The Lord Jesus Christ taught his disciples to pray to our Fathers(Luke 11:1-4). And he said his followers should live by the words of God (Matthew 4:4).
Looking at how Jesus said we should pray to our Father
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. (Luke 11:1-4; Matthew 6:9-13).
Viewing “Our Father” Prayer with God’s Words
Our Father which art in Heaven. God desires those who believe in his Son Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior to recognize God as their heavenly Father. “See the love that the father has lavish upon us that we should be called children of God” (1John 3:1). Because we are his children God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts calling Him, “Father” (Galatians 4:6).
Hallowed be thy name. Jesus instructs us to honor the Father even as Jesus honored the Father (John 6:38;14:28)
Thy kingdom come. The kingdom of God comes when you believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and the Holy Spirit comes to reign in your heart. When you believe in the Lord, you are born again of the Spirit into the kingdom of God.(Luke 17:20-21; John 3:5).
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. The overriding will of God the Father is that you believing in his Son Jesus Christ. He sent his Son to die for us and to restore us to a right relationship with God (John 6:29). Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life; no man comes to the Father but by me (John 14:16).
However, there are those who believe there are ways other than Jesus Christ to God the Father and heaven. But the word of God says the end of any way other than Jesus Christ is death and destruction (Proverbs 14:12). Yet it is not God’s will that any should perish. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16)
Give us this day our daly bread. God provides for our physical and spiritual needs. “In everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God” (Philippians 4:6). He shall supply all our needs according tho his riches in glory (Philippians 4:19). Seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness and all other things that God already knows you need shall be added unto you (Matthew 6:33).
Jesus said, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God (Matt 4:4). Moreover, the Lord said his spiritual food was to do the will of he Father (John 4:34).
Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. The Lord instructs us to forgive others. And he teaches us how to forgive.
- In Luke 15:11-32, the older brother of the “prodigal son,” who went awry, did not want to forgive his errant brother. The older bother who had stayed at home and taken care of the family business felt that he was a good son, and had no reason to forgive his brother. The Father demonstrated forgiveness by welcoming the “prodigal son” back home.
- A corrupt tax collector named Zacchaeus met Jesus and recognized that Jesus forgave him for his wrongs. He decided to give back many times more than he had stolen (Luke 19:1-10).
- There were people in the Bible who wanted to stone a woman caught in adultery. They failed to sense the gravity of their own sins, and their own need of forgiveness by the Lord. Jesus wanted them to recognize there sins so they could seek forgiveness, and be forgiving (John 8:1-11).
- A woman whom Jesus forgave many sin, washed the feet of Jesus with her tears, dried them with her hair and anointed them with precious ointment.
- Jesus said the one who feels forgiven for much, loves much; but the one who believes they have been forgiven for little, the same loves little (Luke 7:44-47).
However, there may be some grave wrongs done against us that we may feel are impossible for us to forgive. We need the Holy Spirit to help us to do what is impossible for us. The Holy Spirit reminds us that Jesus died an agonizing death for us while we were still sinners. And that he has continued to forgive us for sins we have committed and asked his forgiveness for since we believed. If we have a sincere heart’s desire to please the Lord, and we pray to the Lord for help, the Holy Spirit will help us to forgive others as Christ has forgiven us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. The devil is our spiritual enemy, who goes round like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour through temptation (Ephesian 6:12;i Peter 5:8). Jesus told his disciples to pray that they enter not into temptation (Matt 26:41).
We are advised by the Word of God to put on the whole spiritual armor of God so that we can stand against the wiles of the devil. And to pray “always with all prayers and supplication in the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:1-18).
For thine is the kingdom and the power. God reigns in heaven. He reigns on earth in the hearts of those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. He rules over all authorities and principalities and in the affairs of men (Ephesians 1:21; Colossians 2:10).
And the glory forever. God is glorified by those who worship him and heaven and on earth. But he has set a time when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God (Romans 14:11; Philippians 2:10-11). The kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ; “and he shall reign for ever and ever” (Revelation 11:15).
Amen. So be it, says our Lord Jesus Christ.
