Blueprint for Prayer

I recently had the privilege of explaining prayer to a friend who asked me, "How do I pray?" Because Jesus gave us the model of prayer, I could easily refer her to the Lord's Prayer, which she knew. She told me she really just thought of it as words and it did not seem like the kind of intimate prayer I had been telling her is possible.

"Oh, but it is." I told her. You see, the Disciples asked Jesus directly just like my friend asked me, "How should we pray?" The Lord's Prayer, commonly called the Our Father, is a very intimate prayer when we think about what we are saying.

At the first sentence, "Our Father, who art in heaven..." Jesus is telling us we can actually call the Creator of the Universe, the Living, Loving God, our very own father God. Jesus shares His Father with us. He could have said, "Oh, Most High God, LORD of all creation," but Jesus wanted to give us that intimacy that a child has with his/her father. Isn't that marvelous!

"Hallowed be Thy name"is the next part of the prayer. We don't use the word 'hallowed' currently. The closest we get is the term Halloween or hallowed evening, which is what October 31st was called, before it became the costume wearing, candy munching, prank filled night it now is. This term means holy or sacred. The name of God the Father is to be spoken with reverence and He is to be worshiped as the holy One. We are to use His name with reverence and awe.

"They kingdom come..." indicates our desire to see the justice, order, and righteousness of our God reign over this tired, troubled old world we live in. "Thy will be done..." With these words we are asking that the perfect, well-planned way of God Himself be what happens in our lives. These words imply trust in the will and ways of our Maker. Following the request for God's will, the exact places where we desire God to execute His plan is stated, "On Earth as it is in Heaven."

The next phrase is "Give us this day our daily bread." This request for provision is not just for food, but for the daily things that nourish us spiritually, mentally and emotionally as well. All we require to live each day is given to us ultimately from the hand of our Father in Heaven.

"And forgive us our debts (or trespasses), as we forgiven our debtors, (those who trespass against us)." With these very words, we are asking God to forgive us in the identical way we forgive others. What a sobering idea!

"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." No man can say he is tempted by God, but temptation exists all around us and by asking the Father not to lead us on a path where we will be sorely tempted, we are just making good sense. It is like asking God to make the way my path leads, by His grace, to be clear of obstacles that put me in a position where I may sin. The request for deliverance is so important. Since the heart of man is so often intent on evil, a request to be kept from it is vital. Only God Himself, through the blood of His Son, Jesus can provide total deliverance from evil.

Often the Lord's Prayer is ended with the acknowledgement of our God's sovereignty, "For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever, Amen." So we end where we began, before the Mighty God, whom Jesus said we can call our Father, just as He does. What an amazing opportunity to pray using the very design given by our Savior! I hope you will think about what you are saying the next time you pray this wonderful prayer. Pray it well and pray it often giving your concentration to Him and giving the words the thought they deserve. Doma