Tag Archives: Jesus' teachings on prayer

The Lord’s Prayer: Its Two Settings

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The study of prayer would not be complete without examining the Lord’s Prayer. It is no doubt the most comprehensive piece of work on prayer ever composed.  Here in this very short prayer Jesus has woven every possible principle of prayer together and has given it to us to show us how to pray.  It is the best and simplest prayer tool we could possibly have.  John MacArthur, in his book, Jesus’ Pattern of Prayer, said, “It [The Lord’s Prayer] is an absolute masterpiece of God’s infinite wisdom to somehow encompass every conceivable element in prayer and reduce it to one simple pattern.”1

In this first blog on the Lord’s Prayer, as an introduction, I want to talk about its settings. In upcoming blogs we will talk about its sources, its form, and generally what it teaches us about prayer.

The Two Settings of the Prayer 

 Since…

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4 Things the Lord’s Prayer Teaches Us About Prayer

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What the Lord’s Prayer Teaches Us About Prayer — Matthew 6:9-13

1.  It brings to us the way we ought to regard God when we pray.  Hence, when we pray “Our Father” we understand that we ought to regard Him as our father.  Likewise, when we pray “Hallowed be Thy name” we see Him as holy.  When we pray “Your kingdom come” we see Him as a king, our king.  When we pray “Thy will be done” we see Him as our master and teacher.  Then as we pray for daily bread we see Him as our provider.  When we pray for forgiveness we see Him as our savior.  And when we pray for leading and guidance we see Him as our shepherd and protector, the one who goes before us.

2.  It shows us the spirit of true prayer.  At each junction in the prayer Jesus conveys to…

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8 Teachings of Jesus On Prayer — Teaching #7

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Jesus taught that prayer must be with faith (Matthew 21:21-22; Mark 11:22-26) 

In theses verses I see three aspects of faith in prayer that Jesus teaches.  First of all…

(1) Faith must be in God.  Matthew 21:22 says, “Have faith in God.”  Prayer with faith, therefore, is prayer that believes in God and in the promises that He has given us.  Then it is prayer that expects God to answer based on those promises; it is prayer that has a continuing hope for the answer and a lasting energy to pray until the answer comes.  Secondly…

(2) Faith must be with obedience.  Prayer with faith is prayer that doesn’t just pray and then believe that God will do it by Himself without us; it is prayer that counts on God to help usdo it; it is prayer that stops praying and starts obeying.

In Mark 11:23 Jesus…

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8 Teachings of Jesus on Prayer — Teaching #3

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Jesus taught that prayer must be with expectation—expecting the best from God (from Matthew 7:7-11; Luke 11:8-13; Luke 18:6-8). 

When you read these passages you will see that the emphasis of Jesus’ teaching on prayer is not entirely on the persistence of prayer, but I think it is more on the sure answers that God will give when we are persistent in prayer.  Hence, when we pray, God does not want us to be so focused on our own persistence in prayer, but rather on how loving He is and how He wants to answer our prayers quickly.  In both the Matthew passage and the Luke passage the emphasis is not so much on the asking but on the receiving, not on the seeking but on the finding; again, it is not on the knocking but on the door being opened.

The teaching Jesus uses in these three passages to…

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8 Teachings of Jesus on Prayer – Teaching # 1

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 In this post and in the following eight posts our discussion will be drawn strictly from what Jesus taught us about prayer in the gospels. 

In my study, I found fourteen different passages in the gospels where Jesus taught on prayer.  I have organized them into eight different categories.  This is an excerpt from my book Principles of Prayer.

  

#1.  Jesus taught that prayer is not to be directed to others or self but to God alone; therefore, it must not in any way be a show or an effort of good works, but rather to be as a humble cry to God for help (from Matthew 6:5-8 and Luke 18:9-14).

 

 We will outline this section in three parts.  First, from Mathew 6:5…

 1. Prayer must not be a show of good works.  Jesus said, “And when you pray, you shall not be like the…

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