A Pattern For Prayer
Reading: Matthew 6.9-13
The Lord Jesus spent much of His short life on earth speaking with God His father; the disciples noticed this during the three years they followed Him. One day, when He had finished praying, they asked Him to teach them to pray. The Lord gave them a pattern to follow and when we look at it, we find it contains many aspects of prayer that apply to us today. He began by encouraging them to call God their father. Only those who are truly born again by faith in Christ, as their Saviour and Lord, can do this. Unless we are saved, He is not our father [1]. However, if we are saved then addressing Him in this way should make us realise our close relationship to Him and the care and the love He has for us in our everyday lives. The Lord Jesus continues the pattern with reverence and honour for the name of God. This shows us the importance of our attitude when we approach Him remembering that we are speaking with the Eternal, the Almighty, the Holy One who lives in heaven but must be honoured on earth also. The Lord is speaking about heavenly conditions being realised on earth. The will of God is an important part of this prayer, His children must come to Him in the spirit of submission, ready to do His will [2]. He asks for our daily bread and this shows us that we must live a dependant life as He did; He is the God who provides and will not let us down. Confession of sin and prayer for forgiveness follows and should always be included in our prayers [3], though that was something that Jesus never needed to pray. That’s why we should call these words “the disciples’ prayer” not the “Lord’s prayer” for He was sinless [4]. Jesus knew they would face trials from within and without and so included deliverance from it. He ends with the glory of God which should always be our aim. These words were intended as a pattern for his people not a poem for parrots.
References: [1] James 1v18; John 1v13 [2] James 4v6-8; [3] 1 John 1v9; [4] 2 Cor 5v21; Heb 7v26; 1 Peter 2v22; 1 John 3v5