Silas
Beloved of All
Your desire to pray according to the pattern Jesus gave is right and pleasing to God, and I am glad you want to seek first the Father and His kingdom before bringing your own needs.
Jesus did not give us those words to be repeated quickly from memory without thought. The prayers recorded in Scripture are short and simple, and it is not length or much speaking that makes prayer effective. The value comes when you take that model slowly, phrase by phrase, and meditate on what each request means and pray it sincerely from the heart. In that way it becomes more than words, it becomes worship and fellowship.
That model teaches an order that is important. It begins with relationship. We can only truly say Our Father when we have been brought into the family of God through faith in Jesus Christ, by His blood shed on the cross, His death and resurrection, and the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry Abba, Father. Without that relationship prayer has no foundation. With it, we come as children to a Father who hears.
The first requests are not about us at all, but about God. Hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Our primary concern in prayer should be for the honor of His name and the coming of His kingdom and the doing of His will. Scripture speaks of two kingdoms, the kingdom of light and life ruled by God, and the kingdom of darkness in rebellion against Him led by the enemy. When we pray Your kingdom come we are asking for the reign of Christ to be realized in our own hearts, in our homes and churches, and ultimately in the world when He returns and establishes His everlasting kingdom. The last prayer of the Bible is Even so, come, Lord Jesus, and that longing should be in us as we see brokenness around us. Prayer is not a way to get our own will done on earth, it is a way to align our hearts with God so that His will is done, and as we seek His kingdom and His righteousness first, He promises to care for the rest.
Only after that does the prayer turn to our daily needs. Give us this day our daily bread reminds us to depend on God for every provision, spiritual and physical, for every word that comes from His mouth and for the practical needs of life. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors reminds us that our forgiveness is linked to our willingness to forgive others. We confess our own sins honestly before God and receive His forgiveness, and we also release those who have sinned against us, praying for them and entrusting judgment to God alone. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil acknowledges that temptation itself is common to all and is not sin, but the choice to walk according to the flesh rather than the Spirit is. Temptation often offers a shortcut or immediate fulfillment if we will turn aside from God's path, and we need His strength and protection, even angelic help, to stand and to choose the way of the Spirit.
Prayer then returns to where it began, to worship. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Prayer includes worship, which is awe at who God is, and it includes intercession for others and petition for ourselves. Public prayer or prayer meant to impress others misses the point, but the fervent, heartfelt prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Jesus Himself, though He was the Son of God, drew strength from prayer for guidance and life, which shows how much more we need it.
Continue to bring this pattern before the Lord thoughtfully and persistently. Ask Him to make His name hallowed in your life, to extend His rule of righteousness, peace and joy in you and through you, to provide for you, to keep you forgiving and forgiven, and to guard you from the evil one. He hears, and He will answer according to His perfect will, for His glory. I join you in praying these things in the name of Jesus, in whom all the promises of God are yes and amen.
Jesus did not give us those words to be repeated quickly from memory without thought. The prayers recorded in Scripture are short and simple, and it is not length or much speaking that makes prayer effective. The value comes when you take that model slowly, phrase by phrase, and meditate on what each request means and pray it sincerely from the heart. In that way it becomes more than words, it becomes worship and fellowship.
That model teaches an order that is important. It begins with relationship. We can only truly say Our Father when we have been brought into the family of God through faith in Jesus Christ, by His blood shed on the cross, His death and resurrection, and the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry Abba, Father. Without that relationship prayer has no foundation. With it, we come as children to a Father who hears.
The first requests are not about us at all, but about God. Hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Our primary concern in prayer should be for the honor of His name and the coming of His kingdom and the doing of His will. Scripture speaks of two kingdoms, the kingdom of light and life ruled by God, and the kingdom of darkness in rebellion against Him led by the enemy. When we pray Your kingdom come we are asking for the reign of Christ to be realized in our own hearts, in our homes and churches, and ultimately in the world when He returns and establishes His everlasting kingdom. The last prayer of the Bible is Even so, come, Lord Jesus, and that longing should be in us as we see brokenness around us. Prayer is not a way to get our own will done on earth, it is a way to align our hearts with God so that His will is done, and as we seek His kingdom and His righteousness first, He promises to care for the rest.
Only after that does the prayer turn to our daily needs. Give us this day our daily bread reminds us to depend on God for every provision, spiritual and physical, for every word that comes from His mouth and for the practical needs of life. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors reminds us that our forgiveness is linked to our willingness to forgive others. We confess our own sins honestly before God and receive His forgiveness, and we also release those who have sinned against us, praying for them and entrusting judgment to God alone. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil acknowledges that temptation itself is common to all and is not sin, but the choice to walk according to the flesh rather than the Spirit is. Temptation often offers a shortcut or immediate fulfillment if we will turn aside from God's path, and we need His strength and protection, even angelic help, to stand and to choose the way of the Spirit.
Prayer then returns to where it began, to worship. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Prayer includes worship, which is awe at who God is, and it includes intercession for others and petition for ourselves. Public prayer or prayer meant to impress others misses the point, but the fervent, heartfelt prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Jesus Himself, though He was the Son of God, drew strength from prayer for guidance and life, which shows how much more we need it.
Continue to bring this pattern before the Lord thoughtfully and persistently. Ask Him to make His name hallowed in your life, to extend His rule of righteousness, peace and joy in you and through you, to provide for you, to keep you forgiving and forgiven, and to guard you from the evil one. He hears, and He will answer according to His perfect will, for His glory. I join you in praying these things in the name of Jesus, in whom all the promises of God are yes and amen.
