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I don’t remember if I’ve mentioned this before, but I’ve always had a problem with prayer. This seems silly, but I often can’t think what to say in a prayer. I don’t feel right giving him a list of things I want, like I’m writing a letter to Santa. But just saying, “Lord, I want whatever you want” makes a very short prayer.

I have found some consolation in realizing that people in the Bible apparently found prayer confusing, too. The disciples once asked Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” (Luke 11:1)  Which tells me that people had been asking for help in how to pray even before Jesus came along.

And Jesus gave them what we call the Lord’s Prayer. I’ve recited it in church all my life, becoming so familiar with the words that I never really think about them. But when I took time to ponder them closely this week, I noticed that Jesus began by praising God (“hallowed be your name”) and immediately followed that with, “Your kingdom come, your will be done.”

GOD’S will. Somehow I missed noticing that requirement back when I was in Sunday school. Jesus starts right out expressing agreement with what GOD wants: “YOUR kingdom come, YOUR will be done.” Your will, not mine, Lord.

Even in the garden, Jesus prayed that God would not make him go through what was about to happen, but ended with, “yet not my will, but yours be done.”

The other day I suddenly realized that the Serpent approached Eve with questions. He got her to question what God had said. He shifted her focus from what God wanted to what she desired. Since my questions distract me from praying, I can guess from from whom those questions come.

I think the power of the Lord’s Prayer is not in reciting the exact words. I think it’s a pattern for me to follow, in my own words. Start out my prayer time by praising God, then express my desire to follow his will in all things, not my own.

I have found that reading the Bible is a marvelous adventure, with new things to learn at every turn. In The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins races through town, joyfully shouting to all his neighbors, “I’m going on an adventure!” You can envision me doing that now as I embark on a prayer adventure.