Craig T. Owens

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Every monarch or president on the planet has certain protocols for anyone who interacts with them. There are requirements on how to walk into the room, titles that have to be used, the way you have to act, things you can or can’t say, and the list goes on and on. 

So it’s natural to think that this is how we also have to approach the Sovereign King of the Universe. But this King so desires intimate conversation with His people that Jesus gave us this simple protocol: “Our Father” (Matthew 6:9-13). 

Jesus told us that He wanted us to dispense with the world’s expected protocols. He said that when we approach God, those protocols are gone. In the preceding verses, He told us that we pray…

• …NOT for show or else we are called hypocrites—putting on an act or performance to earn applause or approval.
• …NOT with “alien” vocabulary or else we are pagans—adopting manners that aren’t our own as a means to be accepted. 

The prayers of Jesus seldom sound like our modern idea of “prayer.” Instead, they sound more like an everyday conversation when He’s talking to His Father, and the sound like commands when He’s casting out demons or healing diseases (see examples in Matthew 8:3, 13, 26, 32; John 11:40-44). 

Jesus also reminded us that we pray because… 

• He told us to 
• He wants us to seek God’s Kingdom 
• He wants us to receive God’s Kingdom 
• He wants us to live in the power of God’s Kingdom every single moment 

(Matthew 6:5-7, 6:33-34, 16:16-19, 17:16-21; Mark 9:29; Luke 12:32) 

Let me repeat: our protocol for prayer is nothing like the world’s protocols for interacting with rulers. Our protocol is simply coming to our Heavenly Father in simple, childlike love and anticipation. 

Kingdom praying should be as natural as talking to the most loving Father you can imagine! 

Check out the others messages in our series Kingdom Praying by clicking here. 

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