How To Pray: Lessons from the Lord’s Prayer
Ambassador Productions, 60 pages ISBN 1-84030 138-4
Publisher’s Description
HOW TO PRAY
Lessons from the Lord’s Prayer
Ambassador, Paperback
ISBN 184030138-4
When the disciples overheard the Lord Jesus praying, they felt that they had barely reached the kindergarten stage in the school of prayer. How they long to be able to pray like the Lord Jesus. He was praying in a certain place, and when He ceased, one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples’ (Luke 11:1).
We are grateful for this request, as it led to the Lord bequeathing to us the most perfect prayer for imperfect people. The perfect prayer has come to be known as ‘The Lord’s Prayer.’
In this little book I seek to shed fresh insight on this ancient prayer. Its words are certainly among some of the most well known words in the Bible, and yet familiarity has its dangers. The phrases can roll off our tongues without any thought or heart. Our knowledge of its words can blunt us to its meaning and blind us to its wonder.
I trust that what I have written in this book leads to helping you to ‘really pray’ with increased understanding and joy. If so, my intention in taking up this labour will have been pleasurably fulfilled.
Joining you in the school of prayer then, I too say ‘Lord, teach us to pray.’ May the Spirit of God deliver us from formalism and praying the model prayer in a merely perfunctory manner. May we take ever more delight in the duty and joy of prayer, and never lose the wonder of the relationship which we have with God through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
CONTENTS
The ‘Lord’s Prayer’
Preface
- Adoption
- Adoration
- Anticipation
- Aspiration
- Provision
- Pardon
- Protection
- Praise
Epilogue
Reviewers’ Endorsements
If you feel your need of help with prayer, then this small book is well worth buying and reading!
In the space of eight short chapters, the author guides the reader, phrase by phrase, through the words of ‘the Lord’s Prayer’ – words spoken by the Saviour in Matthew 6 and perhaps more accurately called ‘the disciples’ prayer’.
Each chapter begins with one of the questions and answers from The Westminster Shorter Catechism regarding this prayer.
The themes covered include the way God ‘adopts’ people into his family through faith in Christ, prayers expressing adoration to God, and our daily need of pardon and protection …
This little book by Timothy Cross is an excellent place to start a study of Christ’s famous words. It will also be an ideal refresher for the more seasoned believer. Warmly recommended!
(Evangelical Times)
***
This is a helpful little book giving us a simple and straightforward exposition of the Lord’s Prayer. The writer speaks of the model prayer as ‘the most perfect prayer for imperfect people’ (p.8). …Shorter Catechism questions begin each chapter, and are most appropriate in assisting us in getting to the heart of each petition. The whole exposition is punctuated by many familiar hymns and sections from the Westminster Confession of Faith, and as such will be useful for those preaching on the subject in being able to find suited praise items and other cross references.
(The Evangelical Presbyterian)
