When Jesus taught His disciples what we know as “The Lord’s Prayer”, He gave us much more than a simple model prayer. Within these few short verses are the keys to God’s will for each of our lives. If you’ve ever wondered how you should pray, it’s in there. If you’ve ever wondered what God’s will is for your life, it’s in there as well.
Want to know how you should treat others? Jesus articulated it in His prayer. Are you curious about how to have a right relationship with your money? You guessed it, it’s right there in the Lord’s Prayer. It’s a brief passage, so let’s break it down piece by piece.
You may have learned the actual words a little differently, but I’ll be quoting from the Holman Christian Standard Bible.
Our Father in heaven, Your name be honored as holy
We begin by reminding ourselves that God is above all (Psalm 113:5-6). He is holy and worthy of all our praise, honor, and devotion (Revelation 4:11).
Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
This is our mission, to bring His Kingdom into reality on Earth. We do this by keeping His commands, and by doing this, we find His will for our lives. This is God’s will for your life: to love Him with all of your heart, soul, strength, and mind and to love everyone else in the same way (Luke 10:27); and to obey His commandments (John 14:15; 23-24, Matthew 25:31-46). God’s will for your life is as simple as this. It doesn’t matter what job you hold or what you accomplish in life as long as you do these things.
Give us today our daily bread.
We are to ask for what we need. He may bless us with an excess, but our request should be only to have our needs cared for. If we have too much, we might become greedy and proud; if we have too little, there will be the temptation to steal or gain it in other unethical or immoral ways (Proverbs 30:8-9).
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
God has forgiven every wrong we have ever done (1 John 1:7; 1 John 1:9; Ephesians 1:7-8). We should treat others the same, not holding grudges, and being generous in forgiving any slight or debt they owe us. Other translations render the word “debts” as trespasses or sins. Whatever ill someone has done to us, we should forgive them, just as God has forgiven us (Matthew 6:14-15).
And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
We should seek to follow Christ with every step. Jesus would not submit to temptation (Hebrews 4:15), so we pray He will deliver us from it as well. If we stay focused on Him, we will not succumb to following the paths that lead to temptation. It is when we let our eyes drift and our steps wander we will find ourselves in the throes of temptation (James 1:14-15).
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
We close by reminding ourselves again of the majesty of our God and King. This helps us to remain humble in our lives, remembering that we serve One who is greater and more magnificent and loving than any other (1 Chronicles 29:11).
If you will model your life after the Lord’s Prayer, you will be walking in His will. You will avoid greed, callousness, pride, and resentment. Following the prayer of Jesus will help you keep His commands, follow in His footsteps and in this way bring about some of His Kingdom here on earth.