The Lord's Prayer ExplainedSample

The Lord’s Prayer Teaches Us How to Pray

The Lord’s Prayer is very valuable. However, it is not a magic mantra that Christians are to repeat mindlessly. Christ made a very important distinction when introducing the Lord’s prayer. He said that we should pray “in the following manner,” or pray “like this,” not to literally “pray this.” The Lord’s Prayer is primarily a teaching model. The proper way to relate to the Lord’s Prayer is to see it as an instructional manual on how we should pray.

Moreover, before teaching His disciples how to pray, Jesus told them what not to do in prayer. First, He said that when we pray, we must not be hypocrites—people who like to pray in public places, in front of an audience, to be noticed by others. Christ encouraged His disciples to pray in secret because the Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward His children openly. Jesus also told the disciples not to use vain repetitions when praying, because we are not heard by the number of words that we utter. Our heavenly Father knows what we need before we even ask Him.

Christ taught that our approach to prayer reveals our hearts and our knowledge of God. The wrong kinds of prayers have the wrong view of God. For example, the thought that we can impress God with the many words we say in prayer is faulty. The way we pray demonstrates what we understand about the nature of God. 

The Bible tells us that only the prayers born in faith are heard by God. The Scripture also says that once our prayers are heard, they will be answered, according to God's will. The Lord’s Prayer, therefore, teaches us to pray with an attitude that guarantees that our prayers will be heard, and answered according to God's will.