10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Ephesians 6:10-13 NLT
JESUS GAVE US AN INCREDIBLE MODEL
7 “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. 8 Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him! 9 Pray like this:
Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. 10 May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today the food we need 12 and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. 13 And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. 14 If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15 But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Matthew 6:7-15 NLT
IT’S A PATTERN, NOT A CHANT – The different parts of the Lord’s Prayer are meant to teach us something about God, prayer, and about our need.
PRAY LIKE THIS…
“Our Father in Heaven.” – We should start our prayers by humbly recognizing who we are and who God is.
“Hallowed be your name.” – “Hallowed” literally means “to make holy” or “to demonstrate as holy.” So when we say, “hallowed be your name,” what we are praying is, “show us how holy and perfect and ‘different from us’ you are!”
“Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” – If we pray but refuse to submit to God’s authority (“your will be done…”), then we are only deceiving ourselves and we’re not really praying the way Jesus taught his followers to pray. As Jesus’ people pray and obey God’s will for them, his kingdom is made increasingly evident to the unbelieving world around them.
“Give us this day our daily bread.” – God provides. He does not give us everything we ask for or want, but He gives us everything we need.
“Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” – This line in the prayer is significant, because as we pray, we confess our sins to God and admit our need to be forgiven. You cannot receive forgiveness if you don’t admit that you need it!
“And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” – When we confess our sin to God, we are admitting our need to be forgiven and that we have dishonored God. Confession is great, but if we do not repent of our sin then we are doomed to repeat it. We are to be fully dependent upon the Holy Spirit who lives in us. We are to ask God to give us eyes that see temptation coming and the desire to escape it.
“For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, Amen.” – We pray for God’s kingdom and power and glory to be lifted up and made more beautiful in the eyes of all people. “Amen” is an expression that means, “So be it” or “Make it so.”
Remember, in prayer, God is far more interested in our communicating with Him and speaking from our hearts than He is in the specific words we use.
Philippians 4:6-7 declares, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Next Steps…
- I will follow the model of prayer that Jesus gave us and seek to make it sincere and personal.
- I will not walk in fear of the enemy but will walk in peace knowing that God is in control.
