As we have seen so far, this prayer of 'Our Father' is in fact only a framework that the Lord gives us, which we can personalize and apply according to our own situation.

Today we are beginning to discover and study together other New Testament prayers, all with a depth that we may not always realize.

We find many other prayers in the New Testament, including the apostle Paul. We will see that he had very specific prayers, that these prayers all had a certain aspect and that they all went in the same direction. He certainly made prayers 'at the moment', depending on the situation, but the prayers that were transmitted to us in the New Testament are different.

The Holy Spirit allowed these prayers to be written, because we will see that by studying them we learn much about the character of God, his purpose and will for our life, and the life and purpose of The Church in general.

We all know that we must pray, and I think most of us want to pray and sincerely know the will of God. Yet it is often difficult to know what we are supposed to pray for.

What is God's will for this or that person or situation? And how to pray in office ?

Some of us may have realized that we must also be careful not to mix our own ideas, thoughts and feelings in our prayers. For example, we do not agree with something, and then we tend to pray AGAINST rather than FOR the person, asking the Lord to take away this or that, or to change the person or situation in the area where we Do not agree and where we think we see some defects or failures.

That is why it is very important to submit to God and His Word, to pray only positive things, of which we know that they are according to His will.

Prayer must always be addressed to the Lord, and be under the anointing and direction of his Spirit. Why do I say that these prayers should be addressed to the Lord ? Is not that obvious ? Actually no. Because in praying, there is a force that is liberated in the spiritual world. And if we pray with the force of our soul, in our thoughts, with our ideas, preconceptions and judgments, this force can act against the person and harm him rather than bless him.

These soulful prayers can cause serious trouble for the person we pray for. It can begin to feel condemned, heavy, without any precise indication of what it is. These prayers can actually make a person ineffective for the work of God, and have the opposite effect as the one desired, even though the intentions of the person making these prayers are good.

Tomorrow, we will deepen this aspect a little more, because it is very important in this area of ​​prayer.

"Lord, help me always be positive in my prayers, always seek your will and not mix my prejudices and own thoughts in my prayers. In the name of Jesus, amen !"

René de Groot