6 Attitudes of Prayer

There’s this well-known picture of George Washington praying. I think the reason that it resonates with people is this: While people were looking to Washington for direction, he was looking to God for direction. 

The same can be said about Christian leaders today. While people are looking to you for direction, you should be looking to God for direction. This is why prayer is so important. 

In Luke 11:1, one of the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. Given the historical and cultural context, this seems like an odd request. As first-century Jews, the disciples would have likely known a lot about prayer. Despite this, however, I can’t help but wonder if they saw something different about the way that Jesus prayed. 

At His disciple’s requests, Jesus teaches them what is now commonly known as “The Lord’s Prayer.” The longer version of this prayer is found in Matthew 6:9-13 and the shorter version can be found in Luke 11:2-4. 

While it is likely that you have heard this prayer recited verbatim in church, I do not think that the Lord’s Prayer was Jesus’ way of teaching His followers word-for-word what to pray. Rather, He was giving them a model for how to pray. The Lord’s Prayer can be broken down into six sections. I like to call this, “6 Attitudes of Prayer.”

1. Attitude of Relationship. The Lord’s Prayer begins, “Our Father in heaven…” (Matthew 6:9a, NIV). When we pray, we should do so as a way of being in relationship with God.
2. Attitude of Worship. The second section of the Lord’s Prayer is, “Hallowed be your name…” (Matthew 6:9b, NIV). When we pray, we should make time to praise and worship God.
3. Attitude of Obedience. The third section of the Lord’s Prayer is, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…” (Matthew 6:10, NIV). When we pray, we should ask God to show us what His will in our situation.  
4. Attitude of Dependence. The fourth section of the Lord’s Prayer is, “Give us today our daily bread…” (Matthew 6:11, NIV). When we pray, we should ask God for the things that we need and trust Him to fulfill them. 
5. Attitude of Forgiveness. The fifth section of the Lord’s Prayer is, “Forgive us our debts,  as we also have forgiven our debtors…” (Matthew 6:12, NIV). When we pray, we should ask for forgiveness for our sins as well as forgive those who have sinned against us. 
6. Attitude of Guidance. The sixth section of the Lord’s Prayer is, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13, NIV). When we pray, we should ask God to lead us away from sin and closer to Him. 

Prayer is an important part of Christian leadership. Through the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus gave His followers (past and present) a model for how to pray. 

Application Question: How can you incorporate the 6 Attitudes of Prayer into your personal devotion time?

Further Reading: George Washington and Religion