Question:
Is the Lord’s Prayer sufficient? We take Jesus as our example, and He taught us that. Sometimes I think this is the only way we ought to pray.
Answer:
Our Lord did not mean, when He taught the disciples the Lord’s Prayer, that they should invariably and always say that same form of words and no other. He did not say, “Pray these words,” but He said, “After this manner pray ye.” The Lord’s Prayer is given to us as a short example of what prayer should comprehend— praise and glory to God, submission to His will, a request for those things that we need, a heart of love and mercy toward others, and the ascription to Him of power and glory. It is a wonderfully comprehensive petition, covering all subjects in principle. He has told us elsewhere to pray for all men, for kings, for those in authority, to pray for the servants of God, to pray for our enemies, to ask in His name, etc. He would have us by prayer and supplication cast all our cares upon Him and make our requests known to Him. But of course, the long, detailed prayers should be in secret communion between ourselves and our heavenly Father. God would not have us learn any set form of words through which our petitions should be breathed at all times. Genuine prayer always has in it reverence for God and faith in Him, with a deep sense of need on our part. Such prayers prevail.
