Bible Reading & Quotes

Thoughts For The Heart & Soul

Prayer Was Modeled for Us by Christ
(Read Matthew 6:5-15)

You have probably heard what has been called "the Lord's Prayer." Jesus gave us this particular prayer to show us how to pray. Incidentally, just because we call this prayer "the Lord's Prayer" does not mean that Jesus prayed it for himself. He had no reason to ask for forgiveness because he never sinned. Instead, it is more accurate to call this prayer "the Disciples' Prayer," for it was given in response to the disciples' request, "Lord, teach us how to pray."
To better understand this prayer, we can break it down into two sets of petitions:

The first three petitions focus on the glory of God.

"Our Father in heaven" : Recognize that you are addressing a holy God who sees you as his child.

"May your name be honored" : Begin your prayers with reverence and praise to God for who he is. This will enable you to put your needs or problems in their proper perspective.

"May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done here on earth, just as it is in heaven" : Ask God for his will to reign supreme in your life. You cannot pray "your Kingdom come" until you pray "my kingdom go."

The second three petitions focus on our personal needs.

"Give us our food for today" : Make your physical and personal needs known to God. Remember, Scripture tells us that God will provide for all of our needs.
(Philippians 4:19)
"And forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us" : Confess your sins to God.
Psalm 66:18 says, "If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, my Lord would not have listened." If you are clinging to some sin, your prayer life will come to a screeching halt.
"And don't let us yield to temptation, but deliver us from the evil one" : Recognize your inclination to fall into sin, and pray that the opportunity to sin and the desire to do so will never coincide.

Make it a point to include these important aspects in your personal prayers. By doing so, you will begin to understand how immense your God is and how small your problems are in comparison to him.