What Are We to Pray For?

And what are we to pray for? To begin with, we are to ask for God’s name to be rightly honored, for Him to bring His kingdom in us and around us, and for Him to supply our daily needs. We are to admit our need for daily repentance, the necessity of extending forgiveness to others, and our dependence on God for dealing with temptation. In our prayers, Jesus explained, we are to seek and ask to see God’s glory and grace in the midst of everyday life. In our Christian pilgrimage, there is arguably nothing more important—or more difficult to maintain—than a meaningful prayer life. But here is help. If Jesus, the divine Son of God, needed to pray, then so do you and I. That humbling thought should drive us to our knees. And once there, we can freely employ the Lord’s Prayer as an aid in our own prayer. God has given you the great privilege of approaching Him in prayer and addressing Him as Father. He stands ready to listen and to help. Be sure to treat prayer as a holy habit and never as an optional extra.” —Alistair Begg, Truth for Life

When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He gave them more than words—He gave them a framework for the desires of the heart. The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9–13) begins with worship: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.” Before asking for anything, Jesus teaches us to center our hearts on God’s holiness and authority. From there, we’re invited to pray for God’s kingdom to come and His will to be done—reminding us that prayer isn’t just about changing our circumstances, but aligning ourselves with His purposes. Jesus also encourages us to bring our daily needs before God: “Give us this day our daily bread.” Whether it’s provision, forgiveness, strength to forgive others, or deliverance from temptation and evil, nothing is too small or too great to bring to our Father. Prayer, then, becomes both an act of dependence and of trust. In every request, we echo Jesus’ heart: that God would be glorified, His will embraced, and His grace received in every area of our lives. —DH