Learn to Pray Like Jesus [Ring Them Bells Interview, re: God-Shaped Prayer]

This interview on Ring Them Bells brings Jason Bostow together with Anthony Delgado to discuss Delgado’s book God-Shaped Prayer: A Theology and Practice of the Lord’s Prayer. While framed as a book conversation, the heart of the exchange explores what prayer is meant to accomplish in the Christian life. Delgado explains that prayer is not about manipulating God to act but about God shaping his people through communion with him. Together, they unpack the Lord’s Prayer line by line, emphasizing its Old Testament backdrop, its communal nature, and its role in spiritual warfare. Delgado highlights the depth in every word of the prayer—“Our Father” as both intimate and communal, “hallowed be your name” as active participation in God’s holiness, and “your kingdom come” as a hopeful, not fearful, anticipation of God’s reign. The discussion discusses themes of confession, forgiveness, and deliverance, connecting these practices to personal transformation and the church’s corporate life. Drawing from biblical theology, Second Temple insights, and even historic liturgical practices, Delgado insists that prayer forms us into the likeness of Christ and equips us for the mission of God’s kingdom. The interview is both pastoral and practical, urging believers to establish a rule of prayer and to see the Lord’s Prayer as both a model and a lived reality