You have probably heard what has been called “The Lord’s Prayer”. Jesus gave us this prayer to show us how to pray. Incidentally, just because we call this prayer “The Lord’s Prayer” doesn’t mean that Jesus prayed it for himself. He had no reason to ask for forgiveness because he never sinned. Instead, it is more accurate to call this “The Disciples Prayer”, for it was given by Jesus as a response to the disciples’ request, “Lord teach us how to pray”. Read Matthew 6:5-15
To better understand this prayer, we can break it down into two sets of petitions: The first three focus on the glory of God; the second three focus on our needs.
Focus on God’s Glory
- “Our Father in heaven”: Recognize that you are addressing a Holy God who sees you as His child.
- “Hallowed be Your name”: Begin your prayers with reverence and praise to God for who He is. This will help you to put your needs or problems in their proper perspective.
- “Your kingdom come. Your will be done” Ask God for His will to reign supreme in your life. Ask for God to help you get your will in line with His will. Remember that you are now a part of His kingdom and that kingdom cannot be shaken (Hebrews 12:28).
Focus on Needs
- “Give us this day our daily bread.” Make your physical and personal needs known to God. Remember that Scripture tells us that God will provide for all our needs (Philippians 4:19 And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.).
- “And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors.” Confess your sins to God (Psalm 66:18 If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened). If you are clinging to some sin, your prayer life will come to a screeching halt. Also pray for the strength to forgive others, because as we have forgiven others so shall we be forgiven.
- “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” Recognize your inclination to sin and pray that the opportunity to sin and the desire to do so will never coincide.
Make it a point to include these important aspects in your personal prayers. By doing so, you will begin to understand how immense your God is and how small your problems are in comparison to Him.
This Sunday’s live-stream of the sermon will begin at 12:30 p.m. MDT on our Facebook page @cloudcroftchurchofchrist
Praying everyone is staying safe and healthy,
God Bless
Gary T.