Top o’ the Mornin’ to Ya!
TLDR: I noticed a few years back that all my prayers were just thank you – thank you for food, house, wife, kids – but the Lord’s Prayer is a model with three main parts: adoration and praise, intercession, and thankfulness and gratefulness.
I don’t remember when it was, but a few years back, I noticed that all my prayers were thank you. Thank you for food. Thank you for house. Thank you for wife and wonderful kids. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Lord. That was just thank you. That was it. There was no other parts to it.
One of the things I’m noticed recently through church and Bible study and Celebrate Recovery – is the Lord’s Prayer is a model for prayer. There’s three main parts to prayer, and I was only doing the gratefulness. And it was unworthy gratefulness. It was “I can’t believe you’re doing this” kinda thankfulness. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord, for this, that, and the other thing.
The Lord’s Prayer starts with adoration and praise. I did adoration and praise through worship and singing and all that. I don’t know why I didn’t have it in prayer. I didn’t know. I wasn’t shown that or taught that growing up. I only got the thank you part down pretty good.
And this is where the worthiness came in. I wasn’t worthy – dealing with my secret sins and my recovery and just my upbringing. Even before I entered recovery, I wasn’t worthy of asking for something for myself. I could pray – I would pray in that thank you season – for intercession for others, but I wouldn’t pray for something for me.
I’m sure I did in recovery, and that’s when I started it. And then it was thank you and gimme. Thank you and gimme. Thank you and gimme.
Recently in our prayers at the dinner table with the kids I see an opportunity to, 1) pray, and 2) be an example and teach our kids how to pray. And now through recovery, through healing, through training and growing as a human being, a man, a Christian…I don’t get it right all the time, but…I try to follow the model of the Lord’s Prayer with the adoration, the intercession, and the thankfulness and gratefulness.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
You be blessed!
