An "Us" Prayer
Theme of the week: The Power of Praying Together
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
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Key Bible Verse: Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, "Lord, teach us to pray." (Luke 11:1) Dig Deeper: Matthew 6:9-11
For years, when I imagined Jesus praying, I thought of him withdrawing to lonely places to pray (Luke 5:16). It was later I realized that was just a small part of the picture. As I began to search the New Testament, I discovered that Jesus loved to pray with others. We see that from the sheer number of times the Bible tells us he did it. [See Luke 3:21, 9:28-29; John 11:41, 17:1-26.]
You can discover how much Jesus wanted his followers to pray together when you take a closer look at the Lord's Prayer. Notice that it's an "us" prayer and not a "me" prayer: "Our Father … Give us today our daily bread …" (Matt. 6:9 and 11, NIV; emphasis added). Jesus begins the Lord's Prayer by saying "This, then, is how you should pray" (Matthew 6:9, NIV; emphasis added). Jesus is telling us how he expects us to pray. Because the language of the prayer is plural, the natural meaning of Jesus' words indicates that his followers will be praying together.
Daniel Henderson [in Fresh Encounters] explains: "The pronoun here is plural, so he is talking about a group—the disciple group. In our language it would be 'when you guys pray.' …" The grammar indicates that Jesus is assuming his followers will be praying together.
—James Banks in The Lost Art of
Praying Together
My Response: Why is it important that I regularly practice both private and group prayer?
Thought to Apply: And prayer is the turning away from ourselves to God in the confidence that he will provide the help we need. Prayer humbles us as needy, and exalts God as wealthy.—John Piper(pastor, writer)
Adapted from The Lost Art of
Praying Together (Discovery House, 2009) by permission. All rights reserved by the copyright holder and/or the publisher. May not be reproduced.
Copyright © 2010 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
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Heavenly Father, show me the importance of praying regularly with others; help me to overcome any fears or misconceptions I have about praying out loud; reveal to me the power to be found through praying with fellow believers.
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