The more I grow in my faith, the more I realize the importance of prayer in one’s spiritual formation. A child of God desires to fall in deeper love and engage in conversation with God Himself! However, I believe that as Christians we are too often caught in the rush of daily life and don’t make enough time to pray.
Have you ever felt that you just don’t know how to pray or what to pray? Why do so many Christians have difficulty praying and being hindered in personal communion with Jesus?
We will look at the passage of Scripture where we find “The Lord’s Prayer”—the most familiar yet most underutilized prayer in all of Scripture. The Lord’s prayer is not a magical formula. We should seek to learn how to pray like Jesus prayed, not merely what Jesus prayed.
Read the Lord’s prayer before we get started
Pray Praise Unto God
The first part of Jesus’ prayer leads us to focus on God’s greatness, lordship, and sovereignty. The fact that He is “in heaven” reminds us that He reigns over all creation.
What a comfort to know that God is both intimately Father, but also that He is infinitely great over and above all.
Then the Lord transitions to “Hallowed be Thy Name.” The verb hallowed means “to sanctify”; “to make holy.” Praying about what matters to God—that His name is honored, that His name is revered—should be the ultimate priority of our prayer. Prayer really shouldn’t begin with our laundry list of wants and needs.
Pray for God’s Will
Jesus moves from adoration to authority. The second petition is eschatologically oriented. Theologians like to speak of this “already-not-yet” stage we are in as the “kingdom.” But this prayer is not only for the future coming of Christ, but it is also for spreading God’s kingdom around the world. We must pray that the advancement and spread of the gospel comes through our word and deed.
Pray for Provision
Everything up to this point was God-centered. It’s interesting that immediately following the prayer for the perfect establishment of the kingdom of heaven and the accomplishment of the will of God we have a prayer for bread here and now.
This request acknowledges God as the provider of every physical need. As Christians, we ought to trust God to provide every need according to the glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
We recognize that if He doesn’t intervene today, I will not eat today. Food is no small blessing; we shouldn’t take anything for granted. Praying means you and I acknowledge we are utterly dependent on God for our everyday life.
Pray for Pardon
It’s so easy to forget our position. We all have messed up. The only thing I deserve is death and hell. I’m not entitled to anything. As we pray, it’s good to remind ourselves that what we truly deserve is hell, but Jesus forgave us.
The Greek word for “debts” in the New Testament appears only here and in Romans 4:4. The idea is that our sins place us in debt to God.
The latter part of verse 12 is interesting: “As we also have forgiven our debtors.” One does not gain forgiveness by forgiving. But a person evidences his or her forgiveness by forgiving others.
Pray for Protection
Three forces in this world are affecting us as believers. (1) the devil himself (2) the world (3) the flesh.
This prayer reveals an assurance of confidence: “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom” (2 Tim. 4:18). There’s trust in the sovereign reign of God’s grace.
Therefore, God is not an absentee landlord. He is Lord, and He is on that field with me in my struggle.
The Importance of Prayer
I don’t think prayer is boring at all. It is the most exciting portion of the Christian life. I read the early church fathers and was convicted of how they spent countless hours on their knees interceding for others. This passage is a good opportunity to correct some misconceptions about prayer.
Many people have initially tasted and seen the goodness of God in prayer, but over time have entered a cold, stale, maybe even mediocre daily conversation with God. As Christians, we need a fresh glimpse of joy that comes forth when we have a dynamic prayer life.
Jesus was a prayer warrior, and we can learn much from Him. The disciples even came to Jesus asking, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples” (Luke 11:1). If we want to learn to live, love, and lead like Jesus, we must learn this key principle. Prayer is critical to an intimate, growing relationship with God.
Jonathan Hayashi
Dr. Jonathan Hayashi is a chaplain, pastor, and author of Ordinary Radicals: A Return to Christ-Centered Discipleship and Making Lemonade: Turning Past Failures into Gospel Opportunities. He and his wife, Kennedi, have four children: Kaede, Seiji, Anna, and Ren. Learn more about him at jonathanhayashi.com
