In John 17, right before he was arrested and crucified, Jesus prayed to the Father for the sake of his disciples, both those presently with him and all those who have followed him ever since. That prayer can teach us what Christ thought most important to pray for, so we can seek and pray for these same things.

We face trials and suffering in life and we actually need the kind of character and strength in our lives that only come through testing. Yet, we can pray that the trials of life don’t trap us, crush us, or cause us to fall.

As we continue in this series on prayer and, specifically, The Lord’s Prayer, we learn that confession is key to forgiveness and forgiveness is always towards restored relationship with God and one another.

If we feel the love of the Father, our hearts being full of adoration, have no other desire in life but to extend his kingdom, and are totally submitted to His will, what will we ask for? This week we look at the prayer of petition, asking God for our needs.

Many people think of prayer as a technique to get answers from God. But prayer is so much more than that. This week, we look at the prayer of submission: “Let your kingdom come, let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Jesus offers us a masterclass on prayer by referring to what has traditionally been called The Lord’s Prayer. Over the next few weeks, we’ll unpack this prayer and the ways Jesus encourages to pray. Today, we look at what it means to cultivate a heart and prayer of adoration.

One’s mind runs back up the sunbeam to the sun.

C.S. Lewis

If prayer is a conversation with God, then regularly listening to God through meditating on Scripture becomes an essential part of growing in prayer. This week, we look at how meditating on scripture allows us to go deeper in prayer.

Jesus teaches us the essence of prayer is in its sincerity-free from pretence (Mt 6:5-7). The Psalms are the prayerbook for God’s people and reveal a level of sincerity we can learn from and emulate. Let’s keep our praying honest and sincere.

Not many people claim that they are really good at prayer. Most of us would admit that we don’t really get prayer. So, we kick off the series by looking at the importance and practicals of preparing ourselves to pray.

If God is not the starting point, then our own perceived emotional needs become the drivers and side focus of our prayer.

Tim Keller

As we conclude the God’s Story series, we are reminded that God’s good news doesn’t just save us from in and judgement, but also saves us for God’s purpose: to join him in his restoration project by building his kingdom until he comes again.