Our Lord's Prayer

Matthew 6:9-13

Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

Your kingdom come

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,

As we forgive our debtors.

And do not lead us into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one.

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen

I am of the belief that repeating the Lord’s prayer out of memory only, truly takes away from it's value to us. There is so much involved in the Words our LORD used. One should study this prayer, and  say it slowly phrase by phrase and really think and meditate upon it. But basically, JESUS is  giving to us a model prayer. One must understand that a prayer is always dependent upon relationship one has with our FATHER, and thus it is significant that the prayer opens expressing relationship. This how JESUS teaches us to start. Not just this prayer, but every time we pray we need to know that we are speaking to the Creator and lover of our very soul. What follows is what I understand each phrase of the prayer to truly mean.

1. “Our Father” (denotes a personal relationship with God and other believers)

1. The word “our”signifies the believer’s brotherly relationship with all other Christians. While the Bible nowhere presents the universal Fatherhood of God, it does declare the universal brotherhood of believers

2. The word “Father”signifies the relationship between God and the believer

2. “In heaven” (Faith)

1. This denotes faith in the belief that there is a place where God resides

2. Paul declares that without this element, our prayers are useless (Hebrews 11:6 )

3. “Hallowed be Your name” (Worship)

1. King David felt that worship was such an important part of prayer, that he appointed a special group of men who did nothing else in the Temple but praise and worship God (1Chronicles 23:5; 25:1; 25:7)

2. In Revelation, John sees four special angels who exist solely to worship God and who “rest not day or night, saying Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come” (Revelation 4:8)

3. Jesus says that God is seeking those who will worship Him in Spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24 0

4. “Your Kingdom come” (Expectation)

1. There is an expectation for the millennial Kingdom spoken of in the OT (Isaiah 2:2-4; 25:8; 65:25) Later John eludes to the same Kingdom we have an expectation of (Revelation 20:1-6)

5. “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Submission)

1. We should always submit our will to His, and in time our will always be as His will

2. Jesus gives us the perfect example of submitting to God in the garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:39)

6. “Give us this day our daily bread” (Petition)

1. Our praying should be like our eating habits, daily, so we can be refilled daily as we are leaky vessels

7. “And forgive us our debts” (Confession)

1. Our sins are forgiven through the blood of Christ, but we must never make excuses for our faults

2. We need to confess our sins and ask for forgiveness and He promises to forgive us (1John 1:9)

8. “As we forgive our debtors” (Compassion)

1. Jesus told Peter that we should forgive those who offend us 70 times 7 (Matthew 18:21-22)

2. Jesus went on to tell the parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18:21-35)

9. “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Dependence)

1. It must be pointed out that God never promised to keep us from being tempted

2. He does however promise to see us through the temptations and give us a way out (1Corinthians 10:13)

10. “For Yours is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory forever. Amen” (Acknowledgement)

1. God reigns over all, It is all His creations, He is the forever “I AM”

1. He can accomplish anything we ask should he so desire, we are weak He is strong. Whatever He desires He can do with His power. If He so desires, He could even change the laws of nature, He made them

2. God is the Glory, He is the abundance, the wealth, and the treasures we should seek (Psalm 19:1)

3. To be fair I must point out that none of the ancient manuscripts have this ending doxology

4. However let’s compare it with what David said in his prayer to God (1Chronicles 29:10-19)