ORDER IN PRAYER

“After this MANNER therefore you PRAY…” – Matthew 6:9a

There is always ORDER IN PRAYER: “After this MANNER therefore you PRAY…” (Mt.6:9a). Prayer is not arbitrary or haphazard; there is usually a “manner,” method or order to praying. In Luke’s version of the event, the disciples actually asked the Master: “TEACH US HOW TO PRAY” (Lk.11:1). And He did! This Pattern Prayer begins with the realization that God is OUR heavenly Father. All the requests were in the plural, because we belong to God’s vast global family. Moreover, the fact that He’s in heaven emphasizes His sovereign power. This Instruction is followed by five broad requests that:

1. God’s name be hallowed or held in honour by men (v.9).
2. God’s Kingdom will “come on earth as it is in Heaven” (v.10)
3. God will meet our temporal needs – “our daily bread” (v.11)
4. God will forgive us our sins, but subject to our forgiveness of others (v.12)
5. God will protect us from temptation and deliver us from Satan’s attacks (v.13).

Another pragmatic Order to Prayer derives from the acronym – A-C-T-S – which stands for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication.

ADORATION: involves giving oneself fully to worshiping the Lord from a mind stimulated by His greatness. God-centred worship flows from three key sources: His ATTRIBUTES; ACTIONS in history; and PROMISES for the future. Each of these provides infinite inspiration for adoration:

The Attributes of God include His self-existence, sovereignty, immutability, absolute perfection, holiness, eternity, immensity, omnipresence, omniscience, omnipotence, wisdom, truthfulness, love, compassion, patience, goodness, grace, mercy, righteousness, justice, wrath, and Glory! 

God’s Actions in Redemptive History include: Creation, the Flood, Abraham’s Call, Abrahamic covenant, the lives of Isaac and Jacob, God’s vision and mission for Joseph in Egypt, Moses’ Call, the Exodus, the manna and the water from the rock, God’s revelation to Moses on Mt. Sinai, the 10 Commandments, Israel’s sustenance in the wilderness, the conquest of the Promised Land under Joshua, the raising up of the Judges, David and Goliath, the Davidic Covenant, the raising up of the Prophets,  amazing military deliverance under Hezekiah, the exile to Babylon, Daniel’s witness in Babylon, the restoration under Ezra and Nehemiah, the ministry of John the Baptist, the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the Acts of the Apostles, and Church history until now.

The Power that effected God’s Actions also propel His Promises for the future: the protection of the church and individual believers against all of Satan’s attacks; the unstoppable advance of the gospel to the ends of the earth; the Second Coming of Christ; the establishment of His eternal Kingdom; and the resurrection of all the saints in glorified frames.

CONFESSION: it is scriptural to open up to God and allow Him to search ours hearts thoroughly by His Spirit, as we lay all bare before Him. Why not tell God everything? He knows it all already anyway. The goal is that the cleansing of Christ’s blood will establish us in a stronger relationship with God and enable us to love righteousness and hate sin.

• “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy” (Pro.28:13).
•  “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1Jh.1:9).
• “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psa.139:23-24).

Confession also includes declaring all that God says concerning us in Christ!

THANKSGIVING: we should learn to fill our minds and mouths with thanks to God. Thankfulness is a great grace, thanklessness is a great sin: “Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits” (Psa.103:2). We cannot exhaust thanking God: for Himself – His Nature, Plan, Acts, Son and Spirit; and for His Blessings – spiritual, temporal, and eternal.

SUPPLICATION: is petitioning for ourselves, but essentially, Intercession for others. Kingdom First principle should however be paramount: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Mt.6:33).