How Do I Pray Effectively?

9/11/10 Saturday Night - Anh Viet (Phillip Ma)

Matthew 6:11-13
  ¹¹Give us today our daily bread.
 ¹²Forgive us our debts,
      as we also have forgiven our debtors.
 ¹³And lead us not into temptation,
   but deliver us from the evil one.

When praying, we have to recognize our connection with God as one through a father-child relationship. God has adopted us as His sons and daughters. We need to pray, with the realization that God has a plan and He will one day carry through with His will.

Good prayer includes:
A) Requests for daily physical needs (v.11)
We should pray for our daily physical needs, such as practical necessities. Ask God what is enough for today. Lift our burdens up tp God and He will provide for us. The prayer has ten lines but only 10% of it is to ask God for our daily physical needs.

B) Requests for daily spiritual needs (v.12)
The need to have spiritual bread is vital in our walk as christians and something that we should pray for. A very important spiritual need includes the forgivness of sins. We need to ask God for forgivness daily so that we can come before the Lord with no barriers. Asking for forgivness daily doesn't mean that we are forsaking our salvation, but is a tool to break down walls between us and God. For example: In a marriage, a couple might get into an argument. Realizing that they have a problem and need to solve the issue doesn't mean they are no longer married. It only means that they are eliminating anything that seperates them.

C) Requests for spiritual protection (v.13)
As humans, we tend to walk as close to sin as possible, without sinning. God wants up to flee from those temptations to sin, not divulge ourselves in them. Because God does use those temptations to build our character and endurance, we need to pray for God to protect us and help us to withstand temptations when they do come.

This prayer is an outline for us to follow when we pray, not something to reapeat ritualistically. Remember to pray for physical needs, spiritual needs, and spiritual protection when you pray this week! :)