Going Back to the Basics: Praying The Lord's Prayer

As Christians we sometimes get away from the fundamentals of our faith and the foundational truths that our Christian walk was built upon. For that reason I believe it's time to get back to the basics of prayer. What better place to begin than with the Lord's prayer? 

Jesus understood better than anyone the value and power of prayer. Throughout the gospels we see how Jesus often withdrew to a quiet place to pray. By following His example we see how vitally important it is to remain in constant fellowship and communication with the Father. Prayer was the secret to Jesus' success and the power behind His ministry on earth. 

There are two portions of scripture where Jesus taught His disciples how to pray. Matthew 6:5-15 and Luke 11:1-4. 

The passage in Matthew 6 is my personal favorite because Jesus shared a few prerequisites to prayer which causes us to examine our heart motives. 

First, He taught us not to be like the hypocrites who want to be seen by others. Instead we are to go into our room and shut the door, and pray to our Father in secret, and He will see us and reward us openly (vs. 5,6).

Secondly, Jesus instructed us to not use vain repetitions (repeating the same words over and over) as the heathen do, thinking their prayers would be heard because of their many words. This is unnecessary because our heavenly Father already knows what we need even before we ask (Matthew 6:7,8). God is not looking for lengthy prayers, but prayers that come from a sincere heart.

Then Jesus said, "In this manner therefore, pray..."

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name (vs. 9).

Who do we pray to?

When we pray we must direct our prayers to God our Father. This will flow naturally if we have a revelation of God's heart towards us, and know that He is our loving Father. From the moment we come into relationship with God by accepting Jesus as our personal Lord and savior, we are adopted into God’s family. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, Abba Father (Romans 8:14). During His time on earth, when Jesus prayed He prayed to the Father. Therefore we must also pray to the Father, not to Jesus the Son, or to the Holy Spirit, but to Abba Father.

Hallowed be Your name means that we are to keep God's name holy as we speak of Him, and not use His name in vain. We are to honor and reverence God. We are to worship and adore Him for His greatness, His awesomeness, and all that He is to us.

Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven (vs. 10).

Is it God's will or ours?

We all have needs and desires, but in heaven it's all about what God wants. When we pray for God’s kingdom to come, we are asking that God do things according to His standards, not man's. The ways of the kingdom are always higher and better than anything on earth. 

When pray for God's will to be done, even above our own we are asking for the best possible outcome of every situation and circumstance we're praying about. As the saying goes, Father knows best. Therefore His will is always what is best for us. Even as Jesus faced death on a cross, He prayed three times that the cup of suffering would pass from Him. But He ended His prayer by saying, "Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours be done (see Matthew 26:39)." Jesus surrendered to the will of God knowing that God's way although very painful, would render the highest and best outcome for all.

Give us this day our daily bread (vs. 11).

Are we taking life one day at a time?

Each day presents it's own challenges. When we look to far ahead we can easily enter into worry and become concerned about what will happen tomorrow or the next day. We need only to concern ourselves with the needs of each new day as granted to us as a gift from God. 

Even when the Israelites were on their journey through the wilderness between Egypt and the promised land, God provided them with manna but they were not allowed to store it up or save it for the next day. God wanted them to walk by faith and not by sight. He wanted them to learn to trust Him for their daily provision. The same holds true for us today. God wants us to ask for what we need one day at a time. 

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors (vs. 12) 

Are we forgiven and forgiving?

We all make mistakes. If we want to be forgiven for the mistakes we make and the things we do wrong we must forgive those who have wronged, hurt us, or offended us (see Matthew 6:12,14-15). As long we hold on to the things we should let go of, we will hinder our prayers from being heard by our heavenly Father (see Psalm 66:18). The goal of prayer is the ear of God. We want to be heard and also to receive answers to our prayers. Failing to forgive others will defeat our purpose every time.

And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one (vs. 13). 

Are we asking for help against temptation?

When Jesus was about to face the cross, He told His disciples to pray that they enter not into temptation because the spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak. Only God can deliver us out of temptation and help us to endure when we are tested. We can pray proactive prayers to ward off temptation before it comes our way. 

Lastly, Jesus ends His teaching on prayer with this: 

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, Amen (vs.13b). 

Are we giving Him the glory?

We must understand that no matter what we need, or what we are praying for, every answer comes from Almighty God. It is according to His divine will and providence that He sends forth the answers. As result of His divine power answers are manifested in our lives. And it is all for His glory and for His name sake.  

Some portions of this teaching have been taken from my book Pray-ers Bear Fruit. For more information of how to obtain a copy click here.

Blessings Always.

Kathy