How Do We Pray the Lord's Prayer?

this passage what we call the Lord's Prayer I think is highly significant for Christians and very instructive for us today I don't Think Jesus was meaning primarily to repeat the words because he himself said in the same context of The Sermon on the Mount the Heathen use vain repetitions don't pray like that pray sincerely pray honestly I do think it's very valuable to memorize it because it's helpful but Jesus gave it I think to as he said pray in this manner so he didn't say repeat these words so he has given us a model prayer to teach us how to pray and that's the disciples actually ask him teach us to pray so it's a model prayer Al also embedded in it is some deep theology that we would do well to reflect on it's not trivial it's not casual it's not light like like a lot of prayers sound so trit this is actually profound and even maybe disturbing that deserves close attention and study uh now I think it's very valuable and I use it often because if you look at it carefully has six main components so let's say you want to pray 30 minutes some people have a hard time knowing how to pray what to pray Beyond five minutes and if they have some urgent needs they list those beyond that what do what do you say well here's how you can have a 30 minute prayer meeting very easily six components each one five minutes or you can pray an hour each one 10 minutes and if you think about the content it will motivate prayer so let's just go through it so number one our father which art in heaven Hallowed be thy name so first you start with praise to God glorifying God the one God his name in the Old Testament Yahweh the New Testament Yahweh Savior Jesus Christ so you could easily spend five minutes or 10 minutes praising God worshiping him meditating on his power his character his name represents his glory his manifested presence his character his authority his power so but it's instructive that we never barge in into the throne room with demands we always come humbly worshiping God so prayer should be in the context of genuine worship acknowledging God as God okay first second your kingdom come your will be done on Earth as is in heaven so we pray for God's kingdom we pray for our will and whether we say those words or not all prayers should be subject to the will of God so if we say I want this and I want that there should always be if not stated at implied PS but Lord if there's anything that's not your will for me just please cancel out that request if there's anything that's not going to be in my best interest please ignore that don't give me what I want give me your will because prayer is not about twisting God's arm to get him to do something he doesn't want to do you know that's a mistake in view if I pray so many hours God has to do what I want if I fast so many days God has to do no you're God you cannot obligate God and you cannot earn favors with God you cannot earn points it's prayer is more about aligning our will with God's will God already wants to save God already wants to heal God already wants to bless so prayer is where we get our hearts aligned to know God's will to submit to God's will to do God's will so prayer is more is more about changing us it's not about changing God so we pray your kingdom come your will be done so I want your will to be done in my personal life in the church and we know it's the will of God that not any should perish uh so that leads us to prayer for Mission so here we can pray for home missions global missions our local church our family uh the will of God for our lives for our children so there's an expansive Avenue of prayer when you're submitting your will to God's will and you're praying for the advancement not of Your Personal Agenda or secular agenda or even something that benefits you Sign such in as your nation but you're praying although you can pray for God's will for your nation and pray for leaders as part of that but you're praying for God's will to be implemented Okay the third part give us this day our daily bread so there's the time for practical needs I think that order is instructive because first things first first is worship second is submitting our will to God's will only then are we in a position to ask for what we need if we start by asking what we need we can really ask a Miss as as James talks about it we to consume it on our own lust but when we are already worshiping and when we're submitting our will to God and we're conscious of that then some requests may drop and other requests may be transformed to align with God's plan but having said all that it is right and appropriate to ask God for our daily needs physically emotionally spiritually uh if it's important to us it's important to God it's not trivial so if you're worried or concerned or upset or troubled or needy even though somebody else may say don't bother god with that you should take care of yourself it's fine to ask God for your daily bread and we should trust God to supply our needs it reminds us of uh what Jesus said here in the the same sermon the mount John 6 or I mean Matthew 6:33 seek first the kingdom of God and all these other things food clothing Etc will be added to you so the Lord's Prayer is just an example of doing that start off by seeking God and His will then God promises to help you so he doesn't necessarily promise to make you rich but yes he will give you food clothing shelter he will supply the needs of your family he will supply your financial needs so you have the opportunity here okay number four forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors the English book of common prayer doesn't follow the King James version because it was written before the King James version it says forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us so many people learn it that way uh it it's really talking about our sins it's not debts in a secular sense you see this later after the the actual Lord's Prayer Jesus goes on to explain that if you forgive people of their trespasses your heavenly father forgive you but if you don't then then God won't now think about this we're praying The Lord's Prayer you're asking for forgiveness so yes if there any sins any faults any things you've neglected you've done things you shouldn't do or you didn't do things you should do there's a chance of confession so yes there should be a daily attitude of repentance we should be living a holy life on a daily basis but we should also be examining ourselves and if we fall short uh we shouldn't wait till we come to church but in our daily prayer we should ask God to forgive us so it's a wonderful prayer of forgiveness so just as God promises to meet our physical and and and personal needs he also promises to meet our spiritual needs and we can live in a state of grace and forgiveness and repentance and Holiness uh so but if you look at that carefully forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors so do we really mean this Lord please forgive me only as much as I forgive other people Jesus that's a scary prayer but what it forces us to say implied is I need to change my attitude toward others so even maybe someone's done me wrong and and it is wrong I'm not justifying that and I don't have to restore relationship to someone who's abusive or going to misuse that relationship or it's untrustworthy but I have to have an attitude of forgiveness I'm not going to be bitter or hateful I'm not going to become a victim if they do repent I will be willing to forgive or I'll pray until I can even if they don't repent I refuse to let my life be tangled up with hatred bitterness or Revenge I'm going to let it go in that sense I'll forgive um so we do have to say that now I I don't I don't think it's an IL legalistic sense well if you do this certain work are forgiving these people then I'll forgive you it's not that it's about understanding Grace I want Grace to flow freely in my life that I don't deserve well if I want Grace to flow freely in my life I can't act contrary to Grace at the same time or I'm blocking it so it's not a matter of my good works earning me forgiveness of sins it's that I have to have an attitude to receive God's grace and the only way I can have an attitude of receiving God's grace if I'm willing to let that Grace flow out of my life and touch others so it really requires a profound analysis of my relationships with family friends even people who are considered enemies so it's a it's a prayer and promise of forgiveness but it's also a teaching and a reminder that we have to have a forgiving Spirit um and that our life has to be filled not only receiving Grace but giving Grace and then uh lead us not into temptation do not lead Le to Temptation now this is very but Deliver Us from Evil and some translations say the evil one meaning it's not just generic evil but it's more likely talking about the devil so it's teaching us there's real Temptation There's real evil there's a real devil who opposes us and so we can have prayer for protection so we have prayer for forgiveness but prayer for protection against attack of the devil prayer for um overcoming Temptation not succumbing to it so if you did come to Temptation you pray for forgiveness but looking at the present and future you pray that you won't that you'll overcome that you'll be victorious so it's not a defeat this attitude I'm going to sin every day but just pray the Lord's Prayer every day The Lord's Prayer is telling me I don't have to sin every day I need to live an overcoming life I need to live a holy life and if I don't something's something is lacking so it's a prayer for an overcoming life um and so that has a lot of Dimensions so just like prayer for forgiveness can cover all kind of things prayer for overcoming Temptation can lead to all kinds of what we might call spiritual warfare or even introspection about our lives what is in our lives that's conducive to Temptation versus conducive to serving God but again it's a hard saying because don't lead us into temptation well James says God doesn't tempt anyone so he's not literally saying Lord don't don't temp me to lie right now you know but I I think what it's saying don't allow me to fall into unnecessary Temptation or or don't allow me to succumb to temptation but the way it's phrased you know Jesus said you know offenses are going to come you know no one can escape all temptation even Jesus was tempted but he never sinned so I don't think it's a prayer that Lord I don't want any temptation but I think it is a prayer evidently there are some Temptations we don't have to go through if we'll pray okay so maybe there are some inevitable Temptations but there's some Temptations we can escape if we pray so there's value in praying Lord lead me I think so I think that's what it's really saying Lord lead me I don't want to go into any Temptation unless it's your will or or it's okay and and I'll I'll have a pathway out so don't lead me into any unnecessary Temptation and if whatever Temptation I have to go through give me the victory over it I think that's the essence of the prayer but it's important to understand the theology there's some prayers we can prayer can help us can guide us and help us avoid many things so if we don't pray we're laying ourselves open to the attack of the devil and to unnecessary Temptation and then finally yours is the kingdom the power and the glory forever amen and so we close with worship it's a book end now the critic itical text other translations that are not based on the traditional text drop that because they say it's a lurgical edition of ancient prayers well regardless uh 1 Chronicles 29 actually has the same language so it is scriptural language it's inspired language I think it's perfectly perfectly appropriate to use this prayer from 1 Chronicles to end this prayer uh but I do think as after we made our petitions we should always end with Thanksgiving for God hearing us and uh acknowledging God's glory and power and honor so to me the Lord's Prayer is uh I think we should memorize it but it's not meant to be repeated thoughtlessly or by wrote or said 100 times as part of a rosary it's meant to to guide our prayers to be an example of prayer and to teach the Theology of prayer and the uh Theology of our personal spiritual relationship with God and I I've had it I found to be very helpful as a six-point outline to guide uh my prayers