How to Pray (3): What to Ask For in Prayer
How To Pray
Part Three: What to Ask For in Prayer
This is the final post in my three part series on How To Pray. I’ve been looking at Jesus’ teaching on prayer from his Sermon on the Mount.
What To Ask For In Prayer
In part one I made the point that prayer shouldn't be complicated. In part two I looked at how we should view God as we pray. Once we have the appropriate view of God, then Jesus said we can ask for three things.
1. Pray for Provision
The first thing we should ask for is provision. Jesus said we should pray…
Give us today the food that we need… Matthew 6:11
or, more traditionally...Give us this day, our daily bread.
Praying for your daily bread was a necessity in Jesus’ day. People never knew if they’d have enough food for each day. This might be true for you. You might be living day to day, wondering where the next dollar will come from.
But for many people in the United States, this prayer is mostly symbolic because most of us have something in our cupboard…and our frig… and our freezer. We could probably go a week without needing more food. Maybe even a month. That’s embarrassing to write because people read this blog from around the world and I know this isn’t true in every country.
So, asking for your daily bread may not be relevant for you. But even if it’s not, this prayer IS relevant because it’s a way of expressing your dependence on God.
It’s like telling God…
God, first, I want to thank you that my cupboard is full, ...I know where my next meal is coming from. But second I want you to know that even though it’s full, I still need you. Without you, I’m nothing. I need your goodness, grace, mercy, wisdom and all the fruit of the Spirit. God, without you, I’m nothing. But with you, all things are possible.
In Luke’s book, Jesus encouraged us to ask for what we need.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Luke 11:9-11
So the first thing to pray for is provision. We ask God to meet our needs but not our greeds.
2. Pray for Pardon
The next item to pray for is Pardon. Jesus tells us to pray:
…forgive us our sins… Matthew 6:12
Now, this is really, really, amazing. But I don’t know if we always think about how amazing it is. I don't know if we fully appreciate God's forgiveness. I’m afraid we might take God’s forgiveness for granted.
But Jesus gives us the green light to go to God to ask for forgiveness. What a drink of cool water to a thirsty soul this is!
Jesus tells us to pack up all our sin, stupidity, regrets, bad decisions and terrible mistakes that' we've made from throughout our lives and bring them to God to receive his forgiveness.
We never have to worry that God will hold these things against us.
You see, forgiveness is at the heart of who God is. Forgiveness is what allows us to turn to God and be in relationship with him. And forgiveness is what brought Jesus to earth. He died to offer us forgiveness.
That’s why we aren’t just to ask God to forgive us. We’re to ask God to forgive us our sins in the same way that we forgive others.
…forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. Matthew 6:12
This keeps us honest, right? It helps us to not just selfishly ask God to forgive us while we forget the people in our lives who need our forgiveness.
The temptation is to simply use God as your personal conscience cleanser. Once you receive God's forgiveness you think you are free to return to your life as you know it.
But if you have truly experienced the forgiveness of God, it changes you and it causes you to want to share the same forgiveness with others.
You’re no longer tempted to only forgive people who you think deserve it because you know that YOU didn’t deserve God's forgiveness
No, you forgive others because you understand that forgiveness is the language of God’s kingdom. It’s the fragrance that should follow you wherever you go. And as a result, people gain a better understanding of who God is by observing your behavior.
“We forgive others because we understand that forgiveness is the language of God’s kingdom.”
Okay, so...you can ask for provision. You can ask for pardon.
3. Pray for Protection
Finally, Jesus tells us to ask God for protection from the evil one. Jesus tells us that there is another power out there, the devil, that's set against us.
If you've surrendered your will to God and are committed to bringing God’s kingdom to earth as it is in heaven, Jesus is saying you’ve got an enemy.
We don’t talk a lot about the devil. You may not even believe in the devil. That’s okay, You don't have to. But Jesus did. Jesus knew more about the spirit world than we do. And so I trust what he said about the devil.
Jesus knew first hand what happens to people who put God’s kingdom first. The devil comes to tempt them away from God’s plan.
Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness being tempted by the devil. And so Jesus said we need to ask God to protect us from these attacks.
The apostle Peter understood this as well. Peter said that the devil is like a roaring lion out to devour you. He wants to interfere with anyone who is working to bring God’s kingdom to earth.
Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8
Thankfully, Jesus said that we can ask God to protect us from the schemes of the devil.
So there you go. Jesus said you can pray for Provision, Pardon, and Protection.
The Greatest Problem With Prayer
Someone once said that the greatest problem with prayer isn’t unanswered prayer. The greatest problem with prayer is un-offered prayer. We fail to ask God for what we need.
That's like the child of a doctor failing to ask the doctor to treat them. Or, it's like one of Tiger Woods’ kids, failing to ask their dad for help with their golf swing. That’s crazy right?
It’s even more crazy that we would fail to ask God for the help we need.
I hope this brief series has helped you know how to pray the Jesus way. If so, why not shoot me a note to let me know.
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