Lesson 11: The Lord's Prayer

As Christians, we are to pray. But what is prayer? Before we answer that, what is God? 1 John 4:8 declares "God is love". Now to answer what prayer is, we go even further to 1 John 5:14. "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: That if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us". Prayer is a confession of how God loves us and how He wants us to pray. We pray in Jesus' name because we are forgiven through Jesus, and it is our confession of Grace. Jesus said in John 16:23, "I tell you the truth, my Father will give  you whatever you ask in my name". 

But whose prayer does God hear? Does he hear the prayers of everyone? On the contrary, 1 Peter 3:12 declares "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil". Hebrews 11:6 also declares "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him". So whose prayer does God hear? Only the prayer of believers. Not unbelievers. In prayer, we use our own words, others' words, or the Lord's Prayer. What is prayer? Prayer is a believer talking with God. 

Now we will discuss the Lord's Prayer in detail. First, let's discuss the address. "Our Father who art in heaven". Why do we call God "Father"? let's look at Matthew 7:9-11. "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!". We call God our "Father" because He does what's best for us. Our Father is in Heaven. And why is it a comfort that our Father is in heaven? Let's look at Psalm 124:8. "Our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth". It's a comfort that our Father is in heaven because he is able to give what is best for us! Why do we call God, "our" Father? Ephesians 1:5 declares "He predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will". Galatians 3:26-27 also declares "You are all son of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ". God is "our" Father because we, as believers, are all His children! 

Now let's discuss the first petition. "Hallowed be thy name". Hallowed means to keep holy. The name we have is God's name, which was given to us in Holy Baptism. How do we keep God's name holy among us? Psalm 48:10 says "Like your name, O God, your praise reaches to the ends of the earth". We are to keep God's name holy by praising Him. Also, 1 Corinthians 10:31 commands "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God". We are to live according to God's name to keep His name holy. Oppositely, God's name can also be desecrated if we blaspheme God's name and live ungodly lives. 

Now let's discuss the second petition. "Thy kingdom come". What is God's Kingdom? God's Kingdom is the rule of Christ. But where is God's kingdom? the answer is in Luke 17:20-21. "Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, Here it is, or There it is, because the Kingdom of God is within you". God's kingdom is within believers. Romans 5:5 declares "God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us". The Holy Spirit brings us God's kingdom, and we are kept in it by the Word and the sacraments of Baptism and Communion. But God's kingdom is not the only kingdom in this world. Satan has a kingdom too. Unbelievers are part of Satan's kingdom. We are to pray for God's Kingdom to come to every heart. Ezekiel 18:32 declares "For I take no pleasure is the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!". We are to ask of God to keep  us in His kingdom and also for other people to enter the Kingdom of God, so they may repent and live! 

Now let's discuss the third petition. "Thy will be done on earth as it is heaven". What is God's will? 1 Timothy 2:4 says "God wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth". God does not will that anyone should perish. Let's also look at the Messianic prophecy of Genesis 3:15. "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel". It is also part of God's will that evil be destroyed. First the serpent will bruise the Messiah's heel, and then the Messiah will crush the serpent's head. Let's also talk about the will of the devil? What is the devil's will? 1 John 3:8 declares "He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning". The will of the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh is to destroy our faith! This is why we ask of God "Thy will be done", His will being that all men be saved and that evil be destroyed. 

Now let's discuss the fourth petition. "Give us this day our daily bread". What is our daily bread? Consider Psalm 145:15-16. "The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing". Our daily bread is not bread alone, but our necessities that God provides for us. Of what is our daily bread an image or icon of? Jesus said in John 6:48-49 "I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die". Our daily bread is an image or icon of Jesus. Where do we feast on this Bread? The Word and Sacraments. We ask God to feed our bodies and souls with the bread of life. 

Now let's discuss the fifth petition. "And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us". What do we really deserve from God? Do we deserve Grace? Certainly not! But God forgives us anyway because Christ died for us!. 2 Corinthians 5:19 declares "God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them". How do we love and thank God for His great mercy? Ephesians 4:32 declares "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you". We pray that we can forgive others, just as when God forgave us! 

Now let's discuss the sixth petition. "And lead us not into temptation". Who is the tempter? Let's read Revelation 12:9. "The great dragon was hurled down-that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. he was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him". Satan is the great tempter. What is his goal? To drag us down to hell! But who alone as the power to overcome temptation? The answer is in Romans 8:37-39. "In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death or life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord". Christ alone has the power to overcome temptation, and we pray that God will deliver us from temptation. 

Now let's discuss the seventh petition. "But deliver us from evil". What is evil? Evil is anything that is against God. What do you think of when you think of things against God? You might think of abortion. You might think of homosexuality. You might think of adultery. You might think of witchcraft. Those and a long line of many other evil things are against God. What does God do about the evil in our lives? Psalm 91:10 declares "no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent". Psalm 94:17 also declares "Unless the LORD had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death". God protects us from evil, helps us, and works for our good. What are we ultimately praying God to do? 2 Timothy 4:18 declares "The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. to him be glory for ever and ever. Amen". Paul also says in Philippians 1:21, "to live is Christ and to die is gain", and in Philippians 1:23 says, "I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far". We ultimately pray that God will take us to heaven. We are certain that God has and will deliver us from evil because of Christ, and because of receiving Christ in Word and Sacrament. 

Last, let's discuss the doxology. "For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen". Why do we have a doxology? Ephesians 3:20-21 declares "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen". We have a doxology so that God can do what we have asked, by Grace. 

In Conclusion, why do we conclude all prayers with "Amen"? Amen translated means "so be it", as in we accept this as truth. It shows how sincere our prayer is. 

Prayer is powerful because it strengthens faith, therefore Christians have to pray. Prayer is simply repeating back to God what He has promised us. Memorize the Lord's Prayer and pray it sincerely with your whole heart! 

"Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen".