After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.  Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.  (Matthew 6:9-13)

It may seem strange to you that this falls in part 2 of my posts on prayer. I just write my posts in the order in which they come to me. Don’t try to read any more into my statement. I don’t claim to have a greater insight into God’s will than anyone else. I am just relating my thoughts and meditations about my spiritual walk with the Lord. Many people will rightly point out that I don’t have a divinity degree and am not a formally trained preacher. I don’t claim to be any more than a simple layperson. I try to take what I have learned and relate it through my posts here. If you disagree, please, by all means, let me know. I would rather be corrected than go through life with a false understanding of God’s Word and Will.

My pastor, David Flagler, often comments that although referred to as the “Lord’s Prayer,” it is actually the model for praying. I agree with his assessment because Jesus prefaces this by saying, “After this manner ….” I have found books on prayer that use the passage to break down how we should pray. I will attempt to condense that knowledge into this short blog post. I assure you that there will be much that I will not cover in-depth. I hope that some of what I relate will improve your prayer life.

Our Father

This first part denotes the direction of our prayer: Our Father, which art in heaven. “Father” indicates a personal subordinate relationship with God. The fact that He is in heaven makes it plain we are not praying to an earthly father. It implies a loving relationship as well. There may be some who did not have a loving relationship with an earthly father. However, we all have a visceral need for such a relationship. How many psychological problems stem from a broken relationship with a father?

Even if we don’t have a good relationship with an earthly father, Jesus sets forth a better relationship with God as the Father. A good father is a loving, protective, wise, and powerful provider. God is the ultimate good Father. A good father also corrects us when we stray outside of boundaries. Sometimes the correction is mild, and sometimes the correction can be harsher. Discipline guides us into maturity. Much like our earthly father, we have some of our Father’s characteristics. God made us in His image I am glad that Jesus brought to light this more accurate image of God as our Father.

Hallowed

One of the preachers whose sermons I love to listen to is Paul Washer. So if you disagree with the emphasis I place on this part of the model prayer, I invite you to listen to this sermon. Why did Jesus instruct us to pronounce that God’s name is hallowed? Hallowed means holy, sacred, and revered. When we come before God, we should do so humbly, recognizing the holiness of God. Why is it important to step forward with this attitude? When we acknowledge the holiness of God, then we are in a better position to bring proper supplications before Him. Some state that we should pause after this pronouncement. The pause fixes His holiness in our minds before we begin with the rest of our prayer. His holiness is what separates us from him. His holiness is why Jesus had to reconcile us to Him. “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;.…” (Isaiah 64:6). Even when we are at our best, we still fall short of the holiness of God.

Kingdom Come

We should pray that the world acknowledges the sovereignty of God. Notice that I did not say that his kingdom is established. The earth belongs to God. All of the world belongs to God. When we pray: “thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven,” we are calling for Christ’s return. We express our desire that God’s will be done here because we know that is best for mankind. We pray for His will to be done on earth. We should also pray, in our hearts, for His will be done in our lives. Sometimes, we become so focused on what we desire, what we want, that what God wants becomes secondary. Placing His will above ours helps us to live better lives. God’s will is done in heaven. We should hope that His will is also done here on earth.

Our Daily Bread

This part of prayer is what we typically think of when we talk about prayer: our needs. Jesus told the disciples to pray for their “daily bread.” Often we worry over the future and how we will live next week, next month, next year, or even when we retire. Jesus emphasized not worrying over those future needs. Remember the parable of the rich man who built had a bumper harvest and set out to build new barns? He was not guaranteed tomorrow, and neither are we. Jesus said: “Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?” (Matthew 6:25) We should pray for our needs today.

Does that mean that we should never think about what we will do in the future? Absolutely not. Jesus does want us to plan for the future, but he does not want us to worry over what we will eat or drink or where we will get clothing. These are mundane and everyday details that might change in a short time. His parable about the rich man was about what is truly valuable. In that case, sharing his wealth with those less fortunate and storing riches in heaven would have better served the rich man. God is not against plans; He has plans for each of us.

Forgive us our Debts

Now, this isn’t our financial debt (though you might need to pray for relief in that particular area). It is our debt of sin. Some translations have this as forgive our trespasses. Our debts or trespasses are those things that we have done that separate us from both God and others. I like the way James put it: “For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.” (James 2:13) God calls us to show mercy, to show grace, to forgive. Hasn’t God shown us great mercy in forgiving us our sins? It is easy to lose sight of the importance of forgiveness. We often feel justified in pressing our right for justice. That is why I like the second part of this verse: “mercy rejoiceth against judgement.” There is greater joy in giving mercy than in getting justice.

Jesus demonstrated his great wisdom by adding in the second part: “as we forgive ….” It is like saying, God forgive me in the same way that I forgive others. If we keep that standard in mind, we will give others a lot of grace, for we need that grace ourselves. This point is an excellent time to take our sins before God and lay aside any need for justice for the sins committed against us. Start with forgiving others before God, and sometimes it will help you give that grace when you face the person who hurt you.

Lead us not into Temptation

Some people confuse this portion and think that God is the one who is tempting us. God does not tempt men. However, God can order our steps to avoid temptation. It is better to avoid temptation because giving in to temptation moves us away from God’s plan for our lives. We don’t know what situations might take us into the paths of temptation, but God does. In praying for God not to lead us into temptation, we make a conscious request for help to avoid situations that might lead us astray.

We also should pray that God “deliver us from evil.” Satan or his minions don’t necessarily tempt us. James said: “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.” Temptation comes primarily from our own lusts or overpowering fleshly desires. However, Satan does move against us. We need God to deliver us from his designs. You might think you can beat Satan, but only a fool would pit themselves against Satan. We need God to overcome Satan. We need His help to win. Pray for that victory.

For Thine is the Kingdom

Once again, we should acknowledge where the power to answer prayers resides. We pray because we know that God can answer our prayers. We pray because we need God’s help in living in ways that bring glory to God. We acknowledge His sovereignty over not only our spiritual lives but also over this world. We also recognize that His rule is eternal. God is God. Unbelievers do not acknowledge that He is. They refuse to yield to His authority. They choose instead to follow their own unrighteousness. Remember: “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

Amen.

So be it. When we end our prayers with this word, we are adding an emphatic statement that it is not only our desire but that we affirm that it is what we believe. Have the courage of your convictions and stand on your belief.

I hope that you have gained some small measure of appreciation for the model prayer. I hope that you will endeavor to be more purposeful when you next kneel to pray. If you did not gain any greater appreciation or understanding for prayer, I hope you will share this post with someone you think might. As always, if you find anything objectionable or downright wrong with what I have posted here, please let me know.

God Bless and Keep you.