31 Days of Prayer Using the Lord’s Prayer

Do you hear the call? It is a call to prayer. Yes, the National Day of Prayer has past. We just finished 28 days of repentance and before that 30 days of worship—60 days of heart preparation for the months ahead. As I prayed about what our next Bite of Bread would be, I sensed the focus of prayer.

Your Prayer Matters

Sometimes it’s hard to believe our prayers matter. Just as I’ve wondered if my prayers affected heaven’s plans, I used to doubt my vote made a difference too. Now I don’t dare miss election day nor let doubt thwart my prayers. If we would take prayer as seriously as we do politics, how would that change our world? It’s time we rise to the occasion for our friends, our families, and our world. I believe God is calling an army of intercessors, and that includes you.

As I type this, so many people are fighting battles today. The battles wage from the most basic need of sleep or livelihood provision to fighting abominable diseases or dwindling faith. Beyond our individual needs, our country continues to be severed politically and racially, and Covid-19 threatens our world.

The Lord’s Prayer

Will you join me in 30 days of prayer this month? As we pray, we will follow the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6. What better way to pray than the way Jesus did?

I want to encourage you to read the whole chapter of Matthew 6 first. You can read it here. Read it slowly. Chew on each section. The chapter begins with these words spoken by Jesus, “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven” Matthew 6:1. Did you catch what the topic of the lesson was?

Righteous Prayers

Jesus was teaching about righteousness. (I can’t wait to dig into this more soon.) Jesus continued to define righteousness as giving to the needy, praying, forgiving, fasting, worshiping God not money, and not worrying about tomorrow (trusting God.) In the months ahead, we will study these fascinating scriptures on righteousness, but for now, we will use His guide as our template for thirty days of prayer as we strap on our battle gear, and we join the Army of God in petitions for our families, friends, country and world.

In their book, Throne Room Prayer, by Brian and Candice Simmons, they write:

“Within the Lord’s Prayer are all the elements of our devotional life in God and a progression of moving into the Holy of Holies” (p. 76). The “scope” of the prayer as they explain is: Worship, Intercession, Personal Petition, Confession, Forgiveness of others, Guidance, and Warfare.

Our Pattern for 30 Days of Prayer

This is our template. Sometimes we get so focused on the same petitions over or over, or we feel our prayers bounce back from heaven. But when we use scripture to steer our words, we pray with the heartbeat of the One who spoke the words. Read with me:

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
¹⁰ your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us today our daily bread.
¹² And forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from the evil one.

¹⁴ For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Matthew 6: 9-14

Although those last two verses are not part of the prayer, they are essential to our prayers being all they can be. As we spend thirty days in prayer, part of that time will be focused on forgiveness. But lets start with the beginning, my favorite, God’s holy name.

The Bite of Bread

Worship, Holy is His name

The first six days of prayer involve specific scriptures about the names of God. I found a wonderful article on Navigators.org where I pulled these six verses and names; however, for further study, you would be blessed to read the full article.

Worship God in prayer as creator, sanctifier, one who is infinite, omnipotent, good and love itself.  God’s name is holy. He is to be honored, revered, worshiped, and trusted. Do I honor God’s name? In a world where the name of Jesus is slandered, diminished, and used flippantly even by unsuspecting, well-meaning Christians, we must come back to the power, holiness, and reverence of His name.

His Kingdom Come

As we honor the power and majesty of His name, our next prayers will pray for His Kingdom, His rule, and His good and perfect will to be manifested in this world, this realm. May it start within our hearts, my friends.

The scriptures will encourage you to trust His faithfulness as we breathe prayers of provision. Perhaps you’ll be praying this for yourself or close friends. He is faithful.

Let Him lead this prayer and bring grace in the forgiveness arena, both to give and receive. And finally, we will pray for His leading and protection from the one who wants to kill, steal, and destroy.

I hope you can join us. If you are joining me in our 31 days of prayer, would you leave a comment? I’d love to be praying for you too. Here’s this month’s printable if you’d like direction during your quiet time with the Lord.

Let’s Pray

Grab my hands, we need to pray.

“Dear Father, Holy, magnificent God., we pray your Kingdom be manifested in our lives, actions, and prayers. Show us how to pray. Make us an unstoppable army of intercessors. We report for duty today. Use us. Mold us. Speak through us even as we petition. In Jesus’s name, Amen.”

Thanks for stopping by today! May your prayers take wings.

Living Abundantly,