The Lords Prayer

Prayer is somethings anyone can do, and you don’t need to use specific words, however many Christians learn the Lords prayer. It is also used in Anglican acts of worship.

“When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the gentiles do, for they think that 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

The prayer follows a common pattern.

1. We bless God and pray for our world and that we are shaped by God’s will.
2. We pray for our daily needs to be met.
3. We ask for forgiveness of what we have done wrong, the strength to resist temptation.

The lords prayer is adapted from the words in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:1-4.

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

The prayer starts with praise, the word hallowed means honoured as holy, so we begin by giving God praise. Jesus directs us to recognise God as our Father in heaven.

We are invited to pray to “Our Father”, this draws us towards a loving relationship with our creator.

Then moving on to accepting Gods will over our own, the goal is to align our hearts with God and put His will above our own.

Moving on to praying for our daily needs, Jesus instructs us to pray for physical & spiritual provision and for sustenance in our world.

We confess our sins, and we ask for temptation, this is something which is easy to forget when praying. Be humble, be open and be prepared to apologise and seek forgiveness.

Not only do we need to be forgiven, but we need to forgive others. We are called to love each other.

“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” John 13:34

It is this call to love each other, which leads to the need to forgive even those who speak ill against us.

Asking next for safety & protection, God allows us to be tempted, but does not tempt us. Prayer can keep us from this.

The first step to learning how to pray, is to pray. Try the Lords prayer, think about the words, and what they mean to you. Consider whilst in conversation with God what He may be trying to say to you.