Exploring Prayers in the BibleНамуна

Day 5: The Lord’s Prayer

from Matthew 6: 9-13

Pray like this:

Our Father in heaven,
may your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
Give us today the food we need,
and forgive us our sins,
as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation,
but rescue us from the evil one.

Reflection on the passage:
I smile when my enthusiastic wife adds an extra “and ever” onto the doxology, which is often included at the end of the Lord’s Prayer. At our church, we recite the Lord’s Prayer, also called the “Our Father,” each Sunday at the conclusion of the pastoral prayer. Jesus gifted His disciples (including us!) with this model prayer as part of His teaching on prayer (see also Luke 11:1-13.) As with anything we recite, we can allow it to simply become a rote exercise, or we can let this prayer become deeply ingrained into our hearts and minds as a guide available whenever we need it.

What better teacher than our Lord Jesus Himself to teach us how to pray? From His model prayer, we learn how to shape our own prayers based on what Jesus includes and even in what order He prays. Jesus begins by praising His Father, proclaiming that God’s name is to be hallowed (or treated as holy) (from verse 9). This reorients us Godward. Next, Jesus focuses on God’s will and purposes for our world. Prayer for God’s kingdom to come and will to be done (from verse 10) helps us to seek His Kingdom first in our prayers (from Matthew 6:33) before we jump into our own agenda. Then, once grounded in this God-focused prayer, Jesus prays to God for “daily bread” (from verse 11) or what is needed for each day. God does care about our physical needs! Finally, Jesus turns to our spiritual needs, both the need to forgive our debts (or sins) and deliverance from temptation and the evil one (from verses 12-13). Right in this prayer is the important reminder that God, who has graciously forgiven us, calls us to do likewise and forgive others. Jesus expands on this teaching in the following verses (verses 14-15).

May we embrace this prayer of our Lord, whether we recite it, meditate on it, or use it as a template for our own prayers. Even more, may we pray for our Living Lord Jesus to continue to be our teacher in our prayer lives. He has more for each of us in the adventure of prayer.

Prayer Practice: Praying the Lord’s Prayer (from Matthew 6:9-13)
One way to pray the Lord’s Prayer is to recite it one line at a time, adding it to our own personal prayers. Here is a guide that might help you do this:

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
Praise God both as the one who comes close to you as a Father and as the Holy One that you stand before with awe.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Pray about an area of brokenness in our world that you are experiencing right now. What would it look like for God’s will to be done in that place and for things to turn around to reflect God’s good will and purpose? Pray for that to happen.

Give us today our daily bread.
Thank God for all the ways He has provided for your needs, and ask Him to continue to provide. Lift up to God any specific physical or material needs for yourself or others.

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Ask God to show you any unforgiveness or bitterness in your heart toward another person who has hurt you. Ask Him to help you to forgive that person. Then, ask God to show you any recent patterns of sin in your own life. Repent and receive the forgiveness available to you in Christ.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
As you look ahead at the day, what are some ways you might be inclined to slip up? Where might you get triggered and respond in an ungodly way out of anger, fear, or anxiety? Ask God to provide a way out of that temptation and protect you from the enemy.