Once
Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came
to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” 2 Jesus said, “This is how you should
pray: “Father, may your name be kept
holy. May your Kingdom come soon. 3
Give us each day the food we need, 4
and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And don’t let
us yield to temptation. LUKE 11:1-4 NLT

Prayer should not be weird

When
you pray, you don’t have to…

Change your voice

Always cry

Use a foreign language

Imitate other people

Get angry

Here’s what I want you to do: Find
a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just
be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from
you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace. MATTHEW
6:6 MESSAGE

Prayer is not a conversation

When I think of all this, I fall to my knees
and pray to the Father… EPHESIANS 3:14 NLT

But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut
the door behind you, and pray to your
Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. MATTHEW 6:6 NLT

Prayer is about God hearing from me,
not me hearing from him

If only God would speak; if only he would
tell you what he thinks! JOB
11:5 NLT

Prayer
does not require lots of time

“When
you pray, don’t babble on and on as
people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by
repeating their words again and again. MATTHEW
6:7 NLT

God is in heaven, and you are here on earth.
So let your words be few. ECCLESIASTES 5:2 NLT

Jesus
teaches that prayer should be:

Respectful

“Father, may your name be kept holy. May your
kingdom come soon” LUKE 11:2NLT

Be respectful but not intimidated

Because of Christ and our faith in him, we
can now come boldly and confidently
into God’s presence. EPHESIANS 3:12 NLT

Real

and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those
who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation. LUKE 11:1-4 NLT

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you
need… PHILIPPIANS 4:6 NLT

Regular

Give us each day the food we need… LUKE 11:3B NLT

Learning How to Pray

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