"Our Father in
heaven" -- We
need to always acknowledge first and foremost who we are talking to. He
(God) is our heavenly Father. We address Him with respect just as we should
address our earthly father with respect. He is the only true God who
created all things in this universe, including ourselves.
He loves us and we need to show our love for Him. "Hallowed be
your name" -- We must see Him as being holy,
sanctified, consecrated; worthy of praise, honor and glory! "Your kingdom
come" -- We acknowledge His coming kingdom. We
pray that Christ will soon return and establish His earthly kingdom where
we will reign with Him for eternity. "Your will be
done on earth as it is in heaven" -- We need to be praying for His will to be
done in our lives, so that we might bring glory to Him here on earth as He
is also glorified in heaven. We need to do things His way, instead of
selfishly doing our own things to satisfy our own desires. "Give us this
day our daily bread" -- We should ask our Father each day to provide for our
needs, just as He promised in His Holy Word. His Word says that we don't
have, because we don't ask. Of course, we must first know God through His
Son, our personal Lord and Savior. If we don't know Christ, God won't
acknowledge this request for daily provision. “And forgive us our
debts, As we forgive our debtors.” -- This
speaks about forgiveness among our associates, neighbors, friends, family
and loved ones. Any and all persons in our lives that we come in contact
with in social or business situations are included as well. If we can't
forgive others, how can we expect our heavenly Father to forgive us? "And do not
lead us into temptation," -- We need to ask our heavenly Father to
help us recognize every evil thing, every temptation before us. We need
help to stay focused on our Father and see the evil that we might fall
into, for what it is really is, a trap set by Satan to bring us down to his
level. "But deliver us
from the evil one" -- Help
us, dear Father, to steer clear of that liar and deceiver. Let us see
clearly the path that you want each of us to walk. By the power of the Holy
Spirit that dwells within us, may we never stray from your will and way. "For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory
forever" -- This
last phrase simply emphasizes more praise and glory to God the Father. "Amen" -- This
expresses the genuineness of the prayer.
Lord's Prayer
A Look At Jesus’
Model Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13