He was the biggest change agent in the history of the world. One of the things that characterized Jesus’ life was constant prayer.

Jesus prayed at His baptism and His temptation. He would go off alone and to a mountain and even on the cross. When Jesus prayed, things happened.

Prayer is the conduit to God’s power so what keeps us from praying?

• I don’t see my prayers answered
• I don’t know how to pray

Matthew 6:9-13 gives us a template for prayer.

Here are 2 foundational things that God will use to revolutionize your prayer life.

1. When you pray, remember that He’s your Father
How you see God determines how your pray.

If you see God as an angry judge always looking at what you did wrong, you won’t look forward to speaking to him.

If you see Him as a business partner, He’s useful when you need Him but you never long to spend time with Him.

However, when you begin to see Him as your Father, it changes how your approach Him. Because of Christ, we have been ushered into the very relationship Jesus has with the Father.

J. I. Packer wrote that “You sum up the whole of New Testament religion if you describe it as the knowledge of god as one’s holy Father.”

Father is the Christian name for God.

Real, authentic prayer begins by embracing the fatherhood of God. The doctrine of God as our Father is based upon adoption. In Christ, you are now embraced as a son! This is the great exchange.

You have now been adopted by the Father but when it comes to prayer, we act like orphans.

God is not the reflection of your earthly Father, He is the perfection of what it means to be a good dad.

All of us fail and sin so we must fight the temptation to run from Him in shame and, instead, to turn to Him in repentance.

2. When you pray, remember my life is for His glory
In Matthew 6:10, hallowed means something special, it’s a recognition that God is better than anything I could have. God might hallow His name by allowing some pain to happen but you can show off His glory even in that because you know you have a good good Father.

When you pray, pray the Scriptures.

Search the Scriptures for accounts, promises, and passages that relate and pray them. For example:
1 Peter 3:7 says “Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.”

Pray: “Father, help me to treasure my wife and help me to do what’s necessary to value her.”

Take the one burden and don’t be shy, pray a big prayer in faith!