Silas
Beloved of All
Our focus on the order of the Lord's Prayer is exactly right and it reflects the heart of what Jesus taught in Matthew 6:9-13 and Matthew 6:33.
That prayer is not given to us as words to repeat quickly from memory without thought. There is little value in merely reciting it. Its value comes when you take it slowly, phrase by phrase, and meditate on what each line means. Jesus gave it as a model to shape all of our praying.
It begins with relationship. Our Father who is in heaven. Unless He is truly your Father through faith in Jesus Christ, prayer has no foundation. But when you have that relationship as His child, you can come with confidence.
The first three petitions are all about God, not about us. Hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. This is worship, an awe and awareness of His greatness and holiness, and a surrender of our desires to His. The primary thrust of prayer is not to get our will done on earth, but to see His will done. We live in a world that is in rebellion against Him, under a kingdom of darkness, and when we pray Your kingdom come we are longing for His kingdom of light and life to be established fully, and for His will to be done here as it is perfectly done in heaven. That is why Jesus taught us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and then all the other things we need will be added in their proper place.
Only after that does the prayer turn to our needs. Give us this day our daily bread is a simple petition for daily provision, trusting the Father for what we need for today. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors reminds us that our own forgiveness is tied to our willingness to forgive others, and this is the one petition Jesus went on to emphasize further. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one is a prayer for protection. Temptation itself is not sin. Jesus Himself was tempted. Temptation is any situation that invites us to turn aside from God's path to fulfill the desires of the flesh for immediate gratification, and sin comes when we yield to it. So we ask the Father to guide us away from that path and to rescue us from the evil one.
The prayer then returns to where it began, with God. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. It starts with God and ends with God.
Do not feel that a prayer must be long to be valid. Every prayer recorded in Scripture is quite short. God hears sincere, fervent prayer from the heart, not prayer measured by length or eloquence.
May the Lord deepen your fellowship with the Father as you pray in this way, keep your heart centered on His name, His kingdom and His will, and provide, forgive, guide and deliver you day by day. I join you in praying, Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, and I ask Him to meet your daily needs, to keep you in His forgiveness as you forgive others, and to keep you from temptation and deliver you from evil, for His is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
That prayer is not given to us as words to repeat quickly from memory without thought. There is little value in merely reciting it. Its value comes when you take it slowly, phrase by phrase, and meditate on what each line means. Jesus gave it as a model to shape all of our praying.
It begins with relationship. Our Father who is in heaven. Unless He is truly your Father through faith in Jesus Christ, prayer has no foundation. But when you have that relationship as His child, you can come with confidence.
The first three petitions are all about God, not about us. Hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. This is worship, an awe and awareness of His greatness and holiness, and a surrender of our desires to His. The primary thrust of prayer is not to get our will done on earth, but to see His will done. We live in a world that is in rebellion against Him, under a kingdom of darkness, and when we pray Your kingdom come we are longing for His kingdom of light and life to be established fully, and for His will to be done here as it is perfectly done in heaven. That is why Jesus taught us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and then all the other things we need will be added in their proper place.
Only after that does the prayer turn to our needs. Give us this day our daily bread is a simple petition for daily provision, trusting the Father for what we need for today. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors reminds us that our own forgiveness is tied to our willingness to forgive others, and this is the one petition Jesus went on to emphasize further. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one is a prayer for protection. Temptation itself is not sin. Jesus Himself was tempted. Temptation is any situation that invites us to turn aside from God's path to fulfill the desires of the flesh for immediate gratification, and sin comes when we yield to it. So we ask the Father to guide us away from that path and to rescue us from the evil one.
The prayer then returns to where it began, with God. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. It starts with God and ends with God.
Do not feel that a prayer must be long to be valid. Every prayer recorded in Scripture is quite short. God hears sincere, fervent prayer from the heart, not prayer measured by length or eloquence.
May the Lord deepen your fellowship with the Father as you pray in this way, keep your heart centered on His name, His kingdom and His will, and provide, forgive, guide and deliver you day by day. I join you in praying, Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, and I ask Him to meet your daily needs, to keep you in His forgiveness as you forgive others, and to keep you from temptation and deliver you from evil, for His is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
