Sunday, April 21, 2013 - 5:45 pm

This was the third week in Pastor Kip's series on prayer, and he looked at the way that we should pray, from Matthew 6:5-13. This is keeping in mind a proper view of who God is, and of the way that He sees us, as looked at over the last 2 weeks. First of all, it's important that we're not just praying to hear the sound of our own voice, or to impress others, because that is all the reward we will receive. When we get alone with God, the reward is that relationship, the closeness and intimacy with Him. It's not about the quantity or quality of our words, and it's not even about telling Him what we need, it's all about taking the time to develop the most important relationship we could ever have. With that in mind, the parts of prayer are simple. First, concentrate on His greatness and who He is. This time of reverence can put everything else into its proper context, and remind us of why we're praying. Next, we surrender our will. This is the real purpose of prayer - to align our vision, our will for the future with His, to place His kingdom and His will ahead of our own, to surrender. Finally, we acknowledge our dependence on God. The focus is not what we need, but the fact that He is the source of provision, whether for protection, salvation, our material needs, or anything else. How long should we spend on each step? Well, that depends on the condition of our heart. Do we need to spend more time focusing on His greatness? On surrendering our will to Him? On recognizing His provision? Let's take the time we need to nurture our relationship with God through communication and understanding His nature, His desires, and His love for us.