Monday, December 20, 2010

more super than natural



The Word for today:
Psalm 140, 141


Prayer doesn't come naturally to me.

Probably because prayer isn't really "natural" at all.  It's an act of faith which enters the supernatural realm. So I am always trying to pray less 'natural' and more 'super.'

The disciples asked for help with prayer, too. So Jesus told them to pray in this manner:

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.  (Matthew 6:9-13)


One way that I have found to pray less natural and more super is to pray with supernatural words. Now where do you suppose we could find some of those?

There's only one place I know. And that's in God's Word, the Bible. So I'm going to reprint the "Our Father," but this time I'm going to include some scripture in parentheses, to help us pray supernaturally.
(For example, you'll notice that the parentheses after "deliver us from evil" contain Psalms 140 & 141--the Psalms on our reading schedule today.)

***

I'm pretty sure that when Jesus told us to pray in this manner, he meant that the "Our Father" was to be used as an outline for prayer.

So let's follow the outline! As you do, make sure to throw some of the particulars of your own life in there. (The verses from the Bible will prompt you to remember them.)  And as you continue to read your Bible, choose other verses to make the "Our Father" your very own!

Then just send your expanded, supernatural, customized "Our Father" out to God. (And remember to mention Jesus--early and often--in your prayers, or else they're going nowhere!)


A supernatural, customized, personalized, expanded, & enhanced
~~~"Our Father"~~~

Our Father in heaven, (Mark 14:36; Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6)
Hallowed be Your name. (Exodus 3:14; Isaiah 9:6)
Your kingdom come. (Daniel 2:44-45; Matthew 4:17)
Your will be done (Luke 1:38; Psalm 143:10; John 5:30)
On earth as it is in heaven. (Psalm 103:19-22)
Give us this day our daily bread. (Matthew 6:25-34)
And forgive us our debts, (Psalm 103:8-13)
As we forgive our debtors. (Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13)
And do not lead us into temptation, (1 Corinthians 10:13; Hebrews 2:18)
But deliver us from the evil one. (Psalms 34:4; 140; 141; 2 Corinthians 1:10)
For Yours is the kingdom (Acts 17:24-25)
and the power (1 Chronicles 29:12; Psalm 33:6)
and the glory (Psalm 8:1; Psalm 19:1)
forever. (Daniel 7:14; Psalm 23:6; Matthew 24:35)
Amen. (2 Corinthians 1:20; Revelation 3:14)
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