“In this manner, therefore pray: Our Father in heaven…” —Matthew 6:9
I love the relationship I have with my grandchildren. When the little ones run up to me and I pick them up, they look into my eyes and say, “Hi Papa!” “How are you, Papa?” And I just melt.
I look into their little faces and think, you are so amazing. What do you want? Anything! I can’t resist them.
That’s our relationship. They love me in their simple, child-like way, and I love them wholeheartedly.
And believe it or not, God loves us with even greater intensity. When we connect with Him relationally, in prayer, we are right there in His heart.
Sure, we can pray according to a formula, but our deepest need is to have a relationship with Him.
The disciples saw Jesus praying and possibly made a connection between prayer and the supernatural power of His ministry.
“Could you teach us to pray?” they asked. In response, Jesus told them to “Pray after this manner.” Notice He did not say, “Pray this prayer.”
Jesus said to start with “Our Father in heaven.” Father implies a relationship. If you want prayer that will change everything, you need to connect with the Father.
There’s nothing wrong with praying the Lord’s Prayer just as it is written. The whole prayer can be said in less than thirty seconds. But in telling us to pray “after this manner” Jesus gave us a kind of a bullet-point outline of how to pray and connect with the supernatural.
When we pray as if we really have a Father in heaven and are eager to come to Him like my grandchildren are to me, that becomes a totally different way of living and praying.
“How are you doing today, Dad?” we can ask Him. Or we can wake up and tell Him, “I’m really glad that You’re the God of the whole universe and that You’re my Father; no matter what the day has in store, I’ve got it made because You’re on my side.”
Have you ever told Him just how amazing you think He is? How lovely? How good? How kind?
Do you know how much that means to your Dad in heaven? He’s thinking, “You’re acknowledging Me; you’re talking to Me. Ask Me for whatever you want…I’ll give it to you!”
Jesus says the same thing in John 16:23. “Whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.” God loves us so much that it seems we’re irresistible to Him.
That’s relational prayer; it’s based on and flowing out of the connection you have with God.
We can ask Him for what we need, and He invites us to do so. But the true longing of our souls—God Himself— outstrips anything He could give us.
Take time to talk to God today in a relational way. It changes everything.
