What is the Lord's Prayer? How is the Lord's Prayer a model for our prayers?

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

The Lord's Prayer, also sometimes called the Disciples' Prayer, is found in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4. Countless people throughout history have memorized it, and it is often recited corporately. It can serve as a useful guideline for our prayers as it emphasizes God’s holiness, our kingdom mindset, our submission to God’s will, supplication for our needs, and confession of sins. It’s important that if we recite the prayer, we focus on the meaning of it rather than just repeating it rotely. Scripture warns that rote prayer is unacceptable (Isaiah 29:13; Proverbs 28:9). Our love for the Lord should be central in our prayers (1 Corinthians 13:1). Rather than view the prayer as a sort of magical formula, it’s better to see it as a model, as it contains all major elements of a godly prayer.

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

• The Lord’s Prayer is not recorded in the Old Testament, but even during that time, God warned about insincere worship. He sais of the Israelites, “this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me” (Isaiah 29:13).
• Proverbs also warns, “If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination” (28:9). No prayer in and of itself will matter if one ignores God’s will.

FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

• The Lord’s prayer is in Matthew 6:9-13 and reads:
• “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.
• [For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen]”
• Jesus teaches the Lord’s Prayer as a model for how we should pray, emphasizing simplicity, reverence, and dependence on God (Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4).
• The Lord’s Prayer begins by honoring God’s holiness and kingdom, showing that our prayers should prioritize God’s glory and purposes (Matthew 6:9).
• The prayer includes petitions for daily needs, forgiveness, and guidance, illustrating that prayer involves both trust in God’s provision and seeking His mercy (Matthew 6:11-12).
• It highlights the importance of forgiving others as we seek God’s forgiveness, emphasizing relational reconciliation (Matthew 6:14-15).
• The Lord’s Prayer ends with a plea for spiritual protection from temptation and evil, showing prayer’s role in seeking God’s help to live faithfully (Matthew 6:13).
• Jesus presents the Lord’s Prayer as a template rather than a strict formula, encouraging heartfelt and ongoing communication with God (Luke 11:1-4; Matthew 6:7-8).
• Paul emphasized that words without love mean little: “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1).

IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

When we examine each phrase of the Lord’s Prayer, we can see the way to model it for our own prayers.

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name”: Jesus begins by acknowledging to whom He is praying. God is our Father, meaning that He cares for us. God resides in heaven, implying that He is above us (Isaiah 55:8-9). We hallow His name, meaning we declare that it is holy. This opening line, then, recognizes that God is both our Father and our King. He loves us, and He is far greater than we.“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”: Because God cares for us and is greater than we, we trust that His way is better and pray that His will be accomplished on earth.“Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors”: We look to God

for our daily needs—spiritual, practical, relational, emotional, and physical (Matthew 6:33).Our biggest need is to be forgiven. Without God's forgiveness, we are dead in sin (Ephesians 2:1). With His forgiveness, we are made alive in Christ (Colossians 2:13). Because we are forgiven, we are called to forgive. Forgiveness restores our fellowship with God and with others. With forgiveness, we can obey the command to love God and love others (Matthew 22:37-40).“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”: God will not lead us into temptation (James 1:13).

We pray to be aware of the evil that tempts us and to readily see the escape He has provided (1 Corinthians 10:13). Some say that "temptation" in this verse may also refer to trials. In this sense, we are asking God to keep us from harm.The King James Version of the Bible includes: "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen." We can conclude our prayers with a reminder of God's sovereign control, His great power, and that life is for His glory.When we model this prayer, we recognize who God is, ask for His will for the earth, ask for His provision in our lives, seek forgiveness, seek protection, and seek continued obedience. We praise God for who He is, submit to Him, and make requests based on our knowledge of Him.

UNDERSTAND

• The Lord’s Prayer models prayer by combining praise, submission to God’s will, requests for daily needs, forgiveness, and protection from temptation.
• The Lord’s Prayer prioritizes honoring God’s holiness and kingdom before making personal petitions.
• Jesus intended the Lord’s Prayer as an exemplary guide for sincere, ongoing prayer, not a rigid formula.

REFLECT

• How does beginning your prayers by honoring God’s holiness and kingdom change the way you view your relationship with Him?
• How do you depend on God daily for your needs, both spiritual and practical, as the Lord’s Prayer teaches?
• How do you practice forgiving others as you seek God’s forgiveness in your own life?

ENGAGE

• How can understanding the Lord’s Prayer as a model rather than a formula influence our personal and corporate prayer life?
• What does it look like to balance praising God’s glory with bringing personal requests before Him?
• How do we support others in living out the call to forgive others, as emphasized in the Lord’s Prayer?