The Lord’s Prayer is Jesus’ response to the disciples when they ask Him how to pray. This prayer that appears in Luke 11 and in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6 has been a cornerstone of the prayer life of the church for two thousand years as followers of Christ open themselves to the presence and voice of God.
We are going to be exploring it line by line, sometimes word by word, in this study. Before we can get to that level of detail, however, we need to briefly look at the prayer as a whole and understand the general theme of this conversation with God.
The truth is, God’s face is already turned toward us and his ears are already open to us.
To start off, we want to draw your attention to one of the passages that introduces the Lord’s Prayer in the Sermon on the Mount. These verses have nearly as much to teach us about praying as the prayer itself. In Matthew 6, Jesus says, “when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:7-8 NIV). What’s beautiful about this is that Jesus is making it clear that we don’t need to get God’s attention or try to convince God to listen to us.
The truth is, God’s face is already turned toward us and his ears are already open to us. We don’t need to get God’s attention as if God has fallen asleep or doesn’t care. In reality, it’s our attention that’s needed. We get distracted by a million worries and cares in this life, frequently believing we can trust in things of the world. The Good News is that in the midst of all this, God is speaking and we are invited to listen and respond. The Lord’s Prayer is one way in which we are invited to join in this conversation with our Creator and Father who loves us.
God doesn’t really need us to tell God what we need because God already knows what we need according to Jesus. This doesn’t mean, however, that we will always receive what we ask God for. God is not like a vending machine where we will get something back if we put in the correct payment. Prayer, while it certainly affects God, isn’t as much about getting what we want as much as it is about us submitting to God so that God can shape us and we can enter into the good plans and gifts God already has for us.
The Lord’s Prayer, therefore, isn’t just about us talking to God. The words of the prayer are God’s words to us and our words to God at the same time. It’s about a loving relationship of presence, communication, love, and mutual sharing. We hear from God in prayer what God desires, what God’s heart cares about, and we share with God what our heart longs for and desires. We share our pain and suffering, our hopes and desires, and the Holy Spirit speaks to us to comfort us and guide us. Ultimately, in prayer, we submit to our Creator who loves us.
We pray this prayer because it helps our heart become more like God’s.
Jeremiah 18:6 (NIV) says, “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.” Each one of us is God’s creation. God desires for us to be beautiful, to thrive, and to experience life as God created us to experience it. God doesn’t force God’s shape upon us, however. God allows us to seek other potters and take other shapes, even when God knows it won’t be best for us. But God desires to shape us for life, goodness, and a relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Prayer is one of the ways we submit to this molding and remolding.
The Lord’s Prayer specifically shapes us in a certain way to see the world and life as God sees it. It gives us new eyes to understand what is really going on, where God is at work, and where we are invited to join God. This is why, at its root, the Lord’s Prayer is about God. The prayer begins and ends with praise about God’s name, power, and Kingdom. When we pray this prayer, and recognize this theme that ultimately is behind every line of the prayer, it shapes us. It redirects our thoughts, spirit, and life toward the understanding that God is on the throne of the universe. God is in control and everything good comes from God.
We pray this prayer because it helps our heart become more like God’s. It helps us hear the still, small voice of God that is always speaking. It helps us connect in ever deeper ways with the Holy Spirit inside of us. The Lord’s Prayer is our reflecting back to God the very words that God gave us so that they can sink in and become a part of us.
We are excited to have you on this journey into the Lord’s Prayer with us. May you find a deeper connection with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as you pray the prayer that Jesus taught.
Grace and Peace.
*All Passages are from the NIV
