The Lord's Prayer

The Lord's Prayer is part of Christ's Sermon on the Mount. He was teaching His disciples how not to pray like the hypocrites (Matt. 6:6) or like the heathen (Matt. 6:7) did. The reason why they should not pray like them is because "the Father knows the things they have need of before they ask Him" (Matt. 6:8). And so He gave them a Model Prayer in the form of worship and petition.


"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" (Matt. 6:9 - 13, KJV, emphasis added).


The Lord's Prayer is meant to be Christians' "model" prayer. It was given to us as an example to express the way or manner in which we are to pray. It was not some "flowery" prayer for God to hear to impress Him. It is a simple prayer from the heart of those who fear God. This prayer shows us the way God would have us approach Him when we come before the Throne of grace seeking answers to our petitions. Let us study the contents of the Lord's Prayer.


We should always approach God in Praise and Worship


"Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name"


If the entire "Lord's Prayer" is to serve as an example for us, then we should take particular notice of this most important first lesson offered. That is, whenever we approach the throne of the all-powerful and Almighty God, we should approach it with words of praise and worship on our lips.


"Our Father" is a very intimate term. It means we can know this God personally and intimately enough to address Him as Father (or Abba Father). That means we can have an intimate relationship with the God of the Bible. And we have the assurance that He wants us to know Him in this personal and intimate way.


The phrase, "which art in heaven" indicates His location. The presence of His glory is manifested in heaven. One day, His glory is going to manifest throughout the whole earth:


"For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" (Habakkuk 2:14, NKJV).


Notice that there is a mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5) and the mediator is Jesus Christ. We can come boldly into God's presence becaus of Jesus Christ.


The phrase, "Hallowed be thy name" means "Let thy name be holy". The word "hallowed" means to render or to pronounce holy. God's name needs to be held in reverence, and treated as absolutely holy. If we can only catch a glimpse of God's holiness and awesomeness we are going to fall flat on our face to worship Him!


Let God's will be done


"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven"


After we have come before God with praise and worship, the next step in our praying should be determining the will of God. And this is tremendously important. How many times we get into trouble because we don't first seek God's will before we go ahead and do what we like.


The phrase, "Thy kingdom come" means "Thy reign be everywhere". The word "kingdom", comes from the Greek word, "basileia" which means "reign" or "rule". This petition is the expression of the wish that God may reign everywhere, that His laws may be obeyed; and especially that the Gospel of Jesus Christ may be advanced everywhere, until the world shall be filled with His glory.


I believe every Christian should pray for God's will be done in his life, in his family and in his ministry, knowing that every believer has a ministry given by God. God's will be done in earth, as it is in heaven because in heaven God's perfect will is being accomplished.


Far too often, because of our carnal nature, our desire and wants are not in line with God's will for us. The only thing that fills our consciousness is our desire for the object or result. It really does not matter if it is what God wants or not. We want it and that's all that matters. It may not be good for us at the time, or it may be something diametrically contrary to God's plan for our life. As long as we want it, nothing else matters. But God knows that in our hearts we are not really committed to the thought that we do not want it if He does not want it.


A classic example comes to mind concerning Israel's demand for a king. It was outside God's will and plan for His people. But they were not to be put off. They demanded a king so they could be like the other nations surrounding them. And God gave them a king (Saul), to their eternal hurt. Saul was not God's choice for them as their king and He forewarned them through Samuel (1 Samuel 8:11 - 18). But they would not listen and they would not be deterred from their self-appointed path of folly.


How much trouble would we avoid if we would honestly seek the face of the Lord before we go before Him with a request? How much better in many cases if we would merely take our problems before Him ask for a solution to them, rather than going before Him with the solution we have determined as the proper one, and ask for His "rubber-stamp" approval?


Our daily bread


"Give us this day our daily bread"


At first glance this appears to be a petition for food, or for the money to buy the food. We should be ever aware that we are dependent upon the Lord's generosity for everything we need to survive in this world. Without air to breathe, water to drink, food to eat, a roof over out heads, and clothes for our back, life would not last long. In short, we should petition this ("Give us this day our daily bread") before God, on a daily basis, to give us life's provision to meet our need. But not our greed!


Jesus Himself said that He is the "bread of life" (John 6:35, 48). Everything we seek and search for in life can be found only through Him. He is to be our model, our guide, our provider, our strength, our hope and our life. And we need Him (the Bread of Life) daily and that is the reason we must seek His face daily - in prayer.


Forgiveness


"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors"


Note the qualification (the condition attached) of the above statement - God forgives us on the condition that we forgive others. "Forgiveness" is in the heart of God for Jesus continued with His Sermon on the Mount on "forgiveness" immediately after teaching His disciples the Lord's Prayer:


Jesus said, "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matt. 6:14, 15, NKJV).


Unforgiveness can be found in everyday life: A husband will refuse to forgive his wife. The wife will "hold it against" her husband. Children and parents keep a screen of unforgiveness between them. The Pastor will not forgive a Church member or one of the elders or leaders. The list is endless and there are very few people (including Christians) walking around who do not carry some area of resentment in their hearts.


I believe the two most destructive human emotions are guilt and resentment (revenge). They will eat up your physical health; they will upset your mental stability and you will lose the Lord's presence in you life. Your family life, your working life and your ministry will be severely affected.


Deliverance


"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil"


At first glance, it would seem the Lord sometimes leads us into temptation. Actually, though, this statement has a double meaning. It means first, help us to avoid wandering into temptation, and then protect us from being overcome by evil by delivering us from the evil one.


A petition similar to this is offered by the psalmist, David:


"Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men who work iniquity; and do not let me eat of their delicacies" (Psalm 141:4, NKJV).


It is important to realize that the Lord can never tempt us to evil. He will test us and sometimes allow temptation to come but He will give us the spiritual strength to overcome temptation.


James said, "Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am tempted by God'; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed" (James 1:13, 14).


The world is full of vast array of demon spirits who are committed to hinder our walk with God. They use myraid tricks to bring about our destruction. Paul confirms this when he said:


"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Eph. 6:12, emphasis added).


Notice the word "against" appears 5 times in just one verse of Scripture and out of which 4 times are against demon spirits of various hierarchy. And we are not against people (flesh and blood) because they are not our problem - but the demons in them or behind them are!


John said our faith in the Lord Jesus overcomes the world: "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God" (1 John 5:4, 5)?


John was talking about believers who are "born of God" can, by faith, overcome the world - world system influenced by the evil one.


His Kingdom


"For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen"


This is what theologians said, a doxology.


Here ar some statements of facts:


1. The Kingdom is His - reign or dominion is His. He alone controls everything in His Kingdom.


2. The Power is His - He has the power to accomplish what we ask if what we asked is according to His will for us. We are weak and we cannot do many things. But He is the Almighty and all things are possible with Him.


3. The Glory is His - All Glory and Praise belongs to Him and He will not give His Glory to another (Isaiah 48:11). The Lord wants us to behold His Glory (John 17:24).


We should all praise and glorify God just as David did:


"Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; for all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, and You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; in Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all" (1 Chron. 29:10 - 12, NKJV).