(#1559) Day 5. Jesus Prayed To God As Father - So Can I (15/9/26)

Welcome to this Come to Jesus Daily Devotional (currently posted on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday) as we continue our 9-week series: Fresh Vision From Jesus' High Priestly Prayer from John 17. 

To watch this devotional, go to:

Please read John 17:1-5

In Luke 11, we are given a wonderful insight into prayer - one that is key to growing in Christ-like communion with God:

Jesus wants to teach us to pray. There are, of course, many helpful ways to learn about prayer - through books, podcasts, prayer meetings, and seminars. But above all - and in compliment to these good things - we must ask Jesus Himself to teach us to pray.

We also learn to pray through God's Word. The Bible is our supreme authority in all matters of faith and practice. So, when the disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray, He gives them what is commonly known as the Lord's Prayer. Matthew records it like this:

Notice Jesus' words: "This, then, is how you should pray." He is giving us a pattern rather than merely a prayer to recite.

Just beforehand (Matthew 6:5–8), Jesus warns against the example of religious leaders who prayed to impress others and imagined they would be heard because of their many words. In contrast, Jesus teaches us to pray as God's children - those who know the Father's love and who genuinely love Him in return.

I find it helpful to think of the Lord's Prayer under four themes:

i. Praise 

We begin by worshipping God for who He has revealed Himself to be in Scripture - especially, as Jesus teaches us here, as "Our Father in heaven." Addressing God as Father should be our normal practice in prayer, but we should also praise Him for all that He reveals about Himself throughout His Word.

I often begin my prayer times by reading a Psalm and thanking God for what it reveals about Him. Recently, I was reading Psalm 73 and found myself praising God from verses 23–24:

“Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterwards you will take me into glory.”

What wonderful truths! He is always with me. He holds me securely. He guides me wisely. He will one day bring me safely into His eternal glory.

As we praise God from His Word, our hearts, minds, and expectations are transformed.

ii. Petitions

Jesus teaches us to pray for God's kingdom to come, His will to be done, and for our daily needs to be met.

As God's children, we have the privilege of bringing both the greatest burdens and the smallest concerns to our Heavenly Father.

Recently, on a Sunday morning, we sang the hymn What a Friend We Have in Jesus. It beautifully captures this privilege:

What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!

What a privilege to carry

Everything to God in prayer!

O what peace we often forfeit,

O what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not carry

Everything to God in prayer!

iii. Peace Making

Jesus teaches us to pray, "Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors."

Prayer is a place where we regularly bring our own sins before God, receive His forgiveness afresh, and extend forgiveness to others.

This is essential for our spiritual health. As the years go by, we can either grow in gentleness, humility, and joy, or drift into cynicism, bitterness, and criticism. A growing awareness of God's mercy towards us softens our hearts and enables us to forgive others as He has forgiven us.

iv. Protection

Finally, Jesus teaches us to pray for God's protection, especially from temptation and from the schemes of the evil one.

Recently, while sorting through my books, I came across several written by a once highly respected Christian author. It later emerged that he had maintained an adulterous relationship for many years before it was exposed. It was a sobering reminder that none of us is beyond temptation. We are all vulnerable, which is why Jesus teaches us to pray daily for God's protecting grace.

Most of us struggle with personal prayer. Even many mature Christians feel uncertain about how to pray. One of the simplest ways to grow is to use the pattern Jesus has given us. As we learn to praise, petition, make peace, and seek protection, His vision for prayer increasingly becomes a reality in our lives.

Moment To Reflect

Jesus' vision for each of us is that we learn to pray. What an extraordinary privilege it is to come before God as our loving Father!

• Are you regularly - even daily - asking Jesus, "Lord, teach me to pray" (Luke 11:1)?

• Are you using the Lord's Prayer as a pattern to shape your devotions? 

• When, where, and how will you intentionally set aside a daily time of unhurried, quality fellowship with your heavenly Father?

Download the booklet

Below is the link to download the devotional booklet: Fresh Vision From Jesus Prayer. This is a series of 27 devotionals based upon Jesus' High Priestly Prayer in John 17.

This year we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of CCP; to watch our anniversary video, please select the link below:

Community Group Study

1. Notices

It might be good to begin with notices. Please share from this week’s Church News. 

2. Icebreaker

Following the summer period, you may want to use this time to catch up and reconnect. 

It not, you could discuss: How has God been speaking to you from His Word recently, and how has this helped you? 

3. Worship together

Let’s begin our time together by lifting our eyes and hearts to worship our great God. Perhaps you have readings and songs that you would like to use together. Let’s be open to the gifts that the Spirit wants to give in order to encourage one another.

4. Study and pray together

Balanced Time Allocation - Please ensure a balanced focus on discussion, SIV (Serve, Invest, and Invite), and prayer so that each section is meaningful and fruitful.

On Sunday, we continue our series, Fresh Vision From Jesus’ Prayer, reflecting on God’s vision for our lives and the church through Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer in John 17.

(Note: To accompany this series, we have produced a devotional series. To download the full booklet, visit our devotional page or go directly to communitychurchputney.com/post/fresh-vision-from-jesus-prayer. Daily devotions will also be posted every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday on the Community Church Putney channel.)

Read John 17:1–5 together and discuss:

• What spoke to, challenged or inspired you from Sunday’s message?

• Has anything from the series of devotions particularly encouraged or helped you? If so, what could you share with the group?

• On Sunday, we reflected on how, like Jesus, we need a vision of what it means to live as a child of God. How does this understanding of who we are transform the way we live?

• We also considered the complementary truth that, like Jesus, our times are in the Father’s hands. We are therefore called to learn to trust God in every season of life. What are some of the things that can shake a Christian’s faith? If you’re willing, you might like to share from your own past or present experience.

• How can we learn to be like Christ, who trusted His Father in every season - even in the darkest of times? 

Let’s pray together: 

• For our new series: Pray that God uses Fresh Vision From Jesus’ Prayer to inspire, refresh, and re-envision us as a church.

• For Serendipity: Pray for Graeme, the team, and the relaunch in its new format. Ask God to raise up more volunteers from within the church family.

• For students: Pray for the young people in our church and community who are heading off to university.

• Let’s pray for one another based on our study, and bring before God any other needs or requests for prayer.

SIV: 

• Have you had any recent opportunities to Serve, Invest in, or Invite someone toward Jesus? Let’s encourage one another by sharing testimonies of God at work through us.

• Pray for the ‘people of peace’ in our lives, asking God to open their hearts and give us the Love and boldness to share His love as He opens opportunities.