The Lord's Prayer

     So we are at the part of the Sermon on the Mount usually called The Lord's Prayer.

Matthew 6:9-13 (English Standard Version)

Pray then like this:

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 also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

     What we have learned so far is that this is a skeleton outline to base our prayers upon.  It is great to say this prayer and we are not excluded from using it but when we pray we should follow this pattern of elements.  There are basically three:  addressing God, petitioning God, and glorifying God.  

     We are addressing our (my) Father, a very personal relationship of someone who we reap the benefits of who He is.  We start bringing requests to Him and there are 6 here.  Hallowed be; Your kingdom come; Your will be done; Give us; forgive us; and lead us.  The first 3 are about God and the last 3 are about us.  When we come to God in prayer, the pattern should be that we first focus on Him rather than ourselves.  

     We petition that God would be known and raised up.  When we hallow His name we are asking for everything about God and who God is is held in high esteem.  I hallow Him by believing that He exists.  I hallow Him by knowing who He is (best source is the Bible).  I hallow Him by being aware of His presence.  I hallow Him by being obedient to what He says.  So I petition that God would be lifted up and realize that I am part of the answer to that petition.  

     This Sunday we will go onto the 2nd and 3rd petition.  These are more petitions to focus on God's plan and agenda and workings.  When God's causes are the things that concern me then I will be praying with the right heart.  

Adam