I've had many people tell me that they aren't comfortable praying publicly. Whenever I hear this, I try to never doubt their private prayer time because the mere aspect of speaking publicly is enough to send some people into hysterics! One thing I do try to say to encourage them is that praying publicly should be no different than praying privately. The public prayer is still directed to God, but other people are merely getting the opportunity to overhear your conversation with Him.
I'm convinced that the quality of our prayer life is a direct reflection of our relationship with God. If I desire to have a strong relationship with my Heavenly Father, then my communication with Him through prayer can't be shallow, self-centered, nor regularly neglected. If we desire to be Christ-like in all that we do, then we should look nowhere else but to Christ for what our prayer life should resemble.
One of my favorite passages of Scripture comes out of John 17. In this passage we're given an intimate look at what Jesus' prayer life truly looked like. In this beautiful conversation between a Son and His Father, we are given a little more access into the heart of Christ. I highly encourage you to read that passage during your quiet time today and be encouraged by your Savior's prayer.
My Bible breaks Jesus' prayer down into three different sections:
Unfortunately, I can be found guilty of making my prayers all about me and I forget one very important thing . . . God should to be glorified in my prayers.
When I was reading John 17, it was as if the words jumped off the page in a way that made it very clear that although He was praying for Himself, His disciples, and His followers, more than anything, Jesus' prayer was
ALL ABOUT GOD.
In this twenty-six verse prayer, Jesus refers directly to God by using the words "You" or "Your" a total of fifty-one times. He might be talking to God about Himself and other people, but the entirety of His conversation with His Father is about Him. It is very obvious by reading this prayer that at the very center of Jesus' heart was to glorify His Father in absolutely everything. He even begins the prayer by saying:
In almost every sentence that Jesus utters in this prayer, He finds a way to give God credit for something. Even when He is presenting a petition before God, He praises Him for the power that is only found in His name:
Whether or not you feel comfortable praying in public is not necessarily important right now. What is important is that our prayers are more about giving glory to God than they are about our wants and desires. If our approach to prayer more resembles how we might speak to a genie in a bottle, then God is merely receiving requests and not receiving the praises that He is due.
If you read through Jesus' prayer in John 17, then you have seen a perfect example of how our prayers can glorify God, in addition to presenting petitions before Him. Whenever Jesus taught His disciples how to pray in "The Model Prayer," the first words out of His mouth were in the form of a praise to God:
Our prayers should begin, end, and be filled with praises to the Most High God. After all, our prayers shouldn't just be all about us . . . they should be about Him.
I'm convinced that the quality of our prayer life is a direct reflection of our relationship with God. If I desire to have a strong relationship with my Heavenly Father, then my communication with Him through prayer can't be shallow, self-centered, nor regularly neglected. If we desire to be Christ-like in all that we do, then we should look nowhere else but to Christ for what our prayer life should resemble.
One of my favorite passages of Scripture comes out of John 17. In this passage we're given an intimate look at what Jesus' prayer life truly looked like. In this beautiful conversation between a Son and His Father, we are given a little more access into the heart of Christ. I highly encourage you to read that passage during your quiet time today and be encouraged by your Savior's prayer.
My Bible breaks Jesus' prayer down into three different sections:
- Jesus Prays for Himself
- Jesus Prays for His Disciples
- Jesus Prays for All Believers (My personal favorite part because Jesus is praying for me!)
"How easy it is to make prayer about us and not about God."
- Ed Litton
Unfortunately, I can be found guilty of making my prayers all about me and I forget one very important thing . . . God should to be glorified in my prayers.
When I was reading John 17, it was as if the words jumped off the page in a way that made it very clear that although He was praying for Himself, His disciples, and His followers, more than anything, Jesus' prayer was
ALL ABOUT GOD.
In this twenty-six verse prayer, Jesus refers directly to God by using the words "You" or "Your" a total of fifty-one times. He might be talking to God about Himself and other people, but the entirety of His conversation with His Father is about Him. It is very obvious by reading this prayer that at the very center of Jesus' heart was to glorify His Father in absolutely everything. He even begins the prayer by saying:
"Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you."
John 17:1b
In almost every sentence that Jesus utters in this prayer, He finds a way to give God credit for something. Even when He is presenting a petition before God, He praises Him for the power that is only found in His name:
"Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name -- the name you gave me -- so that they may be one as we are one." John 17:11b
Whether or not you feel comfortable praying in public is not necessarily important right now. What is important is that our prayers are more about giving glory to God than they are about our wants and desires. If our approach to prayer more resembles how we might speak to a genie in a bottle, then God is merely receiving requests and not receiving the praises that He is due.
If you read through Jesus' prayer in John 17, then you have seen a perfect example of how our prayers can glorify God, in addition to presenting petitions before Him. Whenever Jesus taught His disciples how to pray in "The Model Prayer," the first words out of His mouth were in the form of a praise to God:
"Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name." Matt. 6:9b
Our prayers should begin, end, and be filled with praises to the Most High God. After all, our prayers shouldn't just be all about us . . . they should be about Him.
Amen...
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