How to Pray - The Lord's Example
Many people pray to God for wisdom, spiritual
guidance, safety, healing, financial deliverance, salvation for
loved one, and other reasons to numerous to list.
When first saved, most of us really don’t know
how to pray. There are few, if any, instructional curriculums
offered to the new convert that would teach them how to pray. We try
to listen to others around us and begin to mimic their prayers.
After all, they have been Christians for a while and surely know how
to pray.
But, Jesus provided us an example when his
disciples asked him to teach them how to pray. We will take a closer
look at the Lord’s Prayer, looking at each line of the prayer to
offer some insights into the meaning and purpose for the text.
The passages of Scripture that are commonly referred to as
the Lord’s Prayer can be found in Matthew Chapter 6 and Luke Chapter
11, provided here from the King James Version.
Matthew 6:9-13 - 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, forever. Amen
Luke 11:2-4 - Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give
us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, as we forgive
every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Using the Scripture from Matthew lets look at
each line in detail.
Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
This first line acknowledges to whom we are praying. These words
indicated that the speaker understands that God is our Father, that
He resides in heaven and that His name is worthy to be respected and
revered.
Acknowledging that someone is your father places them in a position
of authority over you.
You give up your individuality, subject yourself to their control,
accept their guidance, and pledge obedience to their commands.
You understand that they are the very source of your
existence.
By acknowledging that God is in heaven, we verbalize our faith that
God is the creator and ruler of the universe, show that that we
believe the Word of God because it refers to His throne as being in
heaven, and acknowledge that we understand our relational position
with God, since we are not in heaven, but in the earth.
The last part of this first verse gives honor to God’s name.
Merriam’s Dictionary defines the word as an adjective meaning holy,
consecrated, sacred, and revered. This acknowledges that we
understand that God is holy and sacred and that He should be
respected, honored, and revered above all others. This short
statement certainly demonstrates our comprehension of just who God
really is and how we should regard Him.
As we put these parts together we soon realize that before we ever
start asking for God to do something for us, we first must
acknowledge who He is, his place in our lives, and give him the
honor and glory that He deserves. While the use of this first line
can be sufficient in of itself, we should endeavor to expound upon
these three areas by inserting our own words to describe exactly
what God means to us and where we place Him in our own lives.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
The second line of the example prayer asks two simple things or
rather makes two simple proclamations that further demonstrate that
God is the ruler of the universe.
First, the prayer asks that God bring his kingdom to earth. That can be interpreted in a couple of ways.
1. To replace the corrupt nations and governments that are here now. This demonstrates that the individual knows that God’s rule is much better than man’s and again acknowledges God for who He is and His place in our lives.
2. Jesus indicates in Luke 17:21 that the kingdom of God “is within you.” In Romans 14:17, Paul writes “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink: but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” These scriptures seem to support the belief that the kingdom of God is not physical but spiritual and is realized in us when we have accepted Jesus as our Savior.
Regardless of which interpretation you think is correct, the fact remains that we should pray that the kingdom of God comes to us.
Next, the prayer acknowledges that God’s will is always carried out in
heaven, since He is the ultimate ruler there. Once again, this verse
acknowledges who God is and His position as the creator of the
universe. The prayer asks that the earth conform to the will of God,
just as does the heavens, again acknowledging that God’s plan for
our lives is much better than we could ever achieve by ourselves.
The request also acknowledges that the individual is willing to
subject themselves to the will of God, placing them in a position of
a servant to an almighty God.
Again, while this verse could stand on its own, we should endeavor
to let God know how personally important it is for us that His
kingdom comes into our hearts and lives to change us to be more like
Jesus Christ. We should let Him know what we are willing to do to
allow His will to be realized in our lives so it will have an effect
upon those around us.
Give us this day, our daily bread.
Up to this point, the prayer has been about us giving honor and
glory to God. Only after we have acknowledged His place in our lives
and have confessed honor and glory to Him, do we dare approach His
throne to bring our petition.
This simple stanza signifies all of our needs of which we are asking
God to provide. Bread was the basic requirement for survival in the
culture of the time. Without bread, one would surely perish. Here is
where we bring to God those petitions in which we need Him to show
us his mercy. Such petitions can be for food, but can also be for
financial miracles, safety for our families, guidance and wisdom,
salvation for our lost loved ones, special requests for others (like
particular parts of the world), and etcetera.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
In Luke, this passage is recorded as sins, instead of debts. Either
way, here is where we ask God to forgive our transgressions against
Him and our neighbors. We should confess our sins and ask God to
forgive us. Jesus follows on after his prayer example and provides
parables to demonstrate that one should not expect God to forgive
our sins if we fail to forgive those who have transgressed against
us. It is important that before we ever begin to pray we ensure that
we have forgiven, and do not hold bitterness toward, our fellow man
for wrongs we feel they may have done to us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
This verse in the prayer acknowledges that we cannot withstand
temptation on our own but must have God to intervene so that we may
escape the evil that Satan has planned for us. Once again, we
acknowledge that God is our protector and ask Him to guide our walk
in this life so that we can avoid situations where we may be tempted
beyond our capacity to stand firm upon our convictions and spiritual
beliefs. No prayer can be complete without asking God to help us
adhere to His laws and commandments.
We should seek to expound upon this verse to call out those specific
situations or temptations in our own lives that we can see would be
our downfall and ask God to help us not falter, but grow stronger in
our walk with Him.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen
Finally, at the end of the prayer, we once again acknowledge who God
is, the ultimate power that He possesses, and His absolute right to
receive all honor and glory. Further we must acknowledge that His
kingdom, power and glory will exist forever, meaning that there is
no one or any thing that is greater than He. Here is our final
chance to show God how much we love Him, how much we revere Him, and
how much we believe in who He is.
Jesus packed a tremendous amount into this very
short prayer that we can use as an example for our own prayers and
cautions us to not use vain repetitions in our prayers. It is for
that reason that we should use the Lord’s Prayer as a template to be
modified to meet our specific and current life situations.
Written by Jeff Swain, September 10, 2007
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