The Lord’s Prayer

Prayer Models

The I. O. U. S.  prayer model is great to use prior to reading the Bible. It’s a quick prayer that centers your focus on God and prepares your heart for lasting change.

• I – Incline my heart to you, not to prideful gain or any false motive. (Psalm 119:36)
• O – Open my eyes to behold wonderful things in your Word. (Psalm 119:18)
• U – Unite my heart to fear your name. (Psalm 86:11)
• S – Satisfy me with you steadfast love. (Psalm 90:14)

A.W.C.I.P.A.  [pronounced awe-sip-uh] is  an acronym to jumpstart a daily routine of prayer. Start off praying each category for two minutes.

• A – Admire and Thank God. (Psalm 8:9) Thank God for everything you can think of and worship him by proclaiming his goodness.
• W – Wait Quietly Before God (Psalm 46:10) Sit quietly and listen to God speak to you and write it down. Waiting on the Lord is difficult at first. Think of this part of prayer like a conversation on the phone. We don’t call people say what we have to say and immediately hang up. We pause to listen.
• C – Confess Your Sin. (1 John 1:9, Psalm 103:12) Confess your sins to God. Confess the areas of your life that are out of alignment with God’s will.
• I – Intercede for Others (1 Chronicles 4:9) Pray for other people. Lift up the needs of others to our God who says, “ask!”
• P – Petition for yourself. (Psalm 51:10-12, John 14:12-14) Ask for a pure heart. Ask for your needs. We pray for ourselves last because the human heart is prone to pray for our needs first, but God calls us to love him and love others!
• A – Admire and Thank God. (Psalm 8:9) Thank God agin for everything you can think of. You can never admire Him enough.