The Lord's Prayer
What is "The Lord's Prayer" and what can we learn from it?
We find what is commonly referred to as "The Lord's Prayer" in Matthew chapter 6:
Jesus told His disciples, "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen." - Matt. 6:9-13
Should Christians only pray this type of prayer? Should Christians pray this prayer on a daily basis? I believe the answer to these questions is "no" as that is not necessary. Jesus even mentions in verses 7-8 just preceding this prayer not to use "vain repetitions as the heathen do." If we simply pray this prayer daily, aren't we guilty of doing exactly that? God knows what our needs are as Jesus tells us this in verse 8. So, what can we learn from "The Lord's Prayer"?
The purpose of "The Lord's Prayer" which Jesus gives His disciples is to provide an example or format of how we can pray to our Heavenly Father on a daily basis. There are many details in this prayer which can teach us how to effectively pray and receive answers.
Notice Christ starts off the prayer with reverence to God the Father. He uses the word "Hallowed" which comes from the Greek word "hagiazo." That Greek word is the verb form which is translated "sanctify" in other Scriptures, and the noun form would be "sanctification." It is a term referencing God's Holiness, His Wisdom, His Character, even His very Nature. We are to acknowledge God in every prayer for who He is and how glorious His very being is to us. As believers in Christ, we partake in God's sanctification (we are made pure and holy) because we are now associated with Him as His very child. We are reconciled back to God (not just His creation but born into His family by our faith in Christ as Savior - see John 1:12 & Gal. 3:26).
The next phrase "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" is a reference to end time prophecy which is still yet to be fulfilled. When Jesus made this statement, the Kingdom (Millennial Reign of Christ) was the next event on God's calendar where God's will of bringing peace on Earth as it is in Heaven will be accomplished; but because the Jewish Nation (God's chosen people) as a majority rejected Jesus as their Messiah in His 1st Coming; the Kingdom is now postponed until this age of grace (the church age) ends (see Statement of Faith for more details on End Time events). What we can learn from this statement Jesus made is that we should be looking forward to end-time prophecy which is yet to be fulfilled. We should excitedly anticipate Jesus returning and it should motivate us to serve Him more fully (after all there is a specific crown to earn for anticipating the Lord's return - see article "Earning Eternal Crowns & Rewards"). Furthermore, from this statement we learn that we should always pray in every request to God that ultimately "His will" be done because "His will" is always better than our own personal desires.
The remaining phrases Jesus makes deal with practical prayer requests. Believers need their "daily bread" both physically and spiritually and God will provide this. Matthew 4:4 teaches us to study and yearn for God's Word on a daily basis. God promises to meet our physical and spiritual needs (see Matt. 28:20, Luke 12:22-31, & John 14:16-21), but we should pray continually for this to remind ourselves to read His Word and dedicate ourselves to live for His glory.
"Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" means that we should ask God to forgive our sins or offenses towards Him and in turn we need to forgive others of their sins against us. The words "debts" and "debtors" should better be translated "sins" or "offenses" as that is the meaning of the Greek words behind them.
Lastly, Christ tells us to pray God will "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever." As believers in Christ, our old sinful nature can still tempt us to sin (as well as the Devil and his demons can tempt us with evil), but this is not God's will for our lives. God wants us to experience peace, joy, blessings, and eternal rewards which He is able and anxious to give us according to the last statement in this prayer. As believers in Christ, we have the power to defeat sinful desires and temptations, but we must yield to the Holy Spirit inside of us by applying the truth of God's Word (see article "Are You Completely Yielded to God"?)
As you can see from the analysis above, "The Lord's Prayer" has many teaching facets for believers today on how to effectively pray. It is not a prayer simply to be repeated in vain repetitions, but it is a prayer we can learn from and apply its truth and principles in our daily conversation with the Lord. Our God is a gracious and loving God who is ready to meet our every need if we will only be obedient to His Words and ask Him in faith according to His Will.
