I can but don’t parrot the Lord’s prayer. For me, it serves as a model, a how-to prayer. Here’s what we learn of how to pray (Matt. 6:9-13):
- Our Father – not impersonal, unfeeling, but loving family; not an amorphous force field.
- Who art in Heaven – not only inside us, not a human projection, transcendant, above all in power and in person
Hallowed by thy name – ultimately we serve Him, not He, us
- Thy kingdom come – ultimately the purpose is reaching others for Christ, not filling our whims
- Thy will be done – ultimately, it’s about His will, not ours
- On earth as it is in Heaven – obviously there’s a great lack of perfection here on Earth that we want to realize, just like Heaven is perfect
- Give us this day our daily bread – notice the redundancy (hence it is important to God) or our provision
- Forgive us our trespasses – we humans daily miss the mark of God’s required perfectness, hence we ask forgiveness
- As we forgive those who trespass against us – it is critical for us to forgive others!
- Lead us not into temptation – yeah, good idea to steer clear of that stuff!
- Deliver us from evil – may we not fall prey to merciless destructiveness
- Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory – it’s all His, not ours
Pray along these lines and you’ll do well! The Lord’s prayer tells you to whom you are praying and for what you ought to pray! I think it’s best to use your own words. Keep in mind the start off: He’s our compassionate daddy, not a cruel tyrant or stone-faced taskmaster.
Yes. I remember: Lead kindly Light, amidst the encircling gloom, Lead Thou me on …one step enough for me … Lead me Thous me on …!
“amidst the encircling gloom” is very nice
thanks for breaking it down. makes it easier to relate.
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great explanation of how he can serve as our “how to”
he=it ๐
Praise Him!
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Love this – I have been waiting for this post since you hinted at it (yesterday?). And, I think I got this from you, but I only recently noticed that everything in there is “our” and “us” and there is not a single “my” and “me.” That we pray for all of humanity, together. This is not a self-centered prayer.
a very important observation!
Well done – Good post Pastor. Lord’s prayer – wonderful model.
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The Lord’s Prayer really covers all the bases. An excellent model from the Ultimate Leader.
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I really love this one. What a wonderful way to explain it and lift it to new heights for those who think in rote. Brilliantly done.
Praise Him!
I praise Him and His Work. ๐
Every day that I pray this prayer it is not for myself only but for the whole family in Christ. “Our Father” not my Father. Yes, I make personal requests but I also make the same for all of us.
God bless you in all that you do for His Kingdom, by His power and for His glory! amen~
Thank you!