When You Pray, Begin with Praise
When Jesus' friends asked him how to pray, he gave them a model prayer. Today we call it the Lord's Prayer, and it gives us a great outline for making contact with God. The first idea Jesus gives us for making contact with God is captured by the words: "Our Father in heaven: May your holy name be honored ." Jesus is talking about praise. You begin making contact with God by praising him, by thanking God for who and what He is. Why should I praise God? Because it gets my focus off myself and onto God so I can talk to Him and not at him. That's why we start with praise. If you want help learning how to praise God, read through the Book of the Psalms. Many of them were written simply to praise God. If you read them aloud, you'll learn a lot about praising God in prayer. Notice Jesus talks about God's name being holy. In the Bible, a name was a clue to a person's character. The Bible reveals the character of God through the many names it uses for God. Through these names, we learn that - God Is Present With Me; God Is My Shepherd; God Is My Provider; God Is My Healer; God Is My Peace; God Is My Victory In Conflict. Praying the names of God reminds you of who He is and what He has done for you. That will stir up love in your heart for Him.
“In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.”
Matthew 6:9 NKJV
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