Many people do not know how to pray. Most people understand their need to communicate with God, but they do not know how to communicate with God. What we all have to realize is that prayer is simply talking to God. God wants and desires a personal relationship with each one of us. The way to have the personal relationship I am talking about is by accepting His one and only Son as our personal Savior and Lord. The Bible tells us, “for God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.” Jesus teaches us how to pray. He tells us in Matthew 6: 5-8,” When you pray do not be like hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I assure you, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father secretly. Then your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you. When you pray do not babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered only by repeating their words again and again. Do not be like them, because your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask Him.” We have all probably heard of the Lord’s Prayer. We have either said it before a sporting event or heard it sung at a wedding or a funeral. Jesus gives us this particular prayer to show us how to pray. Just because we call this prayer the Lord’s Prayer does not mean that Jesus prayed it for Himself. He never sinned and therefore had no reason to ask for forgiveness. The prayer Jesus taught His disciples that day is in response to them asking Him, ”Lord teach us how to pray.” We can divide the prayer in two parts and each with three petitions. > The first three focus on the glory of God. “Our Father in Heaven” We recognize Him as our Holy God and we are His children. “May your name be honored” We need to begin our prayers with reverence and praise to God for who He is. This will help us put our needs or problems in proper perspective. “May your kingdom come soon. May your will be done here on earth, just as it is in Heaven” Ask God for His perfect will to reign supreme in your life. > The second three focus on our personal needs. “Give us food for today” God has promised to provide for all of our needs, both personal and physical if we will just ask. “ And forgive us our sin, just as we have forgiven those who sinned against us” We have to confess our sins to God in order to be cleansed. If we are holding on to a certain sin and do not ask the Lord for forgiveness our prayer life will suffer. “ And don’t let us yield to temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” We must remember that the spirit is willing but our flesh is weak. We must dwell on our Savior Jesus Christ at all times. I do not pray Lord save me from the lions when I fall into the pit, I pray Lord keep me away from the pit completely. Do not put yourself in a vulnerable position to fall or fail because you will if you do not have on the full armor of Christ. We need to try and include these important points in our prayers. We will begin to realize how big our God really is and how small our problems really are in comparison to Him. Because He Lives! Ashby