LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY

And it came to pass, that, as He was praying in a certain place,
when He ceased, one of His disciples said unto Him,
Lord, teach us to pray as John also taught his disciples.
Luke 11:1

Have you ever felt like you didn’t know how to pray?  
You hear the pastor preach ‘you need to pray!’ 
You’ve heard it taught over and over that you need to pray. 
You know within yourself that you need to pray. 
But you don’t know how to or what to say when you knelt in prayer.

You’re not alone.  Even Jesus’ disciples felt that way at times. 

In Luke 11:1, we find where Jesus had been praying. 

His disciples knew the importance and necessity of prayer, but after listening to Jesus pray, one of His disciples may have felt his prayers were falling short or were inadequate so he said to Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray….”

They knew John the Baptist had taught his disciples how to pray, and they knew Jesus had instructed them not to pray using vain repetitions (Matthew 6:7 ) meaning, not to repeat the same things over and over, and use idle words such as repeating “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus – Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah” etc over and over again. 

That is drawing near to God with our mouth and with our words, but if a person’s heart is not in it, they are just using vain repetitions. (Isaiah 29:13)

He wants the words we speak to be sincere and from our heart.  He wants true, heartfelt worship and adoration.  He wants us to have a meaningful conversation with Him just as we would have with a close friend or family member.

PRAYER DRAWS US CLOSER TO GOD

James 4:8
Draw nigh to God, and He will draw night to you…..

The more time we spend in prayer, the closer we’ll become to Jesus. 

It’s the key to building a relationship with God…

When we became interested in the person who is now our spouse, we didn’t build a relationship by just being in the same room.  No, we had many conversations. 

At first, it was awkward as we asked surface questions and told each other our likes and dislikes or shared our day.  Then little by little, those conversations became more meaningful and deeper until the relationship developed from just ‘like’ to ‘love’. 

It’s the same way in our walk with God…..

When you first begin to pray, it may seem awkward and you may not know exactly what to pray so the conversation is short. 

But the more you pray, the more you’ll learn to pray. 
The more you learn to pray, the more you’ll desire to pray. 
Until you long for those special times spent in God’s Presence, feeling His comforting touch as we feel His loving arms wrap around our shoulders.

Prayer draws us closer to Jesus!

My House Shall Be Called The House of Prayer

And said unto them, It is written,
My house shall be called the house of prayer…
Matthew 21:13

When we hear this phrase or passage of Scripture, we often think of it as referring to a building such as the Temple in the Old Testament or the modern-day Church building in which we gather to have service on certain days of the week.

The word “house” can be defined as “a dwelling place”. (see Strong’s G3624)
God wants the place where He dwells to be a place filled with prayer.

Romans 8:9
But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit if so be
that the Spirit of God DWELL in you…

The Greek word for “dwell” comes from the Greek word for ‘House’ and means “to occupy a house, to reside”. (see Strong’s G3611)

WE are God’s House, His dwelling place, if we have the Holy Ghost living inside of us.

2 Corinthians 6:16
…For ye are the Temple of the Living God; as God hath said,
I will dwell in them, and walk in them;
and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

WE are the Temple of the Living God.
WE are to be the House of Prayer.

So, How Do We Pray?

I’m going to give you a guideline using the Old Testament Tabernacle design to hopefully help you. Everything in the Old Testament is a type and shadow of things to come.  The late Bishop G.A. Mangun taught this for years as a guide to help your prayer time to be more productive as you use the furniture and its placement in the Tabernacle to remind you of how to pray and what to pray.

You do not have to follow this, but if you are wanting to learn how to truly pray more effectively and more than just a five-minute prayer, this guideline may help you.  

1. THANK GOD and PRAISE GOD (the Gate)

Psalm 100:4 instructs us to “Enter into His gates with THANKSGIVING and into His courts with PRAISE.   BE THANKFUL unto Him and BLESS HIS NAME.”

1. So begin your prayer by THANKING GOD for all He’s done, all His blessings, His mercy, how He’s provided, etc.
2. Then begin to PRAISE GOD:   (Examples) …“God, You are so good!  You are wonderful!  You are a great God! There is none   like You!  I love You, Jesus!”

2. REPENT (the brazen altar where sacrifices were made to atone for sins)

• Take time to REPENT – ask God to forgive you of every sin.

1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Confess every sin – whether it is a wrong thought, a wrong action, or a wrong word spoken.  God knows what you’ve done so there’s no sense trying to hide it from Him.  Be honest and open with God.  In response, He said He will be faithful and just to forgive and cleanse us from our sins. 

Repentance is more than just saying we’re sorry – it’s truly meaning it and working to do things differently.  We shouldn’t continue in our sin but do our best to be live differently, live better, and be changed inside and out.

Repentance is an every day action and necessity.  Paul said, “I die DAILY.” (1 Cor 15:31) In other words, he had to repent and deny the flesh every day.

3. READ THE BIBLE (The Laver of Water)

• Take a few moments to wash your mind by reading the Bible.

Ephesians 5:26 - That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word.

Reading the Bible helps to declutter our mind from the things of the world  and focus more on God.

4. FIVE POSTS as you enter the Holy Place

Before the Priest entered the Holy Place, there were five posts at the entrance.   
These 5 posts represent how Isaiah described the Messiah in Isaiah 9:6

• WONDERFUL  à Tell Jesus how wonderful He is
• COUNSELOR  à Ask God for wisdom, guidance and counsel for self, family, pastor, leaders of our nation, etc.
• THE MIGHTY GOD  à Pray for people to get the revelation of who Jesus   (Deuteronomy 6:4 + Colossians 2:9)
• THE EVERLASTING FATHER  à Pray for the fatherless, widows/widowers, orphans, suffering, sick, aged, single parents, etc.
• THE PRINCE OF PEACE  à Pray for God’s peace in homes, marriages, etc.

5. GOLDEN CANDLESTICK = Holy Ghost

Jesus said in JOHN 8:12   “I am the Light of the world…”

è Pray for people to see and receive the Light of the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ and receive the Holy Ghost.

è Pray for the Holy Ghost to burn brightly within each of us and be active in our lives.

è Pray for spiritual revelation, direction, and guidance.

è Pray for anointing and to be used by God, whatever His purpose may be for your life.

6.  TABLE OF SHEWBREAD = Pray for MINISTRY

Upon the Table of Shewbread sat the continual bread.

This table and bread represented God’s willingness to fellowship with man  and allow him to be in God’s presence.

       

JESUS said He is the BREAD OF LIFE in John 6:35, 49-50

è Ask God to speak to our hearts and help us to hear His voice.

è Pray for those who share His bread (the preached Word of God)…PASTORS, MINISTERS, EVANGELISTS, TEACHERS, etc

7. GOLDEN ALTAR OF INCENSE = WORSHIP, PRAYER, AND
     INTERCESSION

     

This is where our worship, prayers, and intercession go up before God as a sweet fragrance.

    

Psalm 141:2 says, “Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and as the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

è Begin to WORSHIP GOD before bringing your prayer requests.    

è After you have worshipped, then make your requests known to God.

àPRAY FOR OTHERS

àINTERCEDE FOR NEEDS

The Altar of Incense is where every request can be presented to a prayer-answering God.

8. THE VEIL = symbolic of the barrier of our flesh

The Veil in the Old Testament Tabernacle was a curtain without seams.  It was very heavy and no one could go past that curtain except the High Priest.  It was a divider between the Holy Place and the Holiest of Holies where God’s Presence dwelt above the Ark of the Covenant with the Mercy Seat on top.  

         The Veil represents separation between the physical (our flesh) and the spiritual (walking in the Spirit).  When Jesus was crucified, that Veil was torn in two, allowing us be able to boldly approach His Throne.

Hebrews 4:16 - Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

è ASK GOD TO HELP US WALK IN THE SPIRIT, and not in the flesh.

Galatians 5:16 - This I say then, WALK IN THE SPIRIT, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

9. THE HOLY OF HOLIES = The Ark

Inside the Holy of Holies was the Ark of the Covenant which contained 3 symbolic items:

• GOLDEN POT OF MANNA àThank God for this reminder that He will supply every need.
  
  
• THE 10 COMMANDMENTS àThank God that we now have mercy and redemption through the Blood Jesus shed on Calvary.
  
  
• AARON’S ROD THAT BUDDED àClaim and thank God that He has given us authority in His Name and by His Spirit.
  The Rod represents the authority we have through the Blood of Jesus, His Spirit, and the Name of Jesus.

10. THE MERCY SEAT / GOD’S THRONE = Access to His Glory

The Mercy Seat was on top of the Ark – this is where the Blood was applied and where God would appear as either a cloud or a fire and commune with man.

Because the Ark was God’s throne among His people, it was symbolic of His presence and power. 

àThank God for His Redeeming Blood, His mercy, and that we now have fellowship with Him.

      

àThank God for allowing us to boldly approach His Throne.