WELCOME
The Salt Newsletter

Welcome to The Salt Newsletter, a weekly email where I aim to provide insight from scripture and teach you how to teach this to someone else. 

In Acts 1:1, Luke states that in his gospel he wrote about all that “Jesus began to do and teach.” An important model for us all because it isn’t just important for us to do what scripture says. We should be quick to teach it to others as well. Why? Because we’re the salt of the earth and that’s how you and I will make disciples of all nations!

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THIS WEEK
When Prayer Gets Hard

read time 5 minutes

This week I’d like for us to embark on a journey deepening our understanding of prayer.

Recently I’ve been reflecting on the miracles performed by Jesus, but more specifically by His disciples. Jesus didn't explicitly teach them to heal the sick, cast out demons, or restore sight and hearing. They simply just did these things in the name of Jesus. As if they were riding a bike.

Of all the things Jesus could teach, the one fundamental skill that Jesus had to break down for His disciples was prayer. Therein lies a profound lesson for us. The Creator of the universe prioritized teaching us to communicate with Him, recognizing that everything else flows from this vital connection.

This week, let's delve into the world's most memorized prayer: The Lord's Prayer. Jesus beautifully provides a structure/formula that guides us to pray without feeling overwhelmed, distracted, or mentally cluttered. Restlessness in God's presence often stems from a lack of confidence in prayer so let's unravel the Lord's Prayer to regain that confidence.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

To reduce the noise in our mind while praying, we’ve got to begin by praising God for who He is. Express gratitude for His splendor and glory without being tempted to sound overly eloquent. Jesus is unmoved by the grandiosity of your vocabulary. He cares more about the posture of your heart. If your intention - whether praying in public or in private - is to showcase your knowledge, you’ve already allowed pride to infect the moment!

Adopt a humble and sincere manner of verbal expression, akin to that of a child. “God you are so BIG. You can do anything. There’s no one like you.” You can find yourself sitting for 30 minutes just praising His hallowed name in so many different ways when you set your posture to that of a child. 

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

This section challenges us to align our prayers with God's will and not our earthly desires. The answers to your prayers come when we release on earth what has already been released in heaven. However, it requires that we strive for agreement with God in our prayers. 

I remember watching the Eagles play the Chiefs in the Superbowl with a group of Christians. The game came down to a crucial call and some believers were praying for the Eagles to win while others were praying for the Chiefs to be victorious. Both groups praying were believers, but who will God answer? When praying, we ought to focus our mind on what God sees as His best for ALL His children. This is why we ask the Lord for His will, not ours. 

At the same time, this is the hardest part of prayer. When we pray for our own will to be done, we are actualyy praying for something in our lives that competes with God. However, the fastest way to see God's will fulfilled in your life is to pray for what doesn’t compete with Him.

Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Address your daily needs in prayer, embracing the idea of communicating with God regularly. Confess your sins before Him and seek forgiveness, understanding that forgiveness from God is intertwined with our ability to forgive others. If there’s someone in your life you have a hard time forgiving, your role is first to either make things right with that person, or truely ask the Lord to give you the strength to forgive them in your heart.

Why does Jesus say, “Give us this day our DAILY bread?” The Lord is asking us not to worry about the future, but just talk to Him as a Father for what you need for today. Why? So you can come back to Him tomorrow, too. And the next day, and the next day, and the next day. Sure, pray for BIG things far into the future. But don’t neglect the daily communication with your Creator.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Petition the Lord’s for protection, seeking His guidance to navigate the challenges that may come our way. Plead the Blood of Jesus over your cars, routes, properties, friend circles, family and work. At all times we need to be people that are covered with the protection of Jesus to withstand the schemes of the enemy in this world.

As we unravel the layers of the Lord's Prayer, let's embrace the simplicity and power it holds. Through praise, alignment with God's will, daily communication, confession, and petition, we cultivate a rich prayer life that strengthens our connection with the Creator.

TEACH THIS LESSON TO OTHERS

1. Read Matthew 6:9-13: Begin to discuss all of the miracles that the disciples did. Talk about why Jesus took time to break down what prayer is and how to do it more than all these other incredible things in the spiritual realm. Explain that if it’s something that Jesus prioritized, we should too.

2. Break Down Each Verse: Make it practical. Talk through each component of the Lord’s prayer and explain how it’s not just a few verses to recite, but a model for us to follow.

3. Practice: Practice prayer points for each section. For the praise section, ask what are the ways we can verbally give God praise. For the ‘praying God’s will’ section, discuss what are the things that we know are God’s will that we have a hard time praying for. Continue through!

4. Pray: You’ve just discussed how to make prayer personal. Pray with your friend so they can hear this in action!

A PRAYER

Dear Jesus,

I pray for all my readers who are having trouble staying still in your presence. You want all of us to have a personal connection with you and that only comes from prayer. Lord, I ask that you remove all the clutter in our minds that keep us from talking to you. Help us to find your presence to be a place of rest, joy and satisfaction. Build up this disipline in each of us so we can grow stronger in you each day.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen