Protocol For Prayer?

Q

Would you please address the proper order of prayer? I realize that there was a proper order (or to use the secular term “protocol”) that was observed in the Temple worship. Does a proper order also apply to our prayers? All during the day, I find myself just talking with either God or Jesus without much formality, very much like I talk with my best friends here on earth. Is this being disrespectful to who God and Jesus are? They are too important to me to ever be disrespectful to who they are and what they have done for me.

A

The days when God kept His people at arm’s length ended at the cross. (Col. 1:19-20). According to John 1:12, when you believed in His Son, God gave you the authority to become His child. Romans 8:15-16 and Galatians 4:6-7 say that this enables us to call God by His most intimate name. And Ephesians 3:12 says we can now approach God with freedom and confidence.

Would you address your earthly father each day using some kind of formal protocol, or only by going through one of your siblings? Or would it likely be in a more personal way, giving honor and respect but with love and intimacy as well? Treat your Father in heaven the same way. And by the way, when you’re talking to one, you’re talking to all three.