Prayer. Prayer is the master key that unlocks the door to a victorious life and a powerfully effective ministry. These are perilous times, but we are not helpless or hopeless. We have prayer. Where there are praying believers, there is a listening God, ready to intervene and equip us with everything required for this walk of faith. In Luke 21:36 Jesus points to prayer as the key to escaping the difficult days that are unfolding before our very eyes:
“Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”
10 Keys to Survival in the Lord’s Prayer
The key to survival is prayer. The Lord’s Prayer contains a full set of keys and is the perfect pattern for prayer that Jesus gave us. When they came to the Lord in Luke 11 and Matthew 6 and said, “Teach us to pray,” Jesus gave the most powerful keys for survival in Scripture’s most famous prayer.
Key 1
The Lord Jesus began by saying, “Our Father,” (Matt. 6:9). You cannot have a powerful life of prayer without a relationship with God. When the Lord began with the words, “Our Father,” He was talking about something significant and powerful. Only by the Holy Spirit are we able to have this personal relationship with the Father. In Romans 8:15 and Galatians 4:6, it is the Spirit who says Abba Father. Relationship is key. The first thing we must develop is a relationship with God the Father.
And today, many believers lack that understanding of relationship. Do we know God the Father? Many people talk about God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, but the Lord Jesus made it very clear: we must have a relationship with the Father. And that happens through Jesus. God will not hear those who have no relationship with Him. We must develop our relationship with the Father.
Key 2
Jesus said, “Which art in heaven,” (v. 9). That means our citizenship; we have to recognize that we are citizens of heaven. We must pray from the perspective that our citizenship is in glory. We know from Scripture that we are citizens of heaven.
“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,” (Phil. 3:20, NIV).
In the first minute of our salvation we become citizens of heaven, and we have rights. If you are an American, you have rights today as a citizen of the United States. We have greater rights as citizens of heaven. To establish yourself as a citizen of heaven, you must disconnect from the earth. Look to heaven. “Set your affection on things above,” Paul said in Colossians 3:2.
You might say, “How do I disconnect from the earth?” Stop watching things that are beneath your heavenly citizenship. Stop being involved in the affairs of this life. It’s quite simple. Everyone knows how to disconnect. Just shut it out. Shut the world out.
Key 3
You must build your worship. “Hallowed be thy name,” (v. 9). That is adoration. It means entering into the realm of worship. Not only are we to develop our relationship and citizenship, but we are also to develop our worship.
Key 4
Jesus said, “Thy kingdom come,” (v. 10). That means I put His interests ahead of mine. “Thy kingdom come” has to do with the destruction of the kingdom of evil in my life. It means I am to have no connection whatsoever to the satanic, no relationship with the flesh. I am responsible for shutting it out of my life. His kingdom coming into my life is what the Lord meant when He said, “Thy kingdom come.” How does His kingdom come into my life? By dismissing all other kingdoms out of my life. I don’t allow demonic influences or worldly connections. I shut the door and walk away from anything that would hinder the kingdom of God in my life.
Key 5
Jesus said, “Thy will be done,” (v. 10). This means we have to know His Word. You cannot know His will without knowing His Word. It is absolutely impossible. When the Lord said, “Thy will be done,” He was saying, “It is time for you to know His mind. It is time for you to know His revealed will, which is the Bible.” After you know His mind, His will, then you can confidently make your petition known.
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