This Is How We Do It

When I was a child my parents taught me how to pray, but most of the lessons came from my mother, Hazel Marie Franklin-Walker.  Sometimes I call her “Julia”, it’s an inside joke between the two of us, but I guess its public now (blank stare).  They started me off with simple prayers like:

Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep.  If I should die, before I wake; I pray the Lord, my soul to take.

Do you want to know something amazing?  As I began to write this blog, God reminded me of these lessons, not verbatim, but that my mom taught me the prayer above.  To make sure I wasn’t tripping, I just called her (Friday, March 14, 2014 at 10:16pm) to ask her if I was right and she remembered it as I have said even at her ripe young age of 82.  Though I can’t remember specifics today, they also taught me how to bless my food before eating.  Like seriously, we would bow our heads, thank God for the food before us, ask him to bless it, sanctify it and make it wholesome and nutritious for our bodies, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

As a mom, I repeated the cycle and taught my children to pray as well. As young toddlers just learning how to talk, I tucked them into bed at their regularly scheduled bed time (8:00pm – 8:30pm) and then had them repeat after me: “God bless Daddy, God bless Mommy, God bless everybody, Amen.”  I kissed them, said “night, night” and they would repeat that too.  As they got older, I taught them to kneel beside their beds as a sign of reverence and submission to God; and then I taught them the prayer that my amazing mother taught me the “Now I lay me” prayer.  As they got older, I allowed them the choice of “free-styling” or the “Now I lay me”.  As they matured and could retain more, they “had to learn” other prayers and scriptures.   Before you start accusing me of forcing religion on my children, let me share something to you:

Proverbs 22:6 (Common English Bible): Train children in the way they should go; when they grow old, they won’t depart from it.

I made intentional deposits in their lives as young children knowing without question that those deposits of God’s love, His power, reverencing Him, His word and prayer would guide them as they became teenagers, young adults and eventually parents.  I wish I could tell you that they are all saved, spirit filled believers teaching their children the things they learned but I can declare it until it is a manifested reality and so I do exactly that no matter what I see.  Sometimes I have to take a deeeeeep breath, close my eyes and focus real hard to see them in the future as saved, spirit filled Believers, chasing after God with all their might and teaching their children to do the same, and I don't care what nobody says or thinks

My thought for today is: This Is How We Do It

I’m not talking about Montell Jordan’s 1995 hit about partying on a Friday night in South Central LA, so don’t start having flashbacks.

They say repetition is the mother of all learning.  I don’t know who “they” are, but I believe them.   Whenever I had to learn a church speech, a scripture verse, songs, study for a test, etc.  I would repeat the information over and over and over until it started to stick and before I knew it, I could repeat it from memory; or I would write the information out until I could remember it.   Either way, it was repetitious and I achieved the desire results.

Jesus found it necessary to teach his disciples how to pray properly.  Not because they were naive or ignorant to prayer, but because the Jews (whom Jesus preached to first) had exploited prayer and many of them were guilty of making prayer a ritual vs. an act of worship, obedience, making petitions and relationship building.  Jesus went further by giving examples of what they should and should not do.  In essence he said “this is how you do it”:   

Matthew 6:7-8 (Common English Bible):  “When you pray, don’t pour out a flood of empty words, as the Gentiles do. They think that by saying many words they’ll be heard. Don’t be like them, because your Father knows what you need before you ask. Pray like this:

Our Father in heaven; Hallowed be Your name.  Your kingdom come.  Your will be done; On earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.  And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.  Matthew 6:9-13 (NKJV)

Many people refer to verses 9-13 as “The Lord’s Prayer”.

Victory Nugget:  Jesus never intended for us to use this prayer daily, it is a model which covers the basics.

Back to the topic -- This Is How We Do It:

This short prayer covers the following formula for prayer:

1.     The Preface or address

o   We respectfully address the Father, God, Daddy (however you feel comfortable addressing him as long as it elevates Him above us).  He is not only able to help us as a Father would His children, but He is able to do great things, far more than we could ever ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20)

o   We pray to God and Him alone.  We do not pray to Angels, Spirits, Saints, Mary, our deceased relatives, people, etc. 

§  God has many names: Jehovah, Yahweh, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, El Elyon, El Shaddai, etc.

Victory Nugget: Deceased people cannot pray for us nor are they looking over us.  It’s cute and comforting to hear people say those words, but it is not true.  There is no scripture to support this claim.

Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.  1 Thessalonians 5:21

Back to the topic -- This is How We Do It:

2.     The Petitions --  your request(s) to God

o   Agreeing with His will for our lives.  We must be willing to believe He knows best.  That means a willingness to let go and let God!!

o   Our needs – not our wants, there is a huge difference

§  My God will meet your every need out of his riches in the glory that is found in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 (Common English Bible)

o   Forgiveness – we all blow it from time to time and if anybody tells you they don’t, RUN!!!!

§  If we claim, “We don’t have any sin,” we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from everything we’ve done wrong.  If we claim, “We have never sinned,” we make him a liar and his word is not in us. 1 John 1:9-10 (Common English Bible)

o   Forgiveness for those whom have wronged us.  Yup, we gotta do it.  It empowers, liberates and matures us when we do.

o   Deliver us from the hand of the enemy and from ourselves.  I think we get ourselves into more drama than the devil actually does. How?  Making the wrong choices, acting on uncontrollable thoughts.

3.     The Conclusion

o   Offering praise and thanksgiving because the Kingdom (of Heaven) belongs to Him as well as all power, including the power He allows the devil to use temporarily.  God is all powerful, all knowing and He will not withhold any good thing from His children.  Nor will He will allow us to suffer needlessly and/or to the point where it will break us.  It may feel like it sometimes but all He is doing is allowing us to stretch and grow.

o   We can praise him confidently knowing that He cannot lie.  He will not cheat or abandon us.

o   Praise Him because he is worthy of every praise we offer. 

o   Thank him for what He has done, what He is doing and what He is going to do.

4.     Amen

o   The word amen in Arabic means "So be it; truly".  It is a declaration of affirmation found in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament.  It has been generally adopted in Christian worship as a concluding word for prayers and hymns.

In His Humble Excellence

Tan