When You Pray

 When you pray

December 3, 2024

Luke 11:1-4

The Lord’s Prayer

1 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” 2 And he said to them, “When you pray, say:

“Father, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come.

3 Give us each day our daily bread,

4 and forgive us our sins,

for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

And lead us not into temptation.”

Jesus said “When you pray…” and “Give us each day…”. The understanding here is that we pray every day. Of could this is a minimum. The Apostle Paul adds this:

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

This verse gets to the heart of the matter which is that prayer is a life style. Do you walk with Him and talk with Him daily, like in the old hymn “In The Garden”?

Chorus

And He walks with me 

And He talks with me 

And He tells me I am His own 

And the joy we share as we tarry there 

None other has ever known

Verse 1

I come to the garden alone 

While the dew is still on the roses 

And the voice I hear falling on my ear 

The Son of God discloses

Verse 2

He speaks and the sound of His voice 

Is so sweet the birds hush their singing 

And the melody that He gave to me 

Within my heart is ringing

Verse 3

I'd stay in the garden with Him 

Tho' the night around me be falling 

But He bids me go thro' the voice of woe 

His voice to me is calling

We sang this quite often when I was young. I really didn’t understand it then, but as I get older I can appreciate the image of spending time alone with the Lord in a quiet garden. Visualizing a beautiful garden is one way to meditate and get into the proper attitude to listen to the Lord. When we are busy, we may offer up a quick prayer asking for help in whatever circumstance we find ourself, but to really hear God, we need to calm our soul, get into a quiet place, and actively listen for His voice. Years ago, we were on a prayer retreat where we were encouraged to imagine being in a garden with the Lord. It was amazing the things you could see and hear when you enter into a quiet meditation and walk in the garden with the Lord. I recommend trying that. The Lord will walk with you and talk with you if you make time for Him.