Discovering the Lord’s PrayerSample

The Lord’s Prayer Applied

This simple prayer gives us so much insight!

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name…” The worship of our Lord must initiate our coming to Him before the utterance of our stressors. Before the affairs of my heart leave my lips, my praise and adoration of Him must do so first.

“Your kingdom come, Your will be done…” Before I lay bare my desires and ambitions before the Lord, I must prioritize His Kingdom; I must see the matters of His heart paramount, aligning with the Father’s will as a co-heir with Christ.

“Give us this day our daily bread…” After seeking first the kingdom, we now bring our cares to the Lord. At this point in our approach to Him, the things of earth grow strangely dim as we are in alignment with His perspective. The issues of our lives no longer seem as lofty as we behold Him. A daily encounter with the Lord is absolutely necessary to abiding in Him. Just as the Israelites could not live on yesterday's manna, we can’t live on encounters past; we must live out of encounters present.

“Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors...” A beautiful process of cleansing our hearts takes place in this wonderful step in prayer. As the psalmist cries out, “Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind” (Psalm 26:2). It is in humility that I begin to receive and understand the Lord’s chastising. Through the scrutiny of His voice by His Word, we are corrected in love; the Lord speaks over our shortcomings with truth and grace. We can then extend them to those around us.

“And do not lead us in temptation but deliver us from the evil one…” We must be so aware of our victories that can only come by Christ alone. It is by His grace that I can laugh in the face of temptation; through our prayers, God makes a way for us to cross the Red Sea of our carnality.

“For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” Just as we begin in worship, we end in worship. It is by His power and authority that we tread upon the grounds of this world as ambassadors of God’s kingdom. For that, we say, “Hallelujah!” and “Amen!”

To learn more about prayer and the various ministries at Oral Roberts University (ORU), please visit https://www.oru.edu/