“Praise the LORD, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD” (Psalm 117:1-2).

Praise the LORD is one word in Hebrew. You already know the Hebrew word without even knowing you know it. The word is “Hallelujah!”

Hallelujah literally means “Praise the LORD!”

When we praise and sing worship songs it’s not to get us in the mood to worship God or to hear God’s word. Oh, no. It is so much more. When we praise and sing to God it is a declaration of war against sin and satan. Satan hates when God’s people worship him. You know why? It’s impossible to sin when you’re praising God.

I mean it. It’s impossible. You cannot praise God while sinning!

Singing songs of praise to God is a declaration of war. It is spiritual warfare at its best because that’s when God’s people are at their best.

Praise the LORD!

Hallelujah!

“Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near” (Revelation 1:3).

When we pray and when we read God’s word, we are seeking God’s will.

Here is what that means.

When we pray and read God’s word we are not asking for God’s advice on things. You see, advice is something we can take or leave. It’s only advice. That’s not why we pray or why we read God’s word. The reason why we pray and study God’s word is to know God’s will.

The purpose of praying and seeking God’s will through the study of God’s word is so that we can obey it. If it is God’s will, we have no other option but to obey. Disciples obey. Disciples follow. That’s what makes us disciples. Remember, disciple literally means “follower.” We follow Jesus. We follow what Jesus says, and we follow what Jesus does.

Blessed are you who reads God’s word. Blessed are you who pray to seek God’s will. And, blessed are those who hear and take to heart what God reveals. Blessed are you who obey.

“He said to them, ‘When you pray…'” (Luke 11:2).

When Jesus was asked by his disciples to teach them how to pray, Jesus responded by teaching them through what the church calls, “The Lord’s Prayer.”

The first half of the prayer is about who God is. The focus of prayer is:

• Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name
• Thy kingdom come, thy will be done here on earth as it is in heaven

The first half of the prayer is about who God is and his character.

The second half of the prayer is requests:

• Give us this day our daily bread
• Forgive us our debts as we have forgiven our debtors
• Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil

Then the prayer closes focusing on who God is.

• For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

That’s a pretty good outline for how you pray.

Notice, you cannot pray this prayer and even once say, “I”.

You cannot pray the prayer Jesus taught us to pray and even once say, “My”.

You cannot pray this prayer without praying for others. To ask for “our” daily bread, you have to include others. Charles Royden says, “From the beginning to the end of the prayer, it does not once say, ‘me.'”

Prayer is God focused – God’s character, God’s kingdom, God’s will, God’s glory, God’s purpose.

Prayer is other focused – it certainly includes “us” as we are part of “our,” but it is exclusively about “us” and never “me.”

Alright, so when you pray:

• Focus on God
• Pray for “our” and “us”