How To Teach The Lord’s Prayer

The Lord’s Prayer is among the most famous prayers across various Christian denominations. It is found in Matthew 6:5-14, when Jesus taught His disciples how to pray after they asked Jesus to teach them. Along with several other biblical principles of how to pray, such as not praying to be seen in public to make ourselves look good (Matthew 6:5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.), that our prayers are our means to commune with God (Matthew 6:6), and that we ought not to heap up empty phrases and make our prayers overly lengthy (Matthew 6:7), thinking that the more words we utter, the more clearly God will hear our prayers. Along with those principles, Jesus taught us the Lord’s prayer.

Father in heaven, help me understand the heart of what Christ taught us in the Lord’s prayer. May I apply these principles in my prayers and in times of solitude with You. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

 

The Letters or The Intention?

Some believers believe that when Jesus taught us the Lord’s Prayer, it was a word-for-word instruction, wherein one ought to pray the exact words that Jesus taught in Matthew 6:9-13. However, with such a view, it would be prone to what Jesus warns us in verse 7: not to heap up empty phrases. In other words, verse 7 teaches us that we should mean everything we say when we pray. Even if our prayer is lengthy, that’s fine, so long as we pray and say each word because we want to share them with God, not just for the sake of saying something.

Even if we pray the Lord’s Prayer perfectly, in virtue of verse 7, it is still pointless if we just recite it blindly from memory without understanding the heart and intention behind the Lord’s Prayer. Hence, when Jesus taught us the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6:9-13, He wasn’t teaching us the words, but rather the heart and intention behind it. It is the pattern He is teaching us, which we can apply even today as we pray.

How Can We Pray And Teach The Lord’s Prayer To Others?

Knowing the heart or pattern behind the Lord’s Prayer would easily enable you to teach others how to pray it. We will be going through each verse of the Lord’s prayer to ascertain the meaning and heart behind the words that Jesus has taught us in Matthew 6:9-13.

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.”

The meaning behind this is that whenever we start our prayer, we are to revere, adore, worship, and glorify God for who He is (Psalm 96:9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of his[a] holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.). Everything is about God. From Him, through Him, and to Him are all things (Romans 11:36 For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.). Therefore, our fitting response is to glorify God and magnify Him. Beginning a prayer in this way has a profound effect on the rest of what we pray.

“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

Because God is the highest, and everything is about Him, the first few petitions in the Lord’s prayer are all about Him, His glory, His will, and His honor. Hence, we magnify who God is in His holiness and pray for His kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. How does that translate to prayer? Think of the example of your workplace or family. What is God’s will in that area? How can God be glorified in that? It could mean praying that reconciliation will happen, that grace and love will abound in the family, or for your workmates to know Christ, repent, and live honest lives in their work. As Christians, it is our job to bring the realities of God’s kingdom into this fallen world through our lives and ministries, including praying for it (Matthew 12:50; Ephesians 5:17).

“Give us this day our daily bread.”

Because we live our lives for God, who is full of splendor and majesty, and desire to do that which is His will and brings His kingdom here on earth, we then pray to God for the provisions that we need to be able to do it. Hence, the need to pray is still not for our own selves, but ultimately for God, His will, and His glory. So, for example, imagine that you are praying for your own needs, not literally bread, but any needs like food, financial provision, or strength, whether tangible or intangible. You pray for them so that you will be able to do God’s will (Galatians 2:20; Philippians 4:19).

“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”

Just as Christ commands us to love others (John 13:34-35), we are also commanded to forgive (Colossians 3:13). This is because if a believer has truly understood the grace and mercy that He has received in Christ, that they were a vile sinner, and enemy of God, who deserved His wrath but got grace and mercy in line with what Christ has done on the cross for him or her, then that person will also forgive others, just as God also forgave them in Christ. Hence, it is not about merit that God should forgive us, since we have forgiven others. We must also apologize to God for our sins, not because Christ does not cover our sins, but because we who have regenerated hearts also have new desires, namely to honor God and live a holy life. Hence, whenever we sin, we feel sorry for doing so. It is evidence of a new heart, for a hardened heart does not care whether a person sins. So when we come to God to apologize for our sins, it is not out of trying to earn a favor, but merely out of respect for the relationship, as we have sinned against our Father. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

By no means does this passage mean that God is the one who tempts us. As written in James 1:13, God does not tempt anyone. The heart of the passage is more about the desire to live a righteous and holy life before God. Another similar passage that carries the same meaning is Psalm 25:4-5 and Psalm 23:3, in which David prays to God always to teach Him and lead Him in His paths and the path of righteousness, so that he may always walk in them. We pray to God to keep us away from evil because we want to live a holy life and stay away from anything that leads up towards evil and corruption, for we who are redeemed will have nothing to do with it.

Once you get to see the pattern or the heart behind every passage, you can teach them to others and apply it to whatever you are praying over. Hence, a practical application of such a pattern of prayer could be like this:

Father in heaven, You sit enthroned in the heavens. Nothing is outside Your sovereign will. May I always submit to Your will and endeavor to do it in the workplace that You have placed me. I pray that I will be bold enough to preach the Gospel here and that my workmates will repent and believe the Gospel. I pray that this shall be a workplace of honesty and integrity. Give me the strength and the wisdom to be a good example throughout my life and to excel in the workplace. Give me the provisions I need to keep me going to work every day and do Your will. Remind me that I am also a person who has received Your mercy. May such mercy move me to show mercy towards those who hurt me. Keep me away from any temptation or corruption, Lord, but always lead me in the paths of righteousness and help me walk in them and never turn to the left nor the right. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer teaches us more about the heart behind the prayer than the actual words that Jesus used. One may recite the prayer perfectly, but that is only recitation. Recitation is different from prayer. Prayer is where we commune and communicate with God with all of our hearts, during which we adore God, pray for His will, ask for what we need, remembering His forgiveness in Christ, and seeking Him to help us live a holy life.