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I think that most of us, if we are perfectly honest with ourselves, would have to say that our prayers consist mainly of prayer requests, usually for our own needs.
Now there is absolutely nothing wrong with this. The Bible tells us to ask! James says, "Yet you do not have because you do not ask." (James 4:2b NKJV), and Jesus Himself says, "Ask, and it will be given to you.." (Matthew 7:7a NKJV), etc. Does this mean, however, that our prayers should primarily consist of our prayer requests?
For the answer to this question, we must look no further than the Lord's Prayer. And yes, asking God for our needs is part of this prayer: "Give us this day our daily bread." (Matthew 6:11 NKJV). But as our pastor pointed out this past Sunday, it isn't the only part of Jesus' sample prayer. In fact, it is only one line out of about 11. And what is very interesting is this line's place in the prayer. Just prior to this part of the prayer, Jesus says to pray, "Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10 NKJV).
I don't know about you, but this is kind of backwards to how I normally prayer! I ask for my needs and for the needs of others, and then I tend to tag on, "If it is Your will!" But Jesus' sample prayer tells us that before presenting our own needs, we should acknowledge that God's will is perfect, that His Kingdom is perfect, and that His perfect Kingdom be manifested on Earth! Only when we have established these more important things should we begin asking for our own needs!
Why is this the specified order?
Because it helps us to acknowledge that perhaps we don't know best; but we trust that God does, and we put our faith in His perfect love for us.
It is also quite revealing to realize that our physical needs are only a tiny part of what we should be asking from God. The next four lines of the prayer (vs. 12 & 13) are also requests, but for spiritual help: "And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one." (NKJV). In other words, we should ask God for our physical needs, yes; but even more importantly, we should pary for our spiritual needs of forgiveness, of the ability to forgive, of strength to overcome temptation, and of deliverance!
Do you, like me, pray backwards? I challenge each of you to examine the order of your prayers. Remember to ask for God's Kingdom to be manifested on Earth, to ask for His will to be done, before listing out your needs and the needs of others. And then, spend at least four times as long asking God to help with your spiritual needs! I can tell you from personal experience that changing the priority and the order of my prayers has radically changed my life and has helped me to begin, in the simplest of manners, to look more like Jesus.
in His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart
Moderator, Author, Associate Director, Answers2Prayer Ministries
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