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 forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Matthew 6:9–13
The Scriptures tell us that prayer can be tremendously effective (James 5:16) and that it should be offered incessantly (1 Thessalonians 5:17). How is your prayer life right now? How often do you pray? Do you pray in times of distress and sorrow? Do you also pray to give thanks when things are going well? Let’s take a look at the model prayer and see what Jesus would teach us about this all-important lifeline.
What does prayer do for us? Jesus tells us that prayer will bring rewards from the Father: “When you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly” (Matthew 6:6). These blessings can come in physical form, like daily bread (v 11), but spiritual blessings like forgiveness are the greatest of all. Jesus says that God will forgive us of our sins when we ask Him (v 12; cf. Acts 8:22) and that He will deliver us from temptation (v 13; cf. Hebrews 4:14–16). Prayer also gives us perspective, because when we pray, we tend to forget the trivial things of life and bring into focus the things that really matter. Prayer reminds us that God is in ultimate control of things (v 13) and that it is better for God’s will to be done in this world than our own (v 10). And while the benefits of prayer will not be readily apparent to those who do not know the Lord (the word translated “openly” in v 6 is absent in many Greek manuscripts), they are very real to the lives of those who have learned to rely on the Lord.
What can we do to improve our prayers? First of all, we must make sure that our prayers are offered for the glory of God and not of ourselves. Jesus said that hypocrites pray to be seen and glorified by men for their piety (v 5). One who comes to God with the right attitude always addresses Him with reverence (vv 9, 13). We can also improve our prayers by learning to forgive others. Many of the versions (rightly) render v 12 this way: “Forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors.” We don’t ask for God’s forgiveness until we have first extended it to those who need ours. We can also improve our prayer lives through anonymous acts of kindness and service (vv 1–4) and through private acts of devotion, such as prayer (vv 5–6) and fasting (vv 16–18). The more we try to conceal our good works, the more they shine forth, and God receives the glory for them instead of us (Matthew 5:14–16). If we want to make our prayers better, we need to make them––and our lives as a whole––more about others than ourselves.
So if prayer is so good for me, why don’t I feel like praying sometimes? I don’t feel like exercising when I know I haven’t been eating right or when I know I’m not going to stick with it, basically because I don’t feel it will be very beneficial. What’s the use? If I know that my life doesn’t reflect what a Christian should be, when I am only praying to seek forgiveness, when I only pray to meet others’ expectations, when I only pray because I feel obligated, when my life is void of any spirituality or acts of service, my prayers will be empty, and who wants to be a hypocrite? If you feel like your prayers aren’t being heard, maybe you need to take a deep look within yourself for something spiritual. The best way to improve your prayers is to improve yourself, and Jesus shows us how. Stay tuned.