Three weeks ago, I began a sermon series on prayer. So far, I’ve talked about ways to pray, and the importance of intercessory prayer–praying for others. Today I’m going to finish this series with a consideration of the prayer that Jesus taught us, known to us as the “Lord’s Prayer,” the prayer that we and countless others offer to God at least every Sunday, if not every day.

Each week, during Sunday morning worship, we take time to share our joys, concerns, and prayer requests, confident that we are among friends who will pray for us and for those we are concerned about. But why do we make prayer requests, and what do we hope will happen as a result? Almost always, our requests involve an illness, problem or situation that needs healing, and healing was one of the most important aspects of Jesus’ ministry.

Prayer is an important part of our worship, every week, and our faith has always encouraged us to make prayer a part of our daily lives, but we don’t often talk about how we pray. And so we may wonder if there is a “right” way to pray and if we are doing it. What are we actually supposed to do when we pray?