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*Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

 

As children, many of us were taught to memorize The Lord’s Prayer and to recite it each evening at bedtime.  This was often a child’s first formal introduction to God.  As we grow older, it is still right and good to pray this prayer word-for-word, provided we say each word with the understanding that comes with maturity.  It is not good or pleasing to God to hurry through any prayer from memory without thinking about what we are saying.  Every prayer we make to God should be prayed thoughtfully and with understanding.

We should also remember that when the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, He did not say, “Recite these exact words when you pray.”  He said they should pray “after this manner” (Matt. 6:9).  Clearly, Jesus gave us more than specific words to say.  He also gave us a model to follow, one we can use as a guide anytime we speak to God. Accordingly, The Lord’s Prayer can be used as a starting point, a foundation upon which we are free to build.

As with The Ten Commandments, The Lord’s Prayer packs an amazing amount of meaning into a mere handful of words.  Translations vary somewhat, but in the King James Version (KJV), this prayer is only 66 words long (Matt. 6:9-13).  As short as it is, entire books have been devoted to analyzing its meaning.  If it has been a while since you studied The Lord’s Prayer, it might be time to do so again.  This brief post only scratches the surface, but it is our hope that it may serve as a good starting point:

  1. When the disciples of Jesus asked him to teach them how to pray, he taught them as follows:
  2. Our Father which art in heaven:  This is how we address the first person of the Trinity.
  3. It is a great privilege to be permitted to speak to the creator of the universe directly and to address Him as Father.
  4. Hallowed be Thy name:  We pray that His name would be honored among men.
  5. God’s name is holy and very important to Him (see The Fourth Commandment, Ex. 20:7).
  6. To dishonor His holy name is to dishonor God and to insult Him.
  7. The first four lines of The Lord’s Prayer are about God, not about us.  It is only in line five and beyond that the prayer addresses our needs.
  8. Thy Kingdom come:  We pray for the speedy consummation of the kingdom of Jesus Christ on earth.
  9. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven:  There is no sin in heaven.  All the creatures in heaven, including departed saints (those people who have already died and gone to heaven), obey God’s laws perfectly.
  10. We pray for the time when there will be no sin on earth and that all men will obey God’s laws cheerfully and precisely.
  11. Give us this day our daily bread:  God knows our needs and we pray for our daily sustenance.
  12. And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors:  We pray that God will forgive us in the same manner (and to the same degree) as we forgive others.
  13. The petition about forgiving our trespasses is a very serious matter:  If we fail to forgive others generously, as we ought, we are praying that God will do likewise with us and withhold the full measure of His forgiveness (Matt. 6:15).
  14. And lead us not into temptation:  We pray that God will refrain from testing us and that He will help us avoid sin.
  15. But deliver us from evil: (the evil one; Satan):  We pray that God will protect us from falling victim to the devil.
  16. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever and ever:  We praise God and give to Him all glory for all things and all times.
  17. Amen:  So be it.