Silas
Beloved of All
Your reflection on the Lord's Prayer shows a sincere desire to pray as Jesus taught, and that is a good place to be. What Jesus gave in Matthew 6 is not words to repeat without thinking, but a pattern to guide us. It has great value when you take it slowly, phrase by phrase, and consider the weight of each request with faith that God hears.
That pattern begins with relationship. Our Father. Unless there is that relationship through faith in Jesus Christ, prayer has no foundation. Through His blood shed for our sins, His resurrection and His ascension, we are adopted as children and can come with the intimate confidence of a child to a Father. God already knows what you need before you ask, so prayer is not informing Him. It is aligning your heart with His purpose and opening the door for Him to work in your life without violating your will.
Notice the order Jesus gave. The first three petitions are about God, not about us. Hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. The primary thrust of prayer is not to get our will done on earth, but to see God's will done. Our first concern should be for His name to be honored, for His kingdom to come and for His will to be accomplished. The last three petitions then bring our personal needs before Him. Give us daily bread, forgive our debts, lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Those cover the basic needs of our lives, provision, forgiveness, guidance and deliverance. Then prayer returns to God again, for Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. In this way prayer moves from worship to petition and intercession and back to worship.
When you pray Your kingdom come, you are praying for much more than personal blessing. Scripture shows two kingdoms in conflict. There is the kingdom of light and life ruled by God, and there is a kingdom of darkness and death born of rebellion against Him. When God placed man on the earth he was placed in the kingdom of God, but through sin man came under the power of darkness. To pray for the kingdom to come is to ask for the stronger One, Jesus Christ, to establish His rule and to bring deliverance. That is the gospel we proclaim, that a person can be transferred out of darkness into light through receiving Christ as King. It is also a prayer for the future, for the day when Satan's kingdom will be removed and Christ will reign fully. That longing is echoed in the last prayer of the Bible, even so come quickly Lord Jesus. As you see moral breakdown and confusion in the world, that prayer becomes very real.
When you pray for daily bread, remember the promise that if you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, these other things will be cared for in their proper place. He is our provider for spiritual, physical and daily needs so that we can love Him and love our neighbor.
When you pray forgive us as we forgive others, remember that this one petition is emphasized afterward. God calls us to forgive as we have been forgiven. If we hold onto bitterness toward those who have sinned against us, it hinders our own fellowship with Him. Bring specific sins to Him honestly and receive His forgiveness, and bring those who have wronged you before Him as well, entrusting judgment and mercy to Him alone.
When you pray lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one, understand that temptation itself is not sin. Temptation is common to all, and even Jesus was tempted. It is any situation that invites you to choose the flesh over the Spirit, to take a shortcut to immediate fulfillment instead of walking God's path. Sin comes when desire is yielded to and acted upon. That testing can develop patience as you learn to wait on God, but you need His guidance and protection. Rather than only asking for deliverance as if darkness has power in itself, ask for the entrance of Christ and His power into your life. When light enters, darkness must go, for the two cannot coexist.
It is good that you want to pray this with understanding and not as empty repetition. Continue to come as a child, simply and trustingly, for whoever does not receive the kingdom as a little child will not enter it. Offer the wisest prayer of all alongside these petitions, Lord have Your way in my life, work out Your perfect will in me. And end your prayer as faith does, with praise, confident that He hears and will answer according to His wisdom and glory.
That pattern begins with relationship. Our Father. Unless there is that relationship through faith in Jesus Christ, prayer has no foundation. Through His blood shed for our sins, His resurrection and His ascension, we are adopted as children and can come with the intimate confidence of a child to a Father. God already knows what you need before you ask, so prayer is not informing Him. It is aligning your heart with His purpose and opening the door for Him to work in your life without violating your will.
Notice the order Jesus gave. The first three petitions are about God, not about us. Hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. The primary thrust of prayer is not to get our will done on earth, but to see God's will done. Our first concern should be for His name to be honored, for His kingdom to come and for His will to be accomplished. The last three petitions then bring our personal needs before Him. Give us daily bread, forgive our debts, lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Those cover the basic needs of our lives, provision, forgiveness, guidance and deliverance. Then prayer returns to God again, for Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. In this way prayer moves from worship to petition and intercession and back to worship.
When you pray Your kingdom come, you are praying for much more than personal blessing. Scripture shows two kingdoms in conflict. There is the kingdom of light and life ruled by God, and there is a kingdom of darkness and death born of rebellion against Him. When God placed man on the earth he was placed in the kingdom of God, but through sin man came under the power of darkness. To pray for the kingdom to come is to ask for the stronger One, Jesus Christ, to establish His rule and to bring deliverance. That is the gospel we proclaim, that a person can be transferred out of darkness into light through receiving Christ as King. It is also a prayer for the future, for the day when Satan's kingdom will be removed and Christ will reign fully. That longing is echoed in the last prayer of the Bible, even so come quickly Lord Jesus. As you see moral breakdown and confusion in the world, that prayer becomes very real.
When you pray for daily bread, remember the promise that if you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, these other things will be cared for in their proper place. He is our provider for spiritual, physical and daily needs so that we can love Him and love our neighbor.
When you pray forgive us as we forgive others, remember that this one petition is emphasized afterward. God calls us to forgive as we have been forgiven. If we hold onto bitterness toward those who have sinned against us, it hinders our own fellowship with Him. Bring specific sins to Him honestly and receive His forgiveness, and bring those who have wronged you before Him as well, entrusting judgment and mercy to Him alone.
When you pray lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one, understand that temptation itself is not sin. Temptation is common to all, and even Jesus was tempted. It is any situation that invites you to choose the flesh over the Spirit, to take a shortcut to immediate fulfillment instead of walking God's path. Sin comes when desire is yielded to and acted upon. That testing can develop patience as you learn to wait on God, but you need His guidance and protection. Rather than only asking for deliverance as if darkness has power in itself, ask for the entrance of Christ and His power into your life. When light enters, darkness must go, for the two cannot coexist.
It is good that you want to pray this with understanding and not as empty repetition. Continue to come as a child, simply and trustingly, for whoever does not receive the kingdom as a little child will not enter it. Offer the wisest prayer of all alongside these petitions, Lord have Your way in my life, work out Your perfect will in me. And end your prayer as faith does, with praise, confident that He hears and will answer according to His wisdom and glory.
