2 He said to them, "When you pray, say: "`Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.'"
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One thing was clear to the disciples: Jesus had a prayer life the likes of which they had never seen before. Realizing that his communication with God created the deepest, most intense connection they had ever seen, they asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. Jesus responded by giving them a model prayer, the one we read in this short passage. Jesus didn't intend that this "Lord's prayer" be something for his followers to thoughtlessly recite. Instead, through this prayer Jesus taught his followers about the basic elements we should include in all our prayers to God.
First, because he is our heavenly Father, we have no need that God can't meet. His resources are unlimited and his power is infinite. As a father cares for a child, so God cares for his people.
Second, we should pray that God's name will be revered and esteemed. While God is our heavenly Father, Jesus wants us to realize that he also is almighty God and that he must be revered. That is, we should pray that our lives will honor God's person and works. We do that when we trust him (Romans 4:20), give him thanks (Psalm 50: 23), obey him (1 Corinthians 10: 31) and are constantly aware of his presence (Psalm 16: 8).
Third, as followers of Jesus we should pray that Gods kingdom will come in us and on the earth. We need to live in such a way that the Kingdom of God will be seen in our words and actions. At the same time, we need to live in anticipation of Jesus' return and the establishment of his kingdom on earth. Remember, Jesus did promise to come back again (Matthew 24; 30- 44).
Fourth, we should ask God to meet our daily needs and the needs of those around us. This directive brings the realm of prayer into the real world. Having prayed about God's Kingdom, we're to look around us to see people's needs. Only God can supply what we and other people needs, and he does so in response to prayer. In the Greek language the word for "give" is a present imperative, indicating that we're to ask God to continually meet our daily needs. When we realize that all we are and have and do comes directly from God's hand and as a result of his blessing in our lives, this prayer becomes a natural part of our daily conversation with God.
Fifth, because sin creates a barrier between us and God, it's imperative that we seek God's forgiveness every single day. That means we must first confess to him the sin's we've committed, realizing that we have failed many times during the day to live up to his standard for our lives. And, as we request God's forgiveness, we also need to consciously extend forgiveness to those who have wronged us.
Sixth, our prayers should involve a request that God protect us from temptation. Of course, God never Leeds us into temptation; that's a result of out own sinful inclinations (see James 1: 13 - 14). Jesus' statement here means that we need to ask for God's help in leading us away from temptation. A good prayer in this instance is this: "Lord, keep me from the inclination to sin when I have the opportunity, and from the opportunity to sin when I have the inclination." Taking this prayer a step further, it's helpful to identify the specific areas where we're weak and ask God for the grace we need to stand strong against temptation in those areas.
After giving his disciples this model prayer, Jesus told them that the key to answered prayer was in the asking (Luke 11: 9 -10). God delights in meeting the needs of his children, but we must first ask. To help you follow the Lord's model, Jot down the six parts of the "Lord's Prayer" in a small notebook; make it your prayer journal. Each day as you pray, allow these six points to guide your prayers to God.
