Your name, Your honor.”
The R in pray stands for REPENT. Yes, the penalty for your sins was paid for by Christ’s death. But because we sin daily, we are to repent, or turn from, our sin daily.
The A in pray stands for ASK. This is when you come to God to ask Him for daily strength and to petition Him on behalf of others.
And finally, the Y in pray stands for YIELD. This is why Jesus ended His prayer, “For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever.” Yielding yourself in prayer is the exact opposite of the popular “law of attraction” in our culture today that says you are the center of the universe. Rather, yielding is driven by getting God’s will done on earth in your life.
SO I ENCOURAGE YOU TODAY TO…P-PRAISE…R-REPENT…A-ASK…AND Y-YIELD.
