Prayer Guide From the Lord’s Prayer

Often we have certain passages of Scripture that we return to often due to our love for them and their value to us at specific times of our lives. The Sermon on the Mount and within that the Lord’s Prayer are passages that I return to often. Preaching for three months from Matthew 6:5-15 caused me to give more time to considering the structure of prayer and how most praying should sound: simply, with depth, specifically, freely, orderly and with confidence in our God and Father.

In light of this, I have written a prayer guide for our church and wanted to post it on here for anyone who may find it valuable. The prayer guide isn’t rigid but shows how to take each request of the Lord’s Prayer and to give an overview of how we can give praise and adoration to God first, then pray for ourselves, our family, friends, church, city and culture. Under each section the requests are given.

When you read these requests, you will see how powerful each of them are by simply asking them as the Scripture tells us to. It also allows you to let the request be a guide for specific prayers you may have yourself, another person, your church, the world at large, etc. My encouragement is to let these requests by a guide for each time of prayer each day. Don’t feel obligated to pray each prayer for each category each day. One of the blessings of the Lord’s Prayer is praying simply. If you feel you want to pray only one section a day and those prayers within that section, then by all means do that. Here is what you will find out: If the Lord’s Prayer is your guide, then no matter what you are praying for will: a) be covered in your requests to God and b) no matter who you are praying for, the details of each request can be found in the Lord’s Prayer. I have found that when I am praying for specific things personally or for others and I am following the pattern of the Lord’s Prayer, I will pray with more depth for this request than I had even planned. I am also praying simply and specifically, because I know God has told me to pray this way.

One last note: When you see the guide for people and issues, I have listed them in broad categories to leave room for a wide variety of issues and people while also the ability to be specific.

If you have any helpful pointers to this or any questions, let me know.

PRAISE AND ADORATION TO GOD:
-Praise God for who He is: Hallowing His name
-Praise God for what He does, has done and will do: Kingdom come
-Praise God for His power & goodness: Your will be done

PRAYERS FOR OURSELVES:
-Pray for God’s name to be hallowed in your life
-Pray for God’s kingdom to reign and rule over your heart
-Pray for God’s will to be done in your life
-Pray for God to provide for all your needs: spiritual and physical
-Confess your sins to God and ask Him for forgiveness
-Pray for grace to forgive those who sinned against you
-Ask God to not lead you into temptation and to succumb to temptation
-Ask Him to deliver you from the Evil One

PRAYERS FOR OUR FAMILY:
-Pray for God’s name to be hallowed in their lives
-Pray for God’s Kingdom to reign and rule their hearts
-Pray for God’s will to be done in their lives
-Pray God would provide for their daily needs: physical and spiritual
-Ask God to forgive them of their debts
-Ask God to grant them forgiving hearts to forgive others
-Ask God to not lead them into temptation and to succumb to temptation
-Ask God to deliver them from the evil one

PRAYERS FOR OUR FRIENDS:
-Pray for God’s name to be hallowed in their lives
-Pray for God’s Kingdom to reign and rule their hearts
-Pray for God’s will to be done in their lives
-Pray God would provide for their daily needs: physical and spiritual
-Ask God to forgive them of their debts
-Ask God to grant them forgiving hearts to forgive others
-Ask God to not lead them into temptation and to succumb to temptation
-Ask God to deliver them from the evil one

PRAYERS FOR THE CHURCH:
-Pray for God’s name to be hallowed in the church
-Pray for God’s Kingdom to reign and rule in the church
-Pray for God’s will to be done in the church
-Pray God would provide for the church’s daily needs
-Ask God to forgive us of our sins
-Ask God to grant the church forgiving and compassionate hearts towards our enemies
-Ask God to not lead the church into temptation and to succumb to temptation
-Ask God to deliver the church from the Evil One

PRAYERS FOR THE CITY AND CULTURE:
-Pray for God’s name to be hallowed in our city and nation
-Pray for God’s Kingdom to reign and rule over the hearts of our citizens and leaders
-Pray for God’s will to be done in our city and nation
-Pray God would provide for the daily needs of our city and nation: physical and spiritual
-Ask God to forgive our city and nation of our sins
-Ask God to grant our city and nation forgiving hearts
-Ask God to not lead our city and nation into temptation or to succumb to temptation
-Ask God to deliver our city and nation from the Evil One

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Dave Miller

5 years ago

Good stuff.

Helpful. Not much to discuss or argue, I always appreciate posts like this.

Dwight McKissic

Joe,

Much of this info reminds me of a prayer guide by Peter Lord, “2959” Prayer Guide. I find this outline extremely helpful. Thanks.

Reply to Dwight McKissic

Wow. 2959. That’s a blast from the past. That was big back in the 70s in my college days. Went to conference or two at Peter Lord’s church.

Reply to Dave Miller

2959 was required reading in Dr. Jack Gray’s “Spritual Foundations For Missions” Class. That class and that book literally changed my life. This prayer outline so reminded me of those days and Peter Lord’s book.

Can’t wait to read your “Notes From Nashville.”

Job Dalomba

Thanks for the encouraging comments guys. I confess I’m not aware of 2959. The name Peter Lord sounds familiar.

Reply to Job Dalomba

Peter Lord was a pastor at Park Avenue Baptist in Titusville, Fl back in the 70s and 80s. I can’t imagine he’s still there, but I lost touch with him after I graduated college. He was very much into prayer and spiritual formation. He was a luminary in what was often called the “abundant life” movement.

When I was a youth pastor in the 80s in South Florida, we went to conferences there. He was getting into some theology about sin I wasn’t completely comfortable with (Christians aren’t sinners, we are saints) but I’m not sure that wasn’t just a phase.

His earlier material on prayer, like 2959, (29 minutes and 59 seconds a day of prayer) was very helpful in developing a consistent quiet time.

Tarheel

We’ve got a day of prayer coming up – can I use this?

Reply to Tarheel

Absolutely. Feel to use. I pray it’s helpful.

Prayer Guide From the Lord’s Prayer

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