We can form our prayer using “the Lord’s Prayer” from Matthew 6.9b-13 as the pattern.

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.

New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™

I proceed like this as a way to use the Lord’s prayer as a pattern:

  • Address God. Praise and honor Him.
  • Express a desire for God’s name to be honored in whatever you are praying about.
  • Express a desire for God’s will above your own in what you are praying about.
  • Present immediate needs to God… what you need “this day.”
  • Ask for forgiveness in anything related to this prayer – (have you forgiven others?)
  • Ask for deliverance from temptation and the evil one in anything related to this prayer or its contents.

We need not include every piece of the pattern each time we pray. Sometimes praying is short – what we call “breath prayers” for example. Rather, if a portion of the way Jesus prays in this passage applies in a clear way, pray like Jesus in that particular matter. This allows us to tailor our praying to follow the pattern that Jesus taught.