HOW SHOULD I PRAY TO MY HEAVENLY FATHER?

SCRIPTURE:
This, then, is how you should pray: 
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name” 
(Matthew 6:9)

MEDITATION:
In His ‘sermon on the mount’ Jesus spoke to the multitudes about prayer.
He even gave them a pattern for praying (Matthew 6:9-13).
Unfortunately the prayer for some people consists of memorizing 
and reciting the words in the pattern Jesus gave us, 
without thinking about the meaning behind His example.

For instance, if we look at verse 10, it has a nice flow to it, 
but the meaning behind the words used 
are impactful to us individually and corporately.
“your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” 
(Matthew 6:10)
 
The prayer is asking God to come into our world, 
and our individual lives - today.
That is in contradiction 
to a world that seems bent on eliminating Him completely.

There are many Christians who would love to see the benefits 
of God’s presence in every facet of their lives, but that doesn’t 
appear to be the desire of the general population of the world.
There are other devout religious groups that have chosen a different god 
to worship (and sadly, they are luring many to follow in their footsteps).

But for now focus on the last part of the verse, 
“your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
It expresses a desire to see God’s Will obeyed in the world, 
and in the individual lives of people, 
in the same manner that He is obeyed in heaven.

Think about how God’s Will is ‘done’ in heaven.
We can envision 100% of the people in heaven worshipping and obeying God.
That is the meaning of the example Jesus gave us:
when we pray in this manner, 
we are praying for the same environment on earth.

However, we are also praying for His Will to be in control of our own life.
Of course that means that we are expressing a sincere desire 
to yield our lives to His Will, as a replacement for our own will.
The magnitude of that choice is life changing!

ACTION:
Do you really want to see God’s Will ‘done’ in your own life?
If you have not received His salvation, 
then that is the first order of business.
However, if you are a Christian, perhaps you have not 
relinquished control of certain areas of your life to the Lord.

If that describes you, then what is holding you back? 
We like to be in control, don’t we?
But when we yield to Him, we still have the option of making choices,
however our thought processes are now influenced by the Holy Spirit.
No longer are decisions influenced by the world and our own selfishness.

Slowly reread the pattern Jesus gave us for praying, meditate on each 
phrase, and take time to think about how each verse impacts you personally.
If your prayers are basically recitations of phrases, 
then change your prayer habits and talk to God as your Heavenly Father.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for providing prayer as a venue for me 
to speak to You about the concerns I have for myself, my family, my 
friends, others who need You, and the condition of the world I am 
living in. Forgive me if I have been failing to pray as often as I should, 
for reciting phrases with no meaning, or only giving You a minute or 
so of my time. I can only imagine the difference in the world and in 
my own life, if Your Will was in control ‘on earth as it is in heaven’. 
The world may continue to try to eliminate You, but as for me, I ask 
that You will take full control of my life and change me so that I can
truly call You my Heavenly Father.”