By Ben McEachenSaturday 1 Apr 2023The Lord's PrayerPodcastsReading Time: 2 minutes
You are about to discover how to pray and why we should.
The Lord’s Prayer podcast is dedicated to delving deeply and usefully into the world’s most famous prayer.
Recorded at the middle of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:9-13), what has become known as “The Lord’s Prayer” is a framework and fuel for our prayers.
In the first episode of this eight-part series, Hope Morning’s Ben McEachen chats with theologian and author David Hohne about what comes immediately before the world’s most famous prayer.
As Matthew 6:9 puts it: “Therefore, you should pray like this”.
So, before getting into the meat of the prayer itself, this initial conversation with David explains the significance of Jesus to everyone’s prayer life.
The big idea
To teach his disciples to pray – and anyone else who will follow him – Jesus said to “pray like this”.
Not only does Jesus guide us in how to pray, he ensures we can be heard by our Heavenly Father when we pray.
Talking points
- Like everything, prayer is corrupted by sin. “We presume upon God’s love for us, so we blather, blab and say whatever we think is right,” David said. “We presume that such speech is worthy of the God who made us and he will do whatever we want.”
- Jesus makes our prayers “hearable” to God, thanks to the relationship he brings us into with God.
- Before sharing how to pray (“pray like this”), Jesus gives two examples of how not to pray. Don’t pray like the religious “hypocrites” who show off before others and don’t pray like someone who thinks praying many words will grasp God’s attention.
- Along with encouraging us to pray, Jesus prays genuine prayers to his heavenly Father… even though Jesus is God.
- “Everyone who trusts in Jesus as the Son of God should join him in praying to his heavenly father.”
Explore more
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- The Book of Leviticus – God’s instructions for living “clean” (or holy) and approaching him, before Jesus.
- Matthew 6:1-8 – The build-up to Jesus giving us “The Lord’s Prayer”.
- Luke 11:1-4 – Another account of “The Lord’s Prayer”.
- Hebrews 7 – Jesus is the high priest.
- Romans 8:15 – The Spirit of adoption.
Let’s pray
Our Father in Heaven. Thank you so much that Jesus called me to pray in a way that you hear us. Help me to not pray in a way that is about showing off or merely making a lot of noise. Through the clarity and care of your Spirit, guide me well as your child in frequently communicating with you. Amen.
Listen to the full Therefore, You Should Pray Like This episode in the player above or the video below. Subscribe to The Lord’s Prayer podcast and join us for the next episode.
Feature image: Photo by Amaury Gutierrez on Unsplash