Cliff Notes for Prayer

     The Lord’s Prayer is like Cliff Notes. Short yet eloquent. When His disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray He compressed the most recited and essential Jewish prayers from the Old Testament and downloaded them to His disciples. Remember, the ancient Jewish people before, and few decades after Rabbi Jesus’ day, only the Old Testament existed.
      “Our Father Who art in Heaven” was Jesus’ prayer focus. Old Testament patriarchs didn’t "know" Jesus, although the Old Testament highlights many spiritual encounters and promises the hope of a future Messiah. Beginning with His call to Abraham, God created a culture where His word and chosen people would become the vessels for His world-saving redemptive plan. Jesus taught in synagogues unrolling Old Testament scrolls written in Hebrew. The New Testament remained to be written.
     The Lord’s Prayer is full of the essentials. We worship & adore God for Who He is. We confess our sins, ask forgiveness and forgive others. We ask for our daily bread and make requests to God for ourselves and others. We thank Him for his lovingkindness, goodness and mercy. It’s the DNA of a Christian’s prayer life.

     The Lord’s Prayer carries richer meaning when we study its Jewish roots. Here’s an example: When Jesus taught, "Give us this day our daily bread," the disciples instantly understood that concept since God provided manna every day during the 40-year Exodus from Egypt to the Promised Land. The Exodus story was and is deeply engraved into the Jewish culture. Jesus Himself says in John 6, “I am the BREAD of LIFE.“ He assures us of His presence in our own lives.  Eucharist/Communion is a weekly reminder. Every word in scripture was penned by Jewish scribes, except for Luke, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
     When we pray we don’t always feel an emotional dynamic. Yet, the act of praying influences our souls & daily walk. The Lord’s Prayer appears in Matthew and Luke.  But there are many types of prayers.
     List Prayers-Writing down names and situations for prayer
The Lord’s Prayer- The most popular prayer in the world
Crisis Prayers- For troubling situations.
Intercessory Prayers- Praying  for others
Prayer Walking- Through neighborhood and cities
Warfare Prayers-Asking Jesus to dismiss the enemy’s activities. 
Listening Prayer- Sitting still giving God room to speak   
Immediate Prayer- Stopping to pray in the moment itself 
Praying Scripture-Read the Psalms
Short Prayers-“Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy.” 
     In closing, there are 1,100 references to prayer in the Bible in 61 of the 66 books. Here are a few:
1 John 1:9- “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Psalm 113:3- “From the rising of the sun, to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised.”
Jonah 2:1- from the belly of the whale: “I called out to the Lord , out of my distress, and He answered me...”
     And here is the profound prayer Jesus uttered while hanging on the tree as the Substitute for our sins and Redeemer of our souls. Luke 23:34 “Father, forgive them for they know not know what they are doing.”