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READ FOR THIS WEEK’S STUDY: Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians1:5; John 14:12-14; Isaiah 53:12; 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 8:6; Hebrews12:24; Romans 8:34.

MEMORY VERSE: “ ‘And I [Jesus] will do anything you [Jesus’ disciples]ask in my name. Then the Son will bring glory to the Father’ ” (John 14:13,NIrV).

IMPORTANT THOUGHT: People who choose to live with Jesus as theirLord are called to follow Him in a life of prayer.

THE LIFE OF OUR LORD. Jesus’ life was a life of prayer. Jesus put prayer atthe top of the list of important things to do. Mark writes that “it was very early inthe morning and still dark. Jesus got up and left the house. He went to a placewhere he could be alone. There he prayed” (Mark 1:35, NIrV). Luke reports thatJesus “went out to the mountainside to pray. He spent the night praying to God”(Luke 6:12, NIrV).

“There was no one whose life was ever so crowded and busy with work andresponsibility as Jesus’ life. But how often He was found in prayer!”—Adaptedfrom Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 362.

We are to follow the life and teachings of Jesus. So we, too, should dedicateourselves to prayer.We should learn from Jesus’ example that prayer is the heartand soul of the Christian’s life. We would be spiritually dead without prayer.

When we pray, we should address our prayers to our heavenly Father. Weshould also pray in Jesus’ name. We should pray according to God’s will. Thisweek, promise to join our Lord in the holy work of praying for other people.

Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 6.

Easy Reading Edition July 30–August 56

SABBATH—JULY 30

Lord of Our Prayers

Lesson 6 Lord of Our Prayers

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PRAYING TO OUR HEAVENLY FATHER

(Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6).

In His prayers, Jesus addressedGod as “Father” (John 17:1), “HolyFather” (John 17:11), and “righteous[holy] Father” (John 17:25). EvenJesus’ short prayer in Luke 10:21 isdirected to “Father, Lord of heavenand earth.” During His suffering in theGarden of Gethsemane, Mark writesthat Jesus addressed the heavenlyFather using the Aramaic1 word Abba(Mark 14:36). Abba is an affectionate(loving) name suggesting the idea of“my father.” The early Christians fol-lowed His example (Romans 8:15;Galatians 4:6).

How do the following OldTestament verses show the kind ofrelationship God wants with Hispeople?

Deuteronomy 1:31 ________________

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Deuteronomy 32:6 ________________

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Psalm 103:13 ____________________

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Isaiah 63:15, 16 __________________

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Malachi 2:10 _____________________

_________________________________

Proverbs 3:12 ____________________

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A perfect father is someone loving,caring, and protecting. Even a child canlove, trust, and obey a father like this.

The Bible also gives us an exampleof adoption. As followers of Christ, we have been “adopted” into theFather’s household (read Romans8:15; Galatians 4:5; Ephesians 1:5).In Roman times, when a son wasadopted, he received full legal rightsand honors that came with his newfamily. As Jesus’ followers, we receive

SUNDAY—JULY 31

1Aramaic—the common language of Jesus’ time.

Children can love a father who protects them.

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full salvation because we have beenadopted into God’s family. “How greatis the love the Father has given us sofreely! Now we can be called childrenof God. And that’s [that is] what wereally are” (1 John 3:1, NIrV).

By praying to the Father, we showwe are accepting who He is and whatHe has done for us. We show how weare related to Him. And we show thesalvation we have from what He gaveus in Jesus. In this way, the nameFather should give us comfort, hope,and joy.

Many earthly fathers have beenabusive, unloving, and uncaring.They are the opposite of what afather should be. What advice canyou give someone who has anabusive father? How can you helphim or her understand and experi-ence our heavenly Father’s love?

PRAYING IN JESUS’ NAME (1 Timothy 2:5).

In John 14:12-14, Jesus says weshould ask for things in His name.What we ask from the Father, weshould ask in the name of Jesus. Sowe begin our prayers by saying some-thing like, “Dear Father in heaven.”Then we close our prayers with Jesus’name, like this: “And we ask thesethings in Jesus’ name. Amen.” Whatdoes “in Jesus’ name” mean?

What are the following versessaying to help us better under-stand the idea of praying to theFather in Jesus’ name? Isaiah53:12; Romans 8:34; 1 Timothy 2:5;Hebrews 8:6; Hebrews 12:24.

By praying in Jesus’ name, we aremaking an announcement to our-selves, to other humans, and to theuniverse (1 Corinthians 4:9). Theannouncement is that we acceptJesus’ authority2 and power in ourlives. By praying in His name, weannounce our personal acceptanceof Him as our Savior who died for oursins. He is the One through whom wecan reach the Father (Hebrews 8:1).By praying in Jesus’ name, we canclaim the promises of God that wehave in and through Jesus. By pray-ing in Jesus’ name, we are openlyannouncing our faith in Him as theOne who has closed the separationthat sin caused between God and us.We are announcing that He is theOne who has reunited us with ourheavenly Father. “It is all from God.He brought us back to himselfthrough Christ’s death on the cross.And he has given us the task ofbringing others back to him throughChrist. God was bringing the worldback to himself through Christ. Hedid not hold people’s sins againstthem. God has trusted us with themessage that people may be broughtback to him” (2 Corinthians 5:18, 19,NIrV).

MONDAY—AUGUST 1

2authority—the skill to make someone obey; influence that creates respect and trust.

Lesson 6 Lord of Our Prayers

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By praying in Jesus’ name, weaccept Him and what He has donefor us (Isaiah 53:12). At the sametime, what responsibilities doespraying in Jesus’ name put on us?

PRAYING ACCORDING TO THE FATHER’S WILL

(Mark 14:36; 1 John 5:14, 15).

Jesus announced, “ ‘I have not comedown from heaven to do what I want todo. I have come to do what the Onewho sent me wants me to do’ ” (John6:38, NIrV). Even in His prayers, Jesusshowed His determination to surrenderHis own will to the Father’s will. Whenwe pray, there are several things weknow are God’s will. For example, John3:16 tells us it is God’s will for us to besaved. So when we pray for God tosave us, we are praying according toGod’s will.

List three other things you knoware God’s will, so that when youpray for these things, you will bepraying according to His will. Alsolist support from the Bible for thethings you chose.

Sometimes, it is difficult to knowwhat the Father’s will is. Have youever prayed for someone who is sick?How do you know the Father’s will forthat person? We are told to pray forthe sick and to trust God to bringhealing. But we do not know how theperson is to be healed. We do notknow God’s timing. Should we thenkeep from praying for people who aresick and weak? No! “Let your prayerinclude this thought: ‘Lord, you knowevery secret of the soul. You knowthese persons, because Jesus gaveHis life for them. He loves them morethan we possibly can. If it is for yourglory and the good of these sufferingpeople to make them healthy, we askyou in the name of Jesus, that healthmay be given them at this time.’ ”—Adapted from Ellen G. White,Counsels on Health, p. 375.

Read Jesus’ prayer again in Mark14:36. Notice His pattern ofthought: (1) The word Abba showsHis close relationship with HisFather. (2) Jesus admits God’spower. (3) Jesus talks about Hisown desire. (4) Then He surrendersHis desire to the Father. Is thereany prayer you need to pray thatshows this same pattern? Why not

TUESDAY—AUGUST 2

Request Support from the Bible

1.

2.

3.

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get on your knees now and praythis prayer in the will of God?

PRAYING FOR OTHERS (Romans 15:30, 31).

Jesus cannot be your Lord if youpray only for yourself. When Jesus isLord of your prayers, you will join Himin praying for others. Jesus prayed forgroups of people (John 17:9, 20). Healso prayed for just one person at atime (Luke 22:31, 32). The NewTestament uses several Greek verbs3

to describe Jesus’ prayers. One ofthese verbs means “to beg.” This isthe verb used in Luke 22:32 todescribe the prayer of intercession4

Jesus offered for Simon Peter. “Satancould do nothing against the all-powerful prayer of Jesus for others.And Jesus’ prayer for Peter is alsooffered to all people who are humbleand repentant.”5—Adapted from EllenG. White, Sons and Daughters ofGod, p. 91.

How do the following verseshelp us understand why we shouldpray for others?

Jeremiah 29:7 ____________________

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James 5:16 ______________________

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Philippians 1:9, 10 ________________

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Mark 9:28, 29 ____________________

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Romans 15:30, 31 ________________

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People ask us to pray for themwhen they are facing difficulties andtroubles. Churches read names ofpeople who need our prayers.Sometimes we may be tempted togive up, because there are so manynames on our prayer list. But thereare too many examples in the Bible ofGod’s faithful people praying for eachother. We must pray for others, also.There is a power in prayer that onlypeople who pray in spirit and in truthcan experience.

WEDNESDAY—AUGUST 3

3verbs—words that show action. Run, drive, and walk are verbs, because they show action.4intercession—prayer for other people.5repentant—being sorry for sins and turning away from your sins.

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Even science is beginning tounderstand more about the power ofprayer. Studies show that praying forsick people does help them get bet-ter. This is a fact scientists and doc-tors do not understand, but manypeople have experienced getting bet-ter when people prayed for them.

What are some thoughts Satanputs into our mind to make usthink we do not need to pray? Whatcan you do to turn these thoughtsaside and make a personal deci-sion to pray for others?

PRAYER EXAMPLES (Psalm 51).

The Bible is full of examples ofpowerful prayers given by God’s peo-ple. None of these people were per-fect. None of them had any righteous-ness (holiness) worthy of God’s love.All of them were (and all of us are)sinners in need of God’s mercy.6 Theyneeded (and we need) Christ’s right-eousness in their prayers to makethem acceptable to a holy God(Revelation 8:3). In their great need,they realized who they were and whoGod was. But they still prayed to theirCreator, their Savior, and their heav-enly Father.

Prayer shows we realize we cannotlive without God. Prayer shows weknow there are forces beyond ourcontrol. Prayer shows we know we aredependent upon something greater

than ourselves. Prayer shows weknow worldly things can never fill all ofour needs.

Listed below are three greatprayers in the Bible. Each prayer isvery long. So you might choose toread only one or two of them. Writedown what makes the prayers sopowerful. What can you learn fromthese prayers that can improveyour prayer life?

Daniel 9:4-19 _____________________

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1 Kings 8:15-61 __________________

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Psalm 51 ________________________

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ADDITIONAL STUDY: Read thechapter “The Privilege of Prayer” inSteps to Christ. What new ideasabout prayer can you learn from thischapter?

Different ways to pray have beenhelpful for Christians.The best-knownprayer is the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew6:9-13. It is possible to say this prayerin fewer than 60 seconds. But if youuse the main themes (ideas) of thisprayer as an outline for your prayers,you can stretch your prayer time for

FRIDAY—AUGUST 5

THURSDAY—AUGUST 4

6mercy—kindness we do not deserve.

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Lesson 6 Lord of Our Prayers

half an hour, an hour, or even allnight.

The services and sacrifices of theearthly sanctuary show us that ourprayers can include praise, confes-sion,7 and prayer for cleansing. Theearthly sanctuary also shows us wecan pray for the baptism of the HolySpirit, for power through the Bible, forothers, and for a close relationshipwith the Lord.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:1. Paul encourages believers to “pray

without ceasing [stopping]” (1 Thes-salonians 5:17). How can we pray“without ceasing”?

2. Share in class some personalexperiences with prayer. You cantalk about powerful answers toprayer or about what prayer doesfor you. You can explain yourunderstanding of how prayerworks. What can you share thatcan encourage others in theirprayer life?

3. Is there anyone your class knowswho needs prayer? Why not prayfor this person in class? Then dis-cuss the experiences of praying asa group and praying alone.

4. How can we help children have ameaningful prayer experience withtheir heavenly Father?

7confession—to tell God you have sinned.