#143: To Pray... (Part 4): The LORD's Prayer

So this is how you should pray:

‘Our Father in heaven,

we pray that your name will always be kept holy. 

We pray that your kingdom will come— that what you want will be done here on earth, the same as in heaven.

Give us the food we need for today.

Forgive our sins, just as we have forgiven those who did wrong to us.

Don’t let us be tempted, but save us from the Evil One.’

Matthew 6:9‭-‬13 ERV

As Jesus continues teaching us about prayers, he gives us a blue print, a model that our prayers should look like. May God grant us insight as we study briefly the different sections of the prayer in order to guide us in the other times we pray. So this is how you should pray:

Our Father in Heaven: Relationship and communication enhance each other. Communication enhances a better relationship and you communicate better with someone whom you have a [closer] relationship with. This beginning phrase in the model prayer creates that environment. It soothes and brings to cognisance the relationship we have with whom we are talking to. He is not just our God. He is not just a deity. He is not just a dictator. Beyond all these, God has and yearns for a relationship with us. But is God a father to all; are we all His children? John 1:12 and John 8:19,42-44 tells us clearly that Jesus brings us into sonship with God. It is only through Jesus that God becomes our Father and He recognises us as His children. Finally, this Father is in heaven - up above. And so prayer is a way of linking us down here with up above. The entrance sets the scene for the remaining sections of what our prayer should look like.

We pray that Your name will always be kept holy: 4 out of the 10 commandments is about God's sovereignty and how we should in our day to day activities reverence Him. Jesus tells us to reflect on God's holiness when we pray. This request that God help us keep His name holy is very important. Prayer should make us to know more and more of who we are praying to - a holy God. In prayer we have to acknowledge God and reverence Him. Worship is not only in songs. We can see the practical application of worship in the model prayer that our LORD Jesus has given us. The more of God you know, the better your worship life, the better your prayer life, the better your relationship with God, the better christian you become.

We pray that Your kingdom will come-that what you want will be done here on earth, the same way in heaven: The heartbeat of God. Prayer should synchronise us with what God wants to do. In prayer, our will should be aligned to God's. The interesting part of this line is that God is sovereign at all times and causes His will to be done and no one can thwart it, but the key phrase is - as it is in heaven. How is God's will done in heaven? There is no strife, no objection, total submission. When we pray for God's kingdom to come, it means that we want the whole earth to belong to Him with Him as the only ruler. This is a prayer that wages war with the kingdom of darkness till it is totally conquered, in our lives and in the world at large.

Give us the food we need for today: God wants to hear from us. He knows what we want, but He longs to hear us ask. God is not only interested in mega kingdom activities. He is interested in even the most minute things that pertain to us: the clothe we wear, the food we eat. Never think that we become too materialistic before God and so avoid asking for our daily needs. Note also that God's provisions for us are daily. Because of the long lasting relationship that He yearns for, He will not give us beyond what we need for the day. We need to come to Him the next day, the next hour for supplies. There is abundance in Him, but He gives us little at a time. When our resources are finished, we must remember to ask again. Don't get tired of asking. because you asked yesterday does not mean that you cannot ask again today. Prov 30:8-9, Luke 15:11-13.

Forgive our sins just as we have forgiven those who did wrong to us: This is in no way saying that God waits for us to forgive our fellow men before He forgives us. God expects that as He has loved us, we should love one another (John 13:34). The same applies to forgiveness and every other gift and blessing that God gives us.

Don't let us be tempted, but save us from the evil one: In this line, we ask for God to shield us from our adversary who never has good intentions for us. Here, we plead for God's mercy. That God's patience with us will never get to the point where He gives us over to the devil to do whatever he wants with us. We all know that this never ends well. While we yield ourselves to God molding us daily to be like Jesus, we should always pray that He be patient with us in mercy (Lam 3:22-23).