There are lots of people today coming up with all sorts of wild and wonderful ways to relate to God but the emphasis is mostly on the individual. But how did Jesus teach us to relate to God? To pray?
Many times I have attended prayer meetings and it seems that the leaders don't know what to do and it ends up either being a shambles or I take over (with permission) and lead it to the relief of the poor person who has been thrown in the deep end without any real guidance or training. I know that sounds rude but if you have an audience with the King you had better go in prepared and confident or you are wasting everyone's time (In a corporate sense anyway - personal prayer and devotions are different altogether).
It is important that when we get together to pray that we are in unity and that we have someone to lead and that there is a clear agenda, plan or structure to make the most of the time together. There is a lot of talk about being led by the Holy Spirit but we can still do that WITHIN the structure or there will be chaos and a lack of direction and unity.
In Matthew 6:7 Jesus said "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words." and in verse 9 He said "In this manner, therefore, pray:".
It is clear that Jesus didn't want us just following a form and repeating words like a parrot. He wants us to understand what we are doing and keep it real. So in this series of videos I am going to look at the principles behind the Lord's Prayer that, when understood, enable a leader to keep the people engaged and focused for a sustained period of time while at the same time covering the essentials and being spiritually productive.
Hope you enjoy.
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