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Almost everyone is familiar with the instructions Jesus gave His disciples when they asked Him to teach them to pray (Luke 11:1). What we call “the Lord’s Prayer” is really the Lord’s disciples’ prayer—a pattern to be followed whenever they prayed (Matthew 6:9-13):
• Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
If it’s true that the first words out of our mouth indicate what is most important to us, then adoration of God is a good place to begin. Acknowledging the holiness of God (hallowing His name) makes Him the central focus of our prayer (Isaiah 6:3).
• Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
The greatest challenge in the Christian life is submission: recognizing that God is God and we are not. Prayer is where we say, “I submit my will to Yours.” If Jesus Christ had to say, “. . . not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42), we will need to do the same.
• Give us today our daily bread.
A petition is “a request to a superior authority.” Even though our superior authority, God, knows what we need even before we ask, He invites us to present our petitions nonetheless (Philippians 4:6). It’s part of relationship-building, part of communication, part of developing trust.
• Forgive us our debts.
Is anything harder than confession—saying, “I was wrong . . . I am sorry . . . please forgive me?” The Bible says that God will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness . . . “if we confess our sins” (1 John 1:9). If we do not confess our sins, we will not prosper in our relationship with God (Proverbs 28:13).
• As we also have forgiven our debtors.
Jesus said that if we don’t exercise forgiveness towards others, God will not exercise forgiveness towards us (Matthew 6:14-15). In fact, the Bible says that the way God has forgiven us (completely and unconditionally) is the standard for how we are to forgive others (Ephesians 4:32). If we allow iniquity to stay in our heart (for example, the sin of unforgiveness) God will not hear our prayers (Psalm 66:18)
• And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Protection is the gift of parents to their children, and God’s gift to us. God does not tempt us with evil (James 1:1:13). Instead, when we are tempted He provides us with a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13) and armor by which we may defend ourselves (Ephesians 6:10-18).
• For yours is the kingdom and the power and glory forever.
Confirmation is when we say, at the end of our prayer, “Father, whatever happens, I am going to trust You because I know that I am Yours. You have all the authority, power, and glory, and I choose to put my faith in You.” It’s a way for us to remind ourselves that we have not come to God begging. We have come adoring, submitting, asking, confessing, forgiving, and receiving protection. Our final words are words of faith and confirmation—what we really believe.
You can use this outline for prayer a number of ways. You can pray it exactly like Jesus taught it to His disciples, or you can pray through it—praying meditatively through each phrase, expressing in your own words what Jesus taught His disciples to pray.
There is no set “procedure” for prayer, but if you incorporate the elements of the prayer Jesus taught His disciples, you will be following a pattern suggested by God Himself.
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