DAY 2

A SIMPLE CONVERSATION

NIKKI CATHERINCCHIA, TEACHING PASTOR, THE WOODS CHURCH

One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” Luke 11:1

Remember the Wizard of Oz? The movie that took the classic age of the silver screen from black and white into Technicolor. When I was a kid, long before streaming, DVDs or even VCRs, I couldn’t wait for the yearly showing of the merry old land of Oz. I would sit glued to the TV in awe. The Cowardly Lion, afraid of his own shadow, was my favorite character. He talked a good game until it was his time to see the Wizard, then fainted before a single word left his mouth. His intimidation got the best of him. As a kid, that always made me laugh. As an adult, I wonder how many people see God the same way: overwhelming and scary. Based on the amount of people who find prayer intimidating, I would think the number is pretty high. However, I am not so sure that people are intimidated by God as much as they are intimidated by prayer itself.

If you want to see people sweat, suggest that everyone pray out loud. Every week congregations listen to pastors and church staff pray and many think, “I could never pray like that.” I know, I used to be one of those people. The first time I prayed out loud, like the Cowardly Lion, I almost passed out. But truth be told, even in my own private prayers I feared I wasn’t doing it right so I often just skipped it. You see, too often we are so afraid to get prayer wrong that we avoid it altogether. But could you imagine your children being so intimidated to talk to you that they never engaged you in a conversation? That would devastate me. This begs the question: when we don’t pray out of fear of getting it wrong, how does that make God feel? The Psalms tell us He comes near to hear the voices of His children. How His heart must ache when He leans in and hears nothing.

Have you ever thought that maybe we overcomplicate prayer? We make it harder than it has to be. Growing up, I learned the Lord’s Prayer as a prayer to be recited. It wouldn’t be until I was older that I understood Jesus was not giving us phrases to recite but an outline of how to converse with our Father. Because that is what prayer really is: a simple conversation with God.

The giving of the Lord’s Prayer is recorded in both Matthew and Luke. In Matthew, it is part of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus makes it clear prayer is not a spectacle to impress others. Prayer is intimate conversation. Not spoken like a pastor or podcaster. Not for show, pride, or display. Just a simple conversation between you and your Heavenly Father.

In Luke’s Gospel, the disciples asked, “Jesus, teach us how to pray.” Perhaps they too were intimidated by lofty prayers they had heard from the Pharisees and Sadducees, the religious leaders of their day. Maybe fear of getting it wrong was paralyzing them from engaging. However, they had watched Jesus pray. They knew prayer was central in His life and they longed to pray like their rabbi. What I love most is that Jesus never belittles His disciples for not knowing.

He simply gives them an uncomplicated way to approach their Father who is always leaning in to listen.

Maybe today you are overwhelmed with how to pray. Maybe your prayer life has grown quiet, or maybe you are simply looking for another tool to grow closer to Jesus. Whatever brings you here, know this: when we follow Jesus’ method, we cannot get prayer wrong.

Today let’s follow Jesus’ outline and pray together.

OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN This is the conversation starter. Begin by acknowledging who you are talking to. Speak to God in your own voice. He doesn’t need or want you to be or sound like anyone but yourself. He loves you! He wants to hear YOU!!

HALLOWED BE YOUR NAME Begin to worship God. Declare who He is… Lord, Savior, Creator. Declare His attributes… He is trustworthy, faithful, full of love and truth. He is the God who sees, who provides, who redeems. He is the beginning and the end. The only One worthy of our worship and praise.

YOUR KINGDOM COME Acknowledge that Jesus is coming back again. Declare the hopeful expectation of that promise being fulfilled. Ask God how He may want to use you to evidence Jesus in our world in the waiting. Then pause and allow for God to speak.

YOUR WILL BE DONE, ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN Here we begin to pray for the realities of heaven to come to earth. Surrender your life and your will align to the will of God. Pray for a fresh heavenly perspective or begin to intercede on behalf of others, our community, country, or world. Once again remember to pause and give God space to speak to you. 

GIVE US TODAY OUR DAILY BREAD Every day we must come to God in prayer because every day He gives us what we need for that day. Just like the Israelites in the wilderness receiving manna from heaven; it was just enough for that day. We too must come to God every day for nourishment. What do you need today? Guidance, wisdom, discernment; ask Him. Patience, grace, compassion; ask Him. Self-control, discipline, endurance; ask Him. Healing, comfort, provision; ask Him. God’s mercies are new everyday, all we have to do is ask Him!

AND FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS This is where we ask God to search our hearts and we confess any sin that is known or revealed. NOTHING hinders our relationship with God more than unconfessed sin. The Father can handle anything you might share. In fact, He already knows. He just wants you to trust Him enough to share it yourself.

AS WE ALSO HAVE FORGIVEN OUR DEBTORS Forgiveness is not just something we receive, it is something we must give. Is there any unforgiveness you’re holding onto? Now is the time to give it to the Lord. Let Him heal your heart and work on the hearts of those who have wronged you.

AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, BUT DELIVER US FROM THE EVIL ONE Finally, recognize that Satan would love nothing more than to throw a curve ball into your day, your week, even your year. He loves taking down those whom God loves. This is why we pray for protection from the schemes of the enemy. We pray against strongholds or temptations. We pray against worldly mindsets and ideologies. We pray for victory and freedom, which in Christ Jesus are already ours—we just need to claim them. When we are prayed up, we are armed against every attack of the enemy and we become more than conquerors.

An amen brings it to an end and you did it! The conversation really is that simple!!

This might have been your very first conversation with God or maybe you were picking up where you left off. Either way, I challenge you: every day carve out time for a conversation with your Father. Use the prayer model Jesus taught us. On some days you may focus more on one area than another and other days you might not get to them all, and that’s okay. There is no right or wrong way. It’s just a daily conversation where God leans in, loving the sound of your voice. And the more you do it, you too will fall in love with the sound of His voice too.