A Season of Prayer - by Susan Jensen

Well, okay, that was just a catchy title. Here at Redeemer UMC in DeWitt, Michigan we are in the middle of a Lenten Series of messages titled “Praying – For a Change”; the series has some of us reevaluating our own prayer life. Prayer is really more than just a season. Prayer life for some may mean a nice phrase at the beginning of a meal, a memorized sentence or two repeated every day, and for others, prayer is almost a constant conversation they have with God throughout their day. Wherever you fall in that spectrum, at times, we all can feel a bit guilty that we don’t slow down to really pray the “right way”. Having a rolling conversation with God is great, but it isn’t really all God wants from us. This is not to say that prayer has to be all the “right words”, but there is a formula for prayer. It’s right in Luke 11:

"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.” ² He said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘Father, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come…” (NIV) The passage that follows it in the Bible is what we know as the Lord’s Prayer.

Jesus was giving us a formula for prayer, a pattern to follow. If you break the Lord’s Prayer down into sections, it shows you a model for prayer.

Jesus begins His model prayer by acknowledging to whom He is praying. Name who God is to you.   Lord, Loving Father…

After acknowledging the character of God, we pray for His purposes. Be with me today and guide me to do Your will…

Next, we not only desire God's will on a grand scale, but also on the smaller scale of our lives. We look to Him for our daily needs—spiritual, practical, relational, emotional, and physical. Lord, today I ask that you give me peace when I am taking my exam and please be with Grandma this week as she recovers from her skiing accident…

We follow up with our biggest need, to be forgiven. Without God's forgiveness, we are dead in sin.  Forgive me for being impatient with the hostess at the restaurant; I should have been more understanding of her job…

This final request demonstrates a heart that is eager to please God. God will not lead us into temptation (James 1:13); He is not the author of evil. This prayer is an agreement with God that we do not want to sin against Him. We pray to be aware of the evil that tempts us and to readily see the escape He has provided.  Help me to see situations from the other person’s point of view…

And then we finish it all up with stating on whose authority we come to God in prayer.  In Jesus’ name, Amen

So there we have it, a prayer perfect for not just a season, but every season.