Best Prayer Ever

"The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” James 5:16

J. C. Ryle once said, “A habit of prayer is one of the surest marks of a true Christian.” The prayers of righteous men and women have great power. According to Scripture, the prayers of God’s people are effective. God hears His children. God responds to the heartfelt prayers of His people. Yet, the subject of prayer can be quite perplexing. What exactly does the Bible teach about prayer? What is its purpose? Why has God commanded Christians to pray, and how does prayer change our perspective of God’s character?

What Did Jesus Teach About Prayer?

In his famous “Sermon on the Mount” (Mt. 5:1-7:29), Jesus shares God’s standard on a multitude of issues like anger, lust, divorce, loving our enemies, giving to the poor, fasting, possessions, anxiety, judging others, and prayer. It is in this teaching, where Jesus says, “And when you pray...” In other words, Jesus expects his disciples to pray to the Father. Additionally, Jesus modeled prayer throughout his earthly ministry. Mark L. Strauss says,
“Jesus prays at his baptism (Lk. 3:21), after healing a man with leprosy (Lk. 5:16), before calling the Twelve (Lk. 6:12), at a private time with his disciples (Lk. 9:18), at the transfiguration (Lk. 9:28), before teaching the disciples to pray (Lk. 11:1), for Peter before his denial (Lk. 22:32), for his murderers from the cross (Lk. 23:34), and with his last breath (Lk. 23:46). In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus uses The Lord’s Prayer to specifically teach his disciples how to pray. They say, “Lord, teach us to pray.”

Jesus begins his teaching on the subject of prayer, by communicating to his disciples that he expects them to practice the biblical discipline of prayer on a regular basis. Therefore, what can be learned from Jesus’ teaching on prayer? I believe there are at least four truths regarding prayer that can be recognized.

An Authentic Relationship with God

First, prayer reveals one’s true relationship with God. (Mt. 6:5-6) Jesus teaches “And when you pray”, don’t do this: Don’t pray for the applause of others. In Jesus’ day, prayer was an important part of Jewish culture and life. We know this because public and private prayers were prayed three times a day – morning, afternoon and evening. The issue is that there were certain Jewish leaders, who were known to drop what they were doing to pray as loud as possible. Why? So people would hear them. So people would see them and see how “spiritual” they were.

Jesus calls them hypocrites for doing this. In its original context, the word hypocrite was used to refer to actors who wore different masks to play various roles. According to John MacArthur, “Prayer that focuses on self is always hypocritical, because, by definition, the focus of every prayer should be on God.” What is Jesus saying about these people? Jesus criticizes them for doing right things for the wrong reasons. And even though some people might praise them, look up to them or see them as spiritual giants, Jesus knows their hearts, and says, “they have received their reward.” Their only reward is the worthless praise of men.

Jesus then goes on to say, “But when you pray,” do this: “go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret.” Does this mean that believers should never pray in public? No, Jesus prayed in public. For example, before he fed the five thousand, Jesus prayed for the food. (Mt. 14:19) Instead, the focus of this verse is that followers of Christ pray to the Father. Prayer is ultimately about your relationship with God. Jesus strongly encourages private prayer, because it allows us to truly focus on God. What is the result? Jesus concludes, “Your Father…will reward you.” Meaning, the Creator God of the universe listens to prayers and responds with our best interest in mind.

God Already Knows

The second truth from Jesus’ teaching on prayer is that God already knows what we need. (Mt. 6:7-8) He continues by saying that “And when you pray,” don’t do this: Don’t try to impress God or others with fancy words. Again, in Jesus’ day, pagans (those who didn’t believe in God) were known to repeat the names of their gods or the same exact words over and over again without thinking. Their words were empty and meant nothing to the so-called “gods” they were praying to. Here, Jesus is simply asking for heartfelt prayers. The reality is that “your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” Which means, Christians don’t pray to change God’s mind or plan for their lives. He knows. He has got it all figured out. He simply wants His children to acknowledge His control, His love and to worship Him for the great God that He is.

A Great Prayer Guide

Third, Jesus gave us a great prayer guide. (Mt. 6:9-13) Here, Jesus, the best teacher ever, gives his disciples, and believers today, an example of how to pray. In verse 9, Jesus begins with an invocation saying, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” Simply stated, the invocation means to “call upon.” Believers learn that prayer changes our perspective of God and ourselves. He is the perfect Father in heaven. Believers also learn that prayer is a reflection of our hearts in awe of God.   

Jesus goes on to give three petitions, or prayer requests, that focus on God’s ultimate authority and control over His creation. (Mt. 6:10-11) He prays, “Your kingdom come,” which creates trust and hope in God’s eternal plan. He prays, “Your will be done,” which creates an attitude of surrender of everything to God. Finally, he prays, “Give us this day our daily bread.” This reveals that prayer is simply talking with God. It is verbalizing one’s needs to God, relying upon Him for the basic necessities of life.

Lastly, Jesus prays three additional petitions, which focus on specific personal needs. Here, we learn that prayer is a desperate plea for forgiveness. It is recognizing sin and confessing it to the God who is able to grant forgiveness of sin. “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” allows God to lead the believer, who is intentionally humbling himself under God’s power over temptation and sin. D. A. Carson states, “If you are serious about reforming your prayer life, you must begin with your heart. Unconfessed sin, nurtured sin, will always be a barrier between God and those he has made in his image.” Surely, Jesus has given His followers today an exceptional outline for God-honoring prayer.

Forgiven to Forgive

The fourth truth from Jesus’ teaching on prayer is that God’s forgiveness moves us to forgive others. (Mt. 6:14-15) When it comes to forgiveness, Scripture is clear. Christians should be the most forgiving people on earth, because they have been forgiven by God. Because of God’s incredible grace, seen most powerfully in Jesus hanging on a cross, humanity’s sins can be forgiven. The curse of sin is erased, deleted and washed clean through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross. Therefore, because we have experienced the miracle of God’s forgiveness, we must forgive others.

In his excellent book on prayer, Timothy Keller accurately portrays the necessity of Christian prayer:

“Prayer is the only entryway into genuine self-knowledge. It is also the main way we experience deep change – the reordering of our loves. Prayer is how God gives us so many of the unimaginable things he has for us. Indeed, prayer makes it safe for God to give us many of the things we most desire. It is the way we know God, the way we finally treat God as God. Prayer is simply the key to everything we need to do and be in life. We must learn to pray. We have to.”

Prayer is that important. It is the reveals one’s true relationship with God. Prayer recognizes that God already knows what is needed. In particular, the Lord’s Prayer serves as a powerful prayer guide for believers today to follow. Prayer reveals that God’s forgiveness moves us to forgive others. All these life-changing lessons are learned from Jesus’ teaching on prayer. Believers must seek to apply these truths to their lives for the glory of God the Father and the good of all people.