Divine Dialogues
As Christians, we are all very familiar with one prayer: The Lord’s Prayer. No matter the age, this prayer is one that we know by heart, and are ready to call upon whenever, wherever. Some use it to start their day, while others utter it in times of difficulty. No matter the situation it is used, no one can deny the usefulness and timelessness of this special prayer.
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today 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 the evil one.
For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory
Forever and ever, Amen.
Taken from Matthew 6:9-13, each line in this prayer has a specific meaning. It is a prayer which Jesus had taught us, specifically how to pray, while preaching on the Mount of Olives. There, He taught us how to pray through this model which He provided, and each portion of the prayer is extremely powerful and meaningful.
Having experienced our struggles and temptations, Jesus is the best person to know what we need. This prayer is then a summary of what we can pray to God for through Jesus, and how we can exalt His name at the same time when we pray.
What, then, does The Lord’s Prayer mean?
Unpacking The Lord’s Prayer
Each line of the prayer is dedicated to a specific aspect of a Christian’s life. Knowing what the prayer means for us is important so that we are aware of how important every prayer we make is.
We begin and end the prayer by exalting God’s name and proclaiming His sovereignty. Through acknowledging His power, we have faith in what He can do for us and entrust what we will be praying for into His hands. The prayer starts by us calling Him “Our Father in Heaven”, where we acknowledge who we are praying to, which is this Heavenly Father. Being able to address this God of ours as our Father is a privilege.
“How much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
(Matthew 7:11)
We also begin the prayer by proclaiming “hallowed by your name”. When Jesus taught us to begin the prayer by saying this, He reminds us that God is holy and sanctified, so that He may act in such a way in response to our prayer. By turning the focus on God’s name, Jesus reminds us that whatever we pray about is to be entrusted into His hands. When we call out to Him, He will surely respond in His time.
Afterwards, we end off this prayer by declaring once again God’s sovereignty. This pronouncement of God being in control, that “the kingdom, the power, and the glory” all belongs to Him shows our reverence to this God that we had just entrusted our prayer to. With this in mind, let us now look at what the prayer entails as we petition to Him.
Seeking God’s Kingdom and Will
The first thing that we say after exalting God’s name is to establish that His kingdom is to come. Jesus, the one telling us how to pray, reminds us that all that we do should be in service of His kingdom, and thus contribute to the expansion and fullness of it. We all lookward to the retsored state of peace when God’s kingdom comes. This prayer then helps us to be aligned with what His kingdom needs, and to move towards the restoration of God’s glory here.
When we pray for God’s “will be done”, we are asking that He grant us our prayer in accordance to His will. We can only pray that whatever we ask for is in harmony with it. We know that God is righteous and sanctified, and hence, by extension, His will is as well. When we act in accordance to His perfect will, we can then be in step with our own discipleship with Jesus.
Lastly, we end of this portion of us submitting to God with declaring that His kingdom and will be done “on earth as it is in heaven”. We acknowledge that His authority is supreme, and therefore dedicate the rest of our prayer to His sovereignty. As such, what we need, He will provide; all we seek is then to be aligned with Him.
Our Daily Bread and Forgiveness
Our God is one who provides. He is Jehovah Jireh, who will provide us with what we need.When we lift up our needs to Him, we trust that He will provide for us every day. Remember that this prayer is not to be spoken just once, but rather everyday. Jesus gave us this model so that we can submit to God’s authority and depend on Him for what we need in our daily lives. We come to Him in humble dependence to ask for His sustenance.
“Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!”
(Luke 12:24)
Next, we seek God's forgiveness. It is an important part of our relationship with God that we come to Him in humility and seeking His forgiveness. While our we have been redeemed and His mercy is endless, coming to God is a way of showing obedience and submission.
But that is not all! We also include “as we also have forgiven our debtors”. Like how we pray for God to forgive our transgressions, we must also uphold the same standard to others. Forgiving others might not be easy, but we are called to forgive.
You might face a situation where it is particularly difficult to forgive someone. This prayer is then a reminder for you to forgive others, just like how our merciful God had forgiven our sins, as well as a prayer for God to grant you the same mercy and grace to do so unto others.
Deliverance from Temptation and Evil
Lastly, we ask God to “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one”. James 1:13-14 tells us this: “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.” We know that God does not tempt us, but rather it is the schemes of the evil one that seeks to lead us astray from Him. 
Jesus clearly tells us to avoid temptation here, and also calls us to depend on the Lord for spiritual tenacity in avoiding them. Jesus Himself had went through temptation, and thus knows how fallible the flesh is, no matter how willing the spirit is. To this end, His model prayer for us shows us that it is only through divine dependence that we can resist temptation.
We also ask for His help to “deliver us from the evil one”. What this means is that we ackowledge that we cannot depend on ourselves but only through Him can we be protected from the schemes of the evil one. We know that Satan continuously strives to lead us away from God, and hence we need His help to not stray from His path of righteousness.
Just like how Jesus resisted Satan’s temptations while in the desert, we too must arm ourselves with Bible knowledge so that we too can be like Him, and not fall into temptation. You can also read another of our articles to see how you can overcome temptation.
The Lord’s Prayer in Practice
In summary, the Lord’s Prayer grants us a model of how we should pray in our daily communion with God. First, we address God’s sovereignty. Then, we come to Him in humility and to ask that our petition be in line with His will. We recognise that He is the one who provides for us everyday, followed by confessing our sins and repenting. Lastly we request for God to protect and keep us from temptation, and help us to overcome them should we come to face them.
Jesus had already provided us with a perfect model of how we should pray. Through our devotion and quiet time, we can deepen our relationship with Jesus as we journey with Him.
Want to read more about the Lord’s Prayer? Here are some resources that can provide you with more help:
Robert M Solomon
Revisit this Prayer and rediscover its riches and power. This book draws from the rich history of this Prayer and explores its depths by examining each petition and clause in the Prayer in the illuminating light of biblical teaching and the perspective of the mind of Christ.
The Lord’s Prayer: Learning from Jesus
Kevin DeYoung
Kevin DeYoung closely examines Christ’s model for prayer, giving readers a deeper understanding of its content and meaning, and how it works in the lives of God’s people. Through the book, you can gain the conviction to develop a stronger prayer life and a sense of freedom to do so.
Lord’s Prayer: Talking to Our Father
Tim Chester
In these studies, Tim Chester helps small groups to examine the Lord's Prayer line by line, exploring other passages in Matthew's Gospel along the way. As we learn more about the prayer Jesus taught us, we'll get to know God better and seek to live according to his purposes.
R T Kendall
R.T. Kendall opens up new depths in this short prayer, exploring the full range of meaning in each line to establish firm principles for all our prayer. He unpacks the meaning of each line, brings personal challenges to bear on our own lives, and gives us the reassurance of God's love and care for us.
J John
How Can I Pray? invites the reader to journey through the Lord’s Prayer to discover the what, why and how of prayer. Featuring beautiful illustrations throughout, this book is an excellent stepping-stone into understanding the basics of Christian prayer whilst providing parents, carers and teachers with the groundwork for further conversations.
Bob Hartman
Discover through this beautiful explanation the wonder of the powerful words that Jesus taught. Perfect for sharing and reflecting with children aged 5+ years, and an ideal gift for baptism and first communion.
LifeGuide Bible Study: The Lord’s Prayer
Douglas Connelly
This study guide unpacks the Lord’s Prayer section by section with additional texts that help us go deeper into Jesus’ teaching about how we should pray.
If you are looking for more books about prayer or Bible study guides, you might want to check out these articles that can help you discover which resources are most suitable. We will be most glad to assist you in the process of finding ways of learning God’s Word for you or your loved ones.
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Divine Dialogues
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Divine Dialogues Good Book Guide - Lord's Prayer: Talking to Our FatherSpecial Price $7.65 Regular Price $8.50
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Divine Dialogues LifeGuide Bible Study - The Lord's PrayerSpecial Price $14.00 Regular Price $17.50
