Good morning. The Lord’s Prayer is a beautiful gift to us from Jesus. It is His instruction to us regarding the essence of effective prayer. I do not believe that Jesus intended this prayer to become a prayer that we would deem sufficient, so that all other prayers arenot necessary as long as we recite this one. I believe that it is the intention of our Lord to provide with us an example, a form of prayer, so that we will understand the essence of prayer and know what must be addressed. I would like to share the Lord’s Prayer from Matthew 6:6-15, with some commentary on the various sections.
But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this:
Jesus begins His instruction on prayer by telling us that prayer is communication between the Lord our God and ourselves. It is personal, not a presentation. If we are ever asked to pray publicly and we find ourselves preparing our prayer for the ears of the people who are present rather than directing our thoughts in prayer towards the heart of God, we have missed the point. Such an activity could be called many things, but it should not be confused with prayer. Notice as well that Jesus reminds us that prayer is all about quality not quantity. Our goal is not to impress God with long-winded rhetoric. Our goal is to convey the truths of our heart, bringing them honestly and humbly to the heart of God.
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
In every prayer that we bring to God we must recognize who He is. He is our God who commands and fills the universe. He is our God whose very name is worthy of glory and praise.
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Are you ready to pray for God’s Kingdom to come? First of all, that prayer is asking that the Kingdom of God be present and powerful upon the earth. Remember that Jesus preached with several parables teaching us about the truth of the Kingdom of God. Secondly, to pray “your kingdom come” is to join the Christians of the ancient church who closed every meeting that brought them together with the Aramaic word “maranatha,” which means “come Lord Jesus.” It is a cry for His immediate return. But Jesus continues to tell us to be certain that our prayers carefully identify the will of God as the center of our hope and intention. Our prayers should be as His prayer was at Gethsemane, “Not my will but yours be done.”
Give us this day our daily bread,
We have needs. We need to eat, sleep, be clothed, and so on. God knows our needs, and as Jesus preaches in Matthew 6:25-34, God knows our needs and will take care of us. Still, there is nothing wrong with identifying those needs in our prayers. But we should note the humility of Jesus’ prayer, He asks for bread…the basics.
and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Forgiveness must be at the heart of every prayer. It is when we are forgiven that we are made holy and righteous. It is only when we are holy and righteous that we may enter into the presence of God, which is our intention in prayer. We must recognize that Jesus also states the truth of forgiveness as it pertains to us. We are forgiven when we humble ourselves before God. That is impossible when we carry grievances against one another. We must forgive, and we must resolve those issues in order to come to God in righteousness.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
God doesn’t “lead” us into temptation and Jesus’ prayer isn’t suggesting that He would do so. It is a statement of direction. My prayer would be “Oh Father, guide me today, and guide me along Your righteous path, keeping me from following the paths that are not yours, and are therefore evil.”
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Jesus closes His thoughts on prayer by revisiting the need for forgiveness. Obviously, this point is difficult for us but is also essential.
When we pray, these aspects of prayer are essential truths to bear in mind. This isn’t intended to be the have all—end all of prayer. It is a lesson, a tutorial, an example from the master. Nothing that Jesus teaches us about prayer is difficult, but if Jesus is teaching, I believe the lesson is of critical importance.
God bless you in intimate prayer today.
Vern