Luke 11:1 1 Thessalonians 5:17 “Teach us to pray,” one of Jesus’ disciples asked him one day (Luke 11:1). Now--it wasn’t that they were unfamiliar with the concept of sending speech or thoughts up to God in heaven. Their parents had surely taught them prayers in their homes when they were children. Each Sabbath they would light their candles and pray. Each Passover they would eat the lamb, hear again the story of God’s miraculous redemption of his people, and thank him for his mighty acts on their behalf.
They were regulars at synagogue worship and knew the temple rituals. But when they saw how much Jesus got out of his prayer time, when they saw how often and how intensely he spoke with his Father, they knew they were missing something important. They wanted their prayer life to do for them what it obviously did for Jesus.
Why did he draw so much strength from that time? Why was he always so refreshed? How could they tap into that heavenly comfort and energy?
Do you share their longing? Is your prayer life sometimes unfulfilling? forced? scant? confused? nonexistent? The Bible is full of stories and passages that can guide and inspire us to a better prayer life. These devotions will bring you an encouraging word from the Word for each day of your month.“Pray continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
Day 1
Matthew 11:28 Psalm 51:17 Communication Obstacles: Guilt When I was a kid, we always knew that when the dog slunk around the house and avoided our eyes we would soon find an “accident” in the living room. When you know that you have done wrong and offended someone, it is a powerful deterrent to wanting to have a close and intimate conversation with that person. Guilt makes you want to run away. An ashamed first couple hid in the bushes when they heard God’s “footsteps” in the garden. When we are guilty of unconfessed and unforgiven sin, one of the first casualties is our desire to pray.
Here is the beauty of a relationship with our God that is based not on our performance and behavior but rather on his grace, that is, his decision to love and forgive us unconditionally. Jesus came to this earth not to pin medals on spiritual superstars, but to rescue sinful and ashamed fools like you and me. He said once, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
When you are aware of your shortcomings, when your conscience makes you sick inside, when you are too ashamed to pray, that is the very best time to pray and claim the forgiveness that was bought for you for just such a time. God’s mercy is bigger than your sin. He will never despise a broken and contrite heart (Psalm 51:17); in fact, his particular specialty is in healing broken hearts and providing rest for restless spirits.
Day 2
2 Kings 4:28 Communication Obstacles: Fear of Disappointment I have to admit that one thing that slows down my eagerness to pray is fear. I am afraid of being disappointed. Prayer, real prayer, honest prayer, involves opening up your heart, baring your feelings, taking a risk, exposing your tender side instead of the hardened armor we usually present to the world.
The prophet Elisha’s intercession once brought a long-hoped-for son to an older woman. It was ecstasy to her soul; she had wanted so, so badly to be a mother. Then the boy grew sick and died in her arms. Mute with shock at first, she finally burst out in bitter distress, in “I knew it!” soul pain: “Did I ask you for a son? . . . Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t raise my hopes’?” (2 Kings 4:28). It was Elisha’s great privilege to channel God’s life-giving power back into the boy, and he joyfully restored the boy to his mother.
But I know her fear, and you probably do too. Sometimes we may hesitate to ask God for something we desperately want or need because we assume we will be turned down.
Elisha’s wonderful ministry helps us to trust that God always gets the last word, and his last word is always one of blessing, kindness, and victory. You don’t have to be afraid to open your heart. Even if he lets you experience pain, the pain becomes the path to even greater joy.
Day 3
Mark 4:40 Communication Obstacles: Small Faith Somebody observed once that you can tell how big a person’s God is by how big his or her prayers are. Do you get the point? Do you agree? Whom really do you worship? Is he omnipotent or semi-omnipotent? Is he the King and Lord of all or just the duke or earl of all? Is he the Master of the universe or merely a middle manager? Has Satan really been dealt a mortal blow or is it just a flesh wound?
Jesus’ disciples were once in a little boat during a mammoth storm. The boat was taking on water, and their God seemed small and remote. “Don’t you care if we drown?” At just the right time Jesus looked at the waves and reminded them that they worked for him. “Be still!” He rebuked the furious winds, “Quiet!”
To the stunned disciples Jesus commented sadly, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:40). The upside is that experiences like this one helped their faith to mature and grow. Their memory of such extraordinary events served them well later in life when they were called on to risk their lives for the gospel.
Day 4
Matthew 6:33 Communication Obstacles: Misplaced Priorities One of our persistent weaknesses is that we want to author our own play, the play of our life, in which we are the star, for which we would like to write the script. We can pretty much do fine on our own for a while, and then when we encounter a problem too big for us, we holler for God to show up on “our” stage, on our cue. He generally does not oblige us at such times. Hmm. Wonder why.
In the middle of his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus helped his disciples to see how the universe really operates. The more you grasp for material things, the more in love you are with yourself and your agenda, the less you will achieve and the less satisfaction you will feel.
Here is a better way: “Seek first his [God’s] kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). Seeking God’s kingdom means seeing yourself as God’s creation, placed here on earth for a mission, his mission. You are in his play, and he will let you know the role he needs you to play for him.
Seeking God’s righteousness means choosing to value your forgiveness of sins through the blood of Jesus as your most precious possession. When you have that, everything else that God thinks you need will come flowing into your life.
Day 5
James 5:16 Communication Obstacles: Just Talk Maybe I’d pray more if it didn’t look so weak. When I’m praying, I must look like I’m talking to myself, mumbling impossible things to nobody. Everybody craves a sign, power, and control, isn’t it so? Wouldn’t it have been cooler if upon becoming a Christian, you got a light saber to use? or blue lightning bolts? or a million dollars in gold ingots? Instead, God simply invites you to talk to him.
Talk is cheap, right? Maybe so, but not when you address your heavenly Father in the name of Jesus. Whether you speak your message out loud, sing it, whisper it, or just think it in your head, God hears you and guarantees to process your request.
What may look like a small person simply making weak sounds then becomes mighty. The apostle James has a simple, forceful, direct way of helping us understand God’s ways. He says, “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:16).
Did you grasp that? Every time you pray, you set something into motion. Every time you pray, something in the universe changes. You have never wasted a prayer in your life. Not a one falls to the ground unheard and unanswered. Your prayer talk makes you powerful and effective for God’s work and your needs.
Day 6
Luke 12:17-20 Communication Obstacles: Arrogance Is it good to be self-reliant? Of course. If you are a parent, you have spent years and huge amounts of energy teaching and training your kids to take care of themselves. Self-reliance is good. Self-absorption is not.
I know one reason why people don’t pray much and why God doesn’t hear from me more: arrogance. When you’re pretty full of yourself and think you can do it all, praying seems like begging, or worse, a waste of time.
Jesus told a story about a farmer who thought his huge profits were realized because he was such a genius: ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” But God said to him, ‘You fool!’ (Luke 12:17-20).
That’s why, when “life happens” and we become painfully aware of our limitations, our sin, our mortality; we must depend on God’s providing and forgiveness every day.
Practice with me: “Lord, I need you. Help me today.”
Day 7
Deuteronomy 6:12 Communication Obstacles: Neglect Prayer isn’t like fertilizing your lawn, which is indeed helpful to your grass but not absolutely necessary. Prayer is one of your soul’s vital signs. It shows if your faith has a pulse.
Just as ungrateful children can get into the habit of just taking, taking, taking from generous parents, our prayer lives can suffer from neglect. We just forget. We put prayer off until later. We view it as a spiritual chore, like cleaning out the gutters, and defer it. We figure it can wait while we take care of important things.
Moses knew that his Israelites were susceptible to that same spiritual amnesia, forgetting who they were, forgetting how they were able to come so far, forgetting the One who was their very life. Shortly before he died, Moses urged them, “Be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery” (Deuteronomy 6:12).
Right now would be a great time to send a message to God to let him know how proud you are to be called his child.
Day 8
Matthew 6:9 The Lord’s Prayer: The Address Jesus’ public ministry lasted for three years. He spoke to many different people on many different occasions. The four gospels preserve only relatively small amounts of his precious words. He clearly spoke about the same topics in similar language at different times. Both Matthew and Luke record slightly different versions of the magnificent prayer he taught his friends to use.
“One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.’ He said to them, ‘When you pray, say “[Our] Father [in heaven]” (Luke 11:1,2; Matthew 6:9).
The platform upon which all true prayer rests is to remember who you are and remember to whom you are speaking. You are addressing not an admiral or general, not a president or superhero, but your Father, your heavenly Father. You are related to him. He gave you birth and rebirth. He loves you more than you love your own children. You may claim his attention with childlike confidence because he has publicly claimed you through your baptism.
When you pray, you are not filling out a grant request to a heavenly charitable foundation. You are talking to your Father. And he loves taking care of his children.
Day 9
Luke 11:2 The Lord’s Prayer: The First Petition To get more out of the praying experience, Jesus leads you away from you. Have you noticed how most of the petitions in his model prayer lead you to think about God’s program instead of yours? It’s not that material things are unimportant. It’s that God’s Word and ways are far more important.
Jesus’ first sentence has only four words. Don’t rush when you say them. They are a mouthful. “When you pray, say: ‘Hallowed be your name’" (Luke 11:2). God’s “name” refers not only to the various proper names that the Scripture reveals to us, like Lord or Christ. God’s name in its fuller sense is his self-revelation. It’s the sum of what we know about God’s person and work.
The word "hallow" has mostly faded from contemporary English. It means “to consider holy.” You can’t make God any holier than he is already, can you? But you can ask for God’s help to lift up his holiness in your heart and make him look good to the people around you in your life.
That means no idols. That means taking out the trash in your mind and recommitting yourself to the one Creator, one Savior, one Counselor. That means radiating the conviction to all around you, “I’m proud of my God.”
Day 10
Luke 11:2 The Lord’s Prayer: The Second Petition It is a mistake to think of God’s kingdom as just a place. The whole earth is the Lord’s, and the heavens too. The Bible uses the term to refer to Christ’s ruling activity, his “reigning” in people’s hearts through their faith in him. When you pray, say: ‘Your kingdom come’ (Luke 11:2).
When you utter that powerful prayer, you are urging on the Holy Spirit to do his wonderful work of creating and strengthening faith in more and more people’s hearts. You are also committing yourself to that mission as his field representative.
I guess you could say that this petition is a mission prayer. You are praying that hell will be emptier and heaven fuller. You are praying that the Spirit will claim minds and hearts where the darkness of Satan used to lie like a poisonous night fog. You are praying that people who are born, live, and die slaves of sin and Satan will become citizens of the kingdom of the light of Christ.
Every material thing that you can touch with your hands will soon be taken from you as you die. The only thing you can take with you to heaven is people. Pray for them. Help them find out how wonderful it is to belong to King Jesus.
Day 11
Luke 11:2 Matthew 6:10 The Lord’s Prayer: The Third Petition When you pray, say: ‘Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven’ (Luke 11:2; Matthew 6:10). Doesn’t this sound backward? You come to God in prayer to tell him what you want, and then Jesus says that a better way is to come to God in prayer and first ask him what he wants.
Wise counsel. The point is that you won’t know what is good for you until you are tuned into his goodness. You won’t know what is the smart thing to pray for until you are first tuned into his wisdom.
Jesus modeled this humble, healthy attitude all the way to the cross. As he himself fought the terrible spiritual struggle to stay committed to the plan that he offer up his life, he went to his Father in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. He prayed, “Not my will but yours be done.” The result was a strengthened resolve that led to Satan’s crushing defeat and forgiveness won for the whole world.The greatest and most satisfying moments in your life will occur when you are carrying out God’s will as his joyful agent on earth.
Day 12
Luke 11:2-3 The Lord’s Prayer: The Fourth Petition Finally--Jesus invites us to ask for material things. After reorienting our priorities to put God on the throne of our lives, recommitting ourselves to his saving agenda, and vowing obedience to his will, we are ready to talk about physical things. When you pray, say: ‘Give us each day our daily bread' (Luke 11:2,3).
It is a delightful practice to pray when sitting down to eat. It is totally appropriate that we give God credit for so richly and consistently supplying us with not only bread but all our food. Soil, rainfall, seeds, and sunshine all come from him. It is humbling but accurate to see God as the originator of every meal you eat.
“Daily bread” is also a metaphor for everything that you need to have a healthy and productive life. Jesus’ choice of the lowly word "bread" is a reminder that God obligates himself to give you everything He thinks you need, though perhaps not everything you want.
"Daily" is also an allusion to the Israelites’ manna, the miracle bread that appeared every day while they lived in the wilderness after the exodus from Egypt. “Daily bread” reminds us that God generally doesn’t front us our supplies a year in advance. He prefers to dribble it out on an as-needed basis.
Day 13
Luke 11:2 Luke 11:4 The Lord’s Prayer: The Fifth Petition Only Christianity gives it away.
Every human being who has ever lived has a conscience and knows two things for sure: there is evil within me, and I am in some kind of trouble with the holy Power out there. When people make up their own religious systems, they always put the pressure on the individual to make amends. There are rules to keep, rituals to observe, propitiations and sacrifices, pilgrimages, and various acts of devotion and obedience. But only Christianity gives forgiveness away. Jesus invites you to ask for it.
“When you pray, say: ‘Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us” (Luke 11:2,4). Jesus Christ, on Calvary’s cross, did all the obeying, sacrificing, and paying that was necessary. He bought forgiveness of sins for the whole world, and everyone who believes it has it. He gives it away.
He also charges his believers to show that same mercy to the fools and sinners who surround them each day. How can the first half of that prayer be so easy and the second half so hard? When you pray the Fifth Petition, pray it with all your might. Don’t let Satan steal your absolute confidence of forgiveness, and don’t let a shabby spirit withhold that same forgiveness to people who ask it of you.
Day 14
Luke 11:2 Luke 11:4 The Lord’s Prayer: The Sixth Petition Your heavenly Father watches your progress on the road to everlasting life and eagerly desires your success. He takes no delight in watching some fall away. Jesus urges you to ask the Father’s help in staying strong: “When you pray, say: Lead us not into temptation” (Luke 11:2,4).
James 1:13 shows us that God never tempts anyone to sin; he hates the very notion. The five little words in this petition are shorthand for a plea that God would have mercy on us because of our many sinful weaknesses and keep us from committing spiritual suicide. We are all prone to becoming careless, stubborn, hard of hearing, and reckless in the way we live, and we must keep imploring God to send his angels of protection.
You can help God answer that prayer. The Bible is a mighty resource to keep us out of temptation. It is armor for our hearts and a helmet for our brains. I hope you read some of it each day. He also sends other Christian people into your life--listen to them when they speak words of warning to you.
One of God’s greatest gifts of protection to you is your congregation. If you have one, cherish it and thank God for the strength you draw from it. Your pastor cares about your spiritual well-being, prays for your safe journey, and will help you watch out for the ditches.
Day 15
Luke 11:2 Matthew 6:13 The Lord’s Prayer: The Seventh Petition Call me naive, but I'd like to think that I don't have any enemies. I mean real enemies-people who would like to assault or kill me.
That’s what Satan would like me to think. The Bible calls him a dragon, a lion, a serpent, always prowling about looking for people to devour. He is indeed a deadly enemy. He would like to attack us physically; invade our minds; re-enslave our wills; and trap us forever in the burning, sulfurous dungeon that is his destiny.
“When you pray, say: Deliver us from the evil one” (Luke 11:2; Matthew 6:13). Mean this when you pray it. The words "devil" and "hell" have lost much of their meaning in the way people talk today. They are joke words, rude emphasis words. But they contain a deadly reality--that the prince of darkness is seeking whom he may devour, and he’s coming for you.
Jesus crushed the serpent’s head when he died and rose again. All people who trust in him as their Savior are forgiven and immortal, safe and secure. Claim your forgiveness from Christ, grow in knowledge and power from the Word, and pray for the final deliverance. When you are in heaven, you will never need to pray this petition again.
Day 16
Matthew 7:7-8 Characteristics of Powerful Prayer: Bold “I am Oz, the great and terrible,” the wizard face roared above the flames. “Who are you, whippersnapper?” “I am Dorothy, the small and meek,” she replied. Is that how you visualize your interactions when you dare to speak with God?
God doesn’t merely tolerate your “interruptions” in his daily business. He doesn’t resent your requests. He welcomes them. He commands them. In fact, he tips his hand and lets you know that he is pre-inclined to say yes to you. Here is Jesus’ challenge: “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; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:7,8).
You are not an alien or stranger in God’s presence anymore. Through your faith in Christ you are now family. You belong there. Act like you belong there. Be bold when you pray. Claim your blood-bought identity. You are not irritating God with your chutzpah. You are honoring his invitation and promise.
What do you need right now? Ask! Seek! Knock!
Day 17
Luke 18:1 Luke 18:7 Characteristics of Powerful Prayer: Persistent Parents don’t like it when their children beg and their spouses nag. If you are asked for something and the answer is no, you don’t like to hear about it again and again. Wouldn’t it be logical to assume, then, that God would be irritated if we ask for something more than once?
Logical? Yes. But in fact, the very opposite is true. He does not see repeated prayers as nagging or begging. “Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. . . . ‘Will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?” (Luke 18:1,7).
In Jesus’ story, a widow pestered a judge for justice until he relented. Instead of criticizing the woman for being such a pest, Jesus held her up as a hero and invited all believers to be just like her.
When our first prayer doesn’t seem to be granted, we don’t know for sure when God is saying no permanently, or when his answer is “maybe,” or when the answer is “later.” What we do know is that the Father not merely tolerates but welcomes and even praises persistent pray-ers. Pray and don’t give up!
Day 18
Ephesians 6:19-20 Characteristics of Powerful Prayer: For Others We all have a selfish streak by nature. When we become aware that we are able to access God’s throne through prayer, our first instincts are to care only about ourselves. But just as spiritual growth helps us see the joy and fulfillment that come from serving other people, growth in prayer maturity leads us to think of other people’s needs before our own.
Paul invited his brothers and sisters to pray for him while a prisoner in Rome, awaiting his trial in imperial court. “Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I may fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should” (Ephesians 6:19,20).
The formal word for this kind of praying is “intercession.” I personally have been sustained by the prayers of other wonderful people in stretches of my life when I have been too distracted or lazy to pray for myself. You will not know until you get to heaven how your life has been blessed by the faithful prayers of people who love you.
Who could you pray for today?
Day 19
Matthew 18:19-20 Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 Characteristics of Powerful Prayer: Together God loves it when you worship him all by yourself--reading his Word, humming and singing hymn stanzas and Christian songs, and showing appreciation and thankfulness when you see good things happening. But he likes it as much or more when you worship him with a group of fellow believers. It shows that you are proud of him, greatly increases your chances of learning things from the wisdom and testimonies of others, and builds up your courage and self-confidence through a living fellowship.
It’s the same with your prayer life. God loves to hear from you one-on-one. But he takes such delight in group prayer that he attaches special promises to the experience: “I tell you that if two of you on earth agree on anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:19,20).
There are many ways to do this: interceding for one another in your worship services, small-group prayer gatherings, prayer teams, or family time. The beauty of it is that not only does God show special favor to that kind of praying, but you also end up with deeper friendships as a result. As Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 4:9,10, “Two are better than one. . . . If one falls down, his friend can help him up.”
Day 20
John 16:23-24 Characteristics of Powerful Prayer: In Jesus’ Name Just before he was arrested, tortured, and murdered, and knowing that all this was about to happen, Jesus spent some intense hours with his disciples. He gave them important information about carrying on with their lives and ministry when they would no longer have his physical presence in their midst.
He especially wanted them to know that their close relationship with the Father would continue, because their Savior would still be their personal link to his throne. “My Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete” (John 16:23,24).
When you listen to Christians pray, you will often hear them end their prayers with “in Jesus’ name,” or the more formal, “through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.” Mentioning the proper name of Christ is a sweet custom. But that’s not all Jesus meant--just to attach his proper name like a mattress tag to your heavenly communications.
Praying in Jesus’ name means believing that he is your Savior, that your designation in heaven has been changed from “damned” to “saved,” that you are now considered God’s child, and all this only because of Jesus. It also means that you pray according to his name in the sense of his self-revelation, that is, that you are following his charge to put God’s agenda first. Day 21