This is how Jesus instructed the disciples in Matthew chapter six on how to pray.
Pray like this Our Father in Heaven. May your name be kept holy. May your kingdom come soon, May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need and forgive us our sins as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Matthew 6:9-13
That last sentence, “Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.” When you say that you are yielding to everything God is and everything God is going to do. You’re saying, “God, everything, including me, belongs to you. I’ve asked you for all the things that I’ve needed. I’ve worked on the relationships. I’ve spent time in your presence. And in the end, I declare that I, and everything around me belongs to you.” That is the ultimate surrender, that is yielding. You’re saying you are in control. Part of living a life of prayer is giving it up, yielding, surrendering and declaring that His is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. Ephesians 6:18
For you to be able to yield, to surrender, to declare that His is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever, prayer has to become more than a thing that we do for a moment at a certain time of day. It has to become more than just a moment in time.
Never stop praying. 1 Thessalonians 5:17
This is only possible if prayer becomes more than what it has been for most of us. You cannot live this kind of prayer life praying the way we’ve been praying, which is only when something bad happens. I go to my knees and I pray. Because that only happens at a certain time. And this says never stop praying. Never. You understand what that word means. It means always be praying. Don’t ever stop praying.
So how do we live a life of prayer? Here are some suggestions:
FOCUS
Make God a focus of your thoughts throughout the day.
LISTEN
Take quiet moments to plug into God and see if He has anything to say to you.
FORGIVE
Nothing stops our connection with God than to not extend forgiveness to others or ourselves.
