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When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He taught them first to place their focus on the character and attributes of God - "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name…." He opened the door of prayer with their eyes fixed firmly upon God. Prayer is basically intimacy with God. Jesus wanted those who followed Him to know that prayer isn't some mystical formula or religious ritual, but rather it's the communion of two hearts. Therefore, He taught His disciples to praise and worship God for who He is and to really get to know Him.
After the disciples had
a clear view of God, they would understand that which was on the heart of God. When
their hearts saw His heart, it would be natural for them to pray for the things
that were on His heart. They would see the needs of the world and begin to pray
for God's will in the world as He taught them to pray, "Your kingdom come,
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." They would pray for His
rule and reign in the hearts of men and women.
Once the disciples had
worshiped the Father, they would then cry out to Him for the things on His
heart. That's powerful praying. But then Jesus instructed His disciples to
bring their needs to God as He taught them to pray, "Give us today our daily bread." They were to bring every need to God. Bread represented the
most basic of human needs. Without food, we can't survive. Therefore, Jesus taught
His disciples to look to God to meet every need in their lives.
There's an interesting
observation about Jesus' teaching on prayer. Notice the order in which He
taught the disciples to pray. First, their focus was to be upon God, then the
needs of the world, and finally their own needs. That's almost reverse of the
way in which most of us pray. We often pray, "Oh, God, help me! I need
this. Please give me that." We frequently open the door of prayer with our
focus upon ourselves rather than upon God. Powerful praying isn't just fervent
praying, but it's praying with the heart of God. We begin with God and that
focus thrusts us supernaturally into praying for others. The final outcome is
that He meets our needs. He's Jehovah Jireh. He cares for us and knows every
need of our hearts.
If we will seek first
His kingdom, Jesus said that He would meet every need of our lives. In fact,
immediately after teaching the disciples how to pray, He told them, "But
seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be
given to you as well" (Matt. 6:33 NIV). God is faithful to His children.
Prayer that puts first the kingdom
of God and His
righteousness will always result in God's provision and supply.
In praise and
thanksgiving, we get to know God in His greatness and goodness. In
intercession, we come to know the heart of God. But in supplication, we meet
God as Jehovah Jireh - God, our Provider. Why don't you spend some time today
in prayer. Just get to know God. Get to know Him as your Father, who sits upon
His throne - the almighty, holy God who deeply loves the world. And as you get
to know Him, you'll discover that He will meet every need of your life.
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