Rev. Pamela M. Hunter

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 forgive our debtors.

And do not lead us into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one.

For Yours is the kingdom,

and the power, and the glory forever.

Amen

Matt 6:9-13 NKJV

The Lord's Prayer was given to the disciples at their request that Jesus teach them how to pray. It is a model prayer outlining seven major topics, each representing a basic human need:

1.) Paternal need

2.) God's presence

3.) God's priorities

4.) God's provision

5.) God's forgiveness

6.) Power over Satan

7.) Divine partnership

Let's look at this prayer more closely and then see how we can apply it's basic form to our regular praying (Matt 6:7&8).

Our Father in heaven...

1.) Paternal need- Paternal means fatherly. So this relates to what is inherited, derived from, or comes from the father. In this case our Father God. When we believe in Jesus Christ as Savior, all our needs are met by the mercy of God. That is why in Matthew 6:8 Jesus says that "your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him." Nonetheless, God wants us to come to Him daily, not just to ask for provision, but to ask for things beyond our basic needs. Just like an earthly parent wants a child to ask for things. Usually the parent knows what the child needs. But in asking, the child shows the parent that he or she acknowledges that the parent is the source of that provision. It shows that the child needs the parent.

God wants us to acknowledge Him as our Source. We can call God "Father" because of Christ's atoning Blood (Heb.10:19-22, Gal 4:4-6) And He loves for us to come to Him for everything, He always has time to hear us.

Hallowed be Your name...

2.) God's presence- We enter the presence of God through praise, "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name." (Ps 100:4)  In this case praise means a celebration, a lauding of someone praiseworthy. Psalm 22:3 encourages us to say to God, "You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel." God inhabits praise!

There are three Hebrew roots for the words translated as praise in the Bible:

A.) Hallal- which means to laud, acclaim, show approval by clapping, hail, extol, to boast in, to celebrate, to rave about. In other words, we clap our hands and verbally go on about how great, good and wonderful God is, celebrating Him and boasting in the things He has done in us and for us. Hallelujah is derived from this root word and means "praise Him".

B.) Yadah- this means to worship with extended hands. Ps 63:3&4, "Because Your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name." In this psalm the Hebrew word for praise is shabach which means to commend, praise, to adore, to glory in, to still, to pacify, to quiet. This is used with the yadah praise so you are lifting your hands to God in quiet adoration. Not all praise is to be loud and noisy. Ps 134:2 says, "Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord." In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul encourages us by his wishes, "I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting." (1Tim 2:8) Prayer with the lifting up of holy hands was customary among the Jews and even the heathen, the hands were lifted and spread out toward heaven as a posture of surrender.

C.) Barach- this word means to bless, to salute, to kneel before. Ps 119:93-95: "I will never forget your precepts, for by them You have given me life. I am Yours, save me; for I sought Your precepts. The wicked wait for me to destroy me, But I will consider Your testimonies." It is not uncommon to see people kneeling in prayer. When you do, you are praising God. Thank Him for His word, the precepts, the scriptures, Jesus Christ. As we kneel we can go further in praise by raising our hands to God in surrender and reverence to Him; we can clap our hands together while saying praises with our lips and singing songs to Him. Tell of His goodness. Kneel down before Him, even bow low to the floor. Prostrate yourself before Him while giving Him praise and extolling the wonders of His love. There are times when quiet, reverent praise will take you into the very presence of God as when Moses entered the Holy of Holies. This is high worship...seek it.

I am spending a lot of time on this subject because it has so much significance in the life of the believer. Isaiah 61 tells about Jesus and the anointing God placed on Him. It refers also to the anointing on the believer to spread the Good News of the Gospel. In verse 3 that anointing is called "the oil of joy for mourning" and praise is refered to as a garment to be put on to relieve the "spirit of heaviness" so that we can be called "trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified."

Didn't David cry out, "Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall praise Him for the help of His countenance." Praising God brings God's countenance upon us. And in Psalm 103:1 he cried out to himself, "Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name!" Our soul is our mind, our will and our emotions. Sometimes we must lift our voices in praise in order to clear our minds, set our will to do the right thing before God and get our emotions either under control from the influences of the trials of life or fired up for God. Even when you don't feel like it, praise Him. If you just begin, you will feel that burden lift off you. Keep going, soon the Holy Spirit will descend on you and you will be in the presence of God. Your praise will become more genuine, you will begin to feel it way down inside, your attitude will change and you will be able to handle the day much better. This is how we enter into the Holy of Holies, the very presence of God.

Praise also brings deliverance. Ps 50:23, "Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; and to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God." The word here translated as salvation can also be translated as deliverance (deliverance, salvation, rescue, safety, welfare). If we leave God out of our lives and live in rebellion, destruction follows. In contrast the simple road to deliverance is this: offer praise, glorifying God. By this we receive power to order our conduct (act right) and so our lifestyle comes into obedience to God. We then revive a revelation of our salvation and our praise becomes a way for God to come to us and minister to us.

Your kingdom come...

3.) God's priorities- You will be much more interested in God's plans after praising Him. You will feel stronger - declare His kingdom - "for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rm 14:17)." Kingdom priorities shall be established in you, your loved ones, your church, and your nation. Declare those priorities. How do you know what they are? Read your New Testament (the Old Testament, too). Here is some help, look at Matthew 6:31-34:

"Therefore do not worry, saying, 'what shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles (the world) seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

Well, Jesus said it all! Don't worry, seek God's kingdom and all the needs you have will be met. Jesus, our need-meeter, told us to pray daily, asking God to supply all our needs. God is our provider, our Jehovah-Jireh. This name of God was declared by Abraham when God provided the lamb in the bush as a substitute sacrifice for Isaac (See Genesis 22:10-18). Ultimately the true Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, was sacrificed on the cross for us. This was and is the ultimate provision. The "daily bread" we are to ask for is far more than mere food for our bodies, it is the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ. We are to ask for more of Him. To desire Christ-likeness above all else. Remember the kingdom of God we are to seek is within us! Luke 17:20 & 21: "Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say 'see here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you."

Forgive us...

5) God's forgiveness- We need God's forgiveness and we need to forgive others. Daily set your will to walk in love and forgiveness. Col 3:12 & 13: "Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do."

Unforgiveness, resentment, bitterness, holding a grudge, having a nasty attitude about people - all of these are contrary to God and Christ-likeness. These things can actually bring sickness in body, soul and spirit, and in some cases even death. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 11:27ff with regard to taking the Lord's Supper:

"Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep (are dead). For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged."

In other words, examine yourself, if you have anything against someone, go and get it straightened out, forgive and be forgiven - otherwise, if you take the Lord's supper and don't forgive, you bring judgment upon your own body...now...in this life...even unto death!

And do not lead us...deliver us from the evil one.

6.) Power over Satan- Pray a hedge of protection around yourself and your loved ones, "So Satan answered the Lord and said, 'Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side?'" (Job 1:9&10) (Read Ps 91 for more about God's protection.)

Put on the armor of God, do it verbally reading from Ephesians 6:14-18:

"Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance an supplication for all the saints..." (See Pastor Everette's sermon on Temptation.)

The Gospel writer John tells us what Jesus says, "The thief (Satan) does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they (us believers) may have life, and that they (us believers) may have it more abundantly." The blood of Jesus was shed for forgiveness of sins, to redeem the world, to bring us into fellowship with God so we can share in His abundance. An abundance of life in which we are free from the bondage of Satan, sin and death. Ask God to cover you, your family, your possessions, your property, pets, car, etc. with the precious blood of Jesus.

For Yours is the kingdom...

7.) Divine partnership- Praise God for sharing His kingdom, power and glory with you and I. "And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdon. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen! " (2 Timothy 4:18).

All the preaching and teaching on prayer that any one can throw your way will not do one thing for you unless you DO IT! You can pray anywhere...in the car, in the kitchen while preparing a meal or washing dishes, while feeding your animals, hanging out clothes, fishing, anywhere. You can pray silently, out loud, in song. You can read a scripture from the Bible, use Scripture in your prayers, pray with your family, friends, church. I have even prayed while leaning on my horse!

This is what the Bible says about prayer:

Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. Philippians 4:6

Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father which is in heaven. Matthew 18:19

And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. Matthew 21:22

And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us: And if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him. 1 John 5:14-15

If you don't know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, it is just a simple prayer that is between you and Him, and remember, He doesn't expect you to be perfect or even to clean up your life before accepting Him, He accepts YOU just as you are:

Lord Jesus, come into my heart and life. I want to know You. I want to stand against the temptations of Satan. I renounce Satan now, and accept You as Lord of my life. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit, and help me learn how to be more like You, help me to praise You...teach me to praise You. By the power of Your Blood, spilled for me, I am saved. In Jesus Name, Amen.

That is it! You are saved. Please tell us about your new life by clicking on Make a Prayer Request.

If you are thinking about Jesus, but aren't ready to make a commitment; if you have many reasons why you shouldn't be a Christian or if you just want a better understanding of Jesus and His sacrifice, click Do You Know God Offers You Eternal Life? you will find answers to many questions. For other questions you may use our Prayer Request form and ask whatever you like. You will receive an automatic response first, then, after we have read your question and have an answer, you will receive a personal response via e-mail.

Perhaps you would like to know more about the Holy Spirit, select Understanding the Holy Spirit to learn about Him.