Remember the character of God when you pray

All it took to capture the disciples’ attention was for Jesus to pray.  They heard Him pray, and when He finished, the immediate response was, “Lord, teach us to pray…” (Lk. 11:1).  Something about the manner of His praying evidently made them realize the deficiency of their prayers.  And they wanted to pray with greater effectiveness and fellowship.

So the Lord taught them (the prayer is located in both Matthew 6 and Luke 11; the references here are all from the account in Luke 11).

We don’t know what particularly caught the attention of the disciples when Jesus prayed, but something did.  And as I re-read this prayer and the following section, what I noticed this time was the various ways that Christ referred to the nature and character of God.  Notice all the direct and indirect references to God:

• He is our Father (v. 2).  Lloyd-Jones said that the two words, “our Father,” were the essence of this prayer:  “It is just this realization of our relationship to God that we so sadly lack.”
• He is holy (v. 2).  While He is our Father, He remains infinitely holy and must still be approached in humble worship.
• He is the King of the ultimate kingdom (v. 2).  He is authoritative over all people and things and circumstances.  Nothing escapes His sovereign control.
• He is the giver of daily needs (v. 3).  While watching over the great expanse of His kingdom, He still is aware of and tender towards our most mundane and simple needs.
• He is the forgiver of every sin (v. 4).  Greater than providing bread for a meal, He offers redemption from all sin.  All sin.
• He is, as Jonathan Edwards noted, “a prayer hearing God” (vv. 5-8).  He never wearies of our prayers and He is always listening, attentive, and responsive to our prayers and needs.  He does not always give what we ask, but He does always give what is best in every circumstance.
• He is compassionate to the petitions of His children (vv. 11-12).  He may not be the kind of Father all men want to have, but He is the Father that all men need to have.
• He is good in all of His gifts to His children (v. 13).  Nothing bad slips from His hands.  Whatever we receive is from Him and it is good.
• He gives not only gifts to His children, but He gives the Spirit of God to reside in His children (v. 13; cf. Jn. 16:7-14).

This is the God to whom you and I pray each day.  Because of the frequency of prayers, it is tempting to become familiar with Him without worship of Him.  May these revealed qualities of God stimulate you to greater exaltation as you seek Him each day.