Matthew 6:8-10

“Your Father knows exactly what you need
even before you ask him!
Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”

Note the beginning of the Lord’s Prayer—Our Father.

Certain words, certain places, certain times, certain postures have their place when it comes to learning to pray. Our Lord Jesus, in his instruction in Matthew 6 and Luke 11 (the Lord’s Prayer), wants us to use these words—perhaps better, use these themes—because indeed such words and themes make up his teaching about prayer.

But the anchor-point about effective prayer focuses on to whom we pray. After all, Jesus begins his instruction that way, he starts out Our Father. Therefore, it’s less important when and how you pray than to whom you pray; and this at the core means expressing your confidence in the One who hears, that you are in fact praying to our God who inclines his ear and is eager to answer; and he is the One who desires that we ask for specifics. That’s what children do, they ask for the details, the fine-print—their minds and concerns center on specifics, the on–the-ground, at-the-moment, child-geared areas of life.

To whom do we pray? Our Father

We praise him.

We acknowledge him.

We honor him.

We approach him.

We confide in him.

We believe him.

We open up to him.

We make pleas to him.

We speak openly with him.

We kneel before him.

"Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool, thus says the LORD.” Isaiah 66:1.

“O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand. Don't be so angry with us, LORD. Please don't remember our sins forever. Look at us, we pray, and see that we are all your people.” Isaiah 64:8-9