The Lords Prayer
Matthew 6.
9 Pray then like this:
It is important to note that the Lord’s prayer isn’t the only scriptural text on prayer. It is therefore not a prescriptive template for how we must always pray, although it does provide a descriptive means of understanding how we should approach prayer.
“Our Father in heaven,
The first principal in approaching our prayer life is that we do so to our Father, who is not like us. But has revealed himself to us as a Father. What a magnificent reality that the God ‘in heavan’ wants us to relate to him as our father.
When we approach our God in prayer, we give him the position he deserves, this should fill us with awe as we have the opportunity to commune with the living God of the universe, but also faith, for it is he who hears our prayers, and invites us to present our petitions to him. To him who is a loving, caring father.
hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
These sections then show us the desire of our prayer. The ultimate desire of faithful prayer is that God’s name would be glorified and magnified in all the earth, in our lives, in our work, in our families and in our faithfulness to him.
We then agree with the will of God, and we pray that his Kingdom come, and his will be done. This requires great humility, as we don’t primarily that our needs be met, that our names be lifted up or that our desires be fulfilled, but his.
11 Give us this day our daily bread,
Next we bring a daily needs before our father who lovingly provides for us, and does so abundantly. In this we may present our requests, and we may also consider how we can use what God has and does give us to bless others.
12 and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
As we live repentant lives we ask that our sins be forgiven, not because our justification in Christ has somehow worn off, but because we wish to restore the personal fellowship with God that we may have hindered with our sin.
We then consider, because of the grace and forgiveness that we find in the loving arms of the Father, how we can forgive all those that sin against us.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Finally, we address our battle with sin, and invite God into it with us, recognising that alone we are powerless. Yet with his strong hand guiding us we can stand firm. In prayer we ask God into our daily life and rely on him to lead us in all that we do.
