If we have been Christians for a little while, we probably learned to pray from hearing someone we admire pray. If they prayed to God the Father, to Jesus, or to the Holy Spirit, we thought this person had the inside track to God, and we should follow in their footsteps. That is what Jesus’ disciples did. They heard Jesus pray, were impressed, and then as his faithful disciples, they asked their teacher, “Lord, teach us to pray as John the baptist taught his disciples” (Luke 11:1). Jesus responded: When you pray, say this. It was a pattern for prayer, not a liturgy. The Lord’s prayer might be better termed a pattern for prayer for all Jesus’ disciples. Here are 7 profound elements of the Lord’s prayer that will draw us closer to the Lord and provide answers.
1. Address: Our Father in Heaven
First, Jesus tells his disciples to pray to our Father in Heaven (Luke 11:2). During his Sermon on the Mount, he instructed the thousands gathered there to also address their prayers to the Father (Matthew 6:9).
Does it really matter to whom we pray? After all, aren’t Jesus and the Holy Spirit also manifestations of the same God? Yes, that makes good logical sense. So, why not pray to Jesus or the Holy Spirit? Does it make any difference? Perhaps, it doesn’t matter to us, but God has a preference. Read these texts before you go any further and see for yourself (Matthew 5:16; Matthew 6:6,9; 7:11,21; 11:27; 18:19; Mark 11:25; Luke 10:22; 12:32; 22:29; John 5:19-45; 6:44; 15:16; Ephesians 1:3-14). Did you read them? Many other Bible passages could have been included about glorifying God the Father, but from what you read, what is your conclusion?
Stop and think for a moment. Did Jesus ever tell his disciples to pray to himself? When?
God the Father designed the earth and planned our redemption, our salvation from sin, and knows everything that has or will go on in our lives. Why do we slight his authority?
Praying to Jesus also sounds funny. Funny? Yes. Just listen to how a Jesus prayer begins and ends: Dear Jesus…in Jesus’ name amen. If you have the first part, why do you need the ending? Well, a person might respond, because we are supposed to end our prayers that way. Really?
Just what does “In Jesus name mean?” It means for the sake of or done under the authority of a person. So, we pray to Jesus to answer in his own authority or for his own sake? Wouldn’t he do that anyway? Doesn’t it make more sense to pray to our Father in Heaven to answer our prayers for the sake of Jesus his dear Son? I think the latter is what the Bible teaches.
What about praying to the Holy Spirit? Does any Scripture tell us to pray to him? No.
When we pray to the Father in the name of Jesus, we honor God the Father. Then the Holy Spirit takes our prayers, and with groans of compassion, speaks to him of our needs (Romans 8:26-27). He then brings life, encouragement, hope, conviction, or empowers us to do the will of God. He can do this because he knows the mind of God the Father and of Christ. He works in perfect concert, helping the Son and us do the will of his Father (Romans 8:27).
If you want to know more about the trinity or the triune nature of God, there is a good resource on my website.
2. Adoration: Hallowed be thy name
The word Hallowed means holy. Jesus is encouraging us to worship the Father. Remember that it is our Most Holy God that we worship and adore. You can spend time doing this in a holy hush of quietness, rehearsing in awe of all that God is and what he has done, or shout and sing his praises. If you are praying and kind of shy about public displays, do this in private. Lift up your hands to the God of all creation and tell him how wonderful you recognize him to be. Do this instead of leading with a grocery list of things you want. No one likes to be used or taken for granted. He is the Awesome God. Before you ask him for anything, reflect on that and rehearse what our Great King has done.
Do you want some help? Here is a free ebook with a list of his names. Or, perhaps you would like to print a page for your personal use and worship the Lord with one of his names each day. You can download the names and their meanings here: NamesOfGod. Be sure to thank the staff at this website for putting them together. Start with his character attributes that mean the most to you. If you aren’t profoundly touched, singing, or maybe even dancing in your joy of the Lord, I would be greatly surprised. Why not practice your prayer of adoration below?
3. God’s Kingdom
Do we want God to fulfill his prophecies and his agenda? Are we looking forward to his second coming? He does not wish any man, woman, or child to perish but for all to go into the kingdom of his dear Son (2Peter 3:9). We are his ambassadors, and we plea with people to be reconciled to God (2Corinthians 5:20). It is our job to share the gospel of the kingdom before it’s too late.
Praying for God’s kingdom to come also means that we need to be ready. He would wish all of us to treasure him so much that we will live our lives for the king of kings and be prepared for Christ’s return to rule and reign. For more insight into what praying for God’s Kingdom to come means, visit this site. Who do you want to see go into the kingdom? How do you think you should change to be ready for Jesus to come back? Why not talk about it to God in this space?
4. God’s Will
Can we pray thy will be done, O Lord? Or, truthfully, do we really want our will to be done? Do we believe God knows best how to handle each case, whether on earth or in heaven? God knows our individual situations and all the ins and outs of them. He has all power and wisdom (omniscience). There used to be a sitcom television program called Father Knows Best. Perhaps you have seen the reruns on classic tv channels. Anyway, do we believe our Heavenly Father Knows Best? Why not rehearse those words and pray for his will to be done?What is God’s will? Again, here is a link that explains it.
What do you want God to do in your life? After reading about God’s will in the above link, why not write it out now and pray about it according to his revealed will.
5. Help against Temptation
Do we think we can handle it, so we don’t need to pray? We don’t need help? Ha! How is that working for us? Not well, I’m guessing. We all sin every day through or deeds or by refusing to do something right. Even the Apostle Paul confesses his struggle with his sins in one of his letters. His only victory over sin was his relationship with Christ (Romans 7:1-25).
Have we forgotten that we have an adversary? “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” (1Peter 5:8-9, NIV). The devil is a powerful foe. We need God’s help against his temptations, so we should pray and ask God to not let him lead us into temptation but deliver us from the evil one. What temptations and evil are we facing right now? Why not use this space and pray about it?
6. Praying about our Needs
Ahh, finally, we get to do what we came for–to pray for what we want. God is not Santa Clause, but he desires to hear and grant our requests. However, notice Jesus says to pray for our daily bread, i.e., our needs, not necessarily our wants. Many times God does both, but he tells us to pray about our needs for food, clothing, and shelter. For many places in the world, this is enough.
Can we ask for what we want? Sure. Jesus also said, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Some of us are too shy to ask, but God wants us to.
“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! Matthew 7:7-11, NIV
James, the half-brother of Jesus, said, “You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” (4:2-3)
So, we should ask but ask for the right reasons. Why not practice that now?
7. Giving and Receiving Forgiveness
Hmm. This can be a tough one if someone has done us wrong. We like to keep records of their wrongs to justify our actions, punish them, or use them for ammunition if needed. But God wants good relationships in his human creation–nothing between spoiling it.
When we don’t forgive someone, who do we hurt? Often, we hurt ourselves more than we hurt the other person, and the pain is always with us like a sore that won’t heal. In the meantime, we miss out on the joys of life. Life is too short to keep grudges, and death comes unexpectantly. Do we want to live in guilt or bitterness even after someone is gone? Where will our joy be then?
Do we want our prayers to be answered? Then we must forgive. Whether or not the other person apologizes or even wants to talk to us, we need to forgive them. “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” (Romans 12:18, NIV). Even Jesus forgave those who betrayed him and those who crucified him.
Is there someone we need to forgive? What have they done? Remember, if we called on the Lord to forgive us, he wiped out any record against us. I know it can be difficult. I have been hurt, too. Can we pray for God to change our hearts from bitterness to forgiveness? We may not excuse their behavior, but we can refuse to keep holding it against them.
Do we need to receive someone else’s forgiveness? Perhaps we have done something which we think is not worthy of forgiveness. The truth of the matter is that none of us deserves God’s forgiveness. We have all broken at least one of his commandments. But God offers his grace and forgiveness if we will receive it. Why live in continual guilt and pain when you could live in joy and peace? Why not pray to God right now about forgiving or receiving forgiveness from someone?
Please leave your comments or share your prayer requests with me. Thank you. We are all in this together. To read more Bible studies on this blog, you might be interested in
5 steps to bring ultimate peace to our souls
Satan’s influence; should we be concerned
How we can receive God’s help in challenging times; 4 simple stepsammunitio