Transformational Prayer

How many times have we approached our time of prayer with a laundry list of needs and desires only to be frustrated over what seems to be a lack of movement on God’s part?

I can honestly say there have been moments in my life where I did not want to participate in prayer because it felt like a waste of time. The prayers that would go unanswered seemed to outweigh the times I would see God’s movement. I was confused and frustrated by the silence of God, and frankly it always felt like we were on different pages, and God was too stubborn to get on mine.

All the while I had friends who thrived in their prayer life and found such joy in it. I was constantly wondering what I was missing. There was a disconnect in my understanding that only God’s mercy and patience could remedy—humility.

In Matthew 6 Jesus teaches us how to pray with the passage many of us know as “The Lord’s Prayer.” Have you ever considered the intentionality of the word order Jesus chooses to use in His outline?

Let’s observe together:

9 “This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’”