With Jesus in the School of Prayer

For a prayer guide that integrates the Lord’s Prayer and the Psalms click HERE.

Luke 11 (NLT) Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray...”Jesus said, “This is how you should pray:

“Father, may your name be kept holy.
    May your Kingdom come soon.
Give us each day the food we need,
and forgive us our sins,
    as we forgive those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation.”

When we ask what to pray, Jesus doesn’t give us a complicated, flowery, super-spiritual-sounding, long litany of what to pray. He gives us five simple lines. I love translation in The Message:

Father, reveal who you are; Set the world right; Keep us alive with three square meals; Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others; Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.

These are the Lord’s Prayers.  The BIG FIVE Jesus-prayers.

The 1st Jesus-prayer focuses our hearts on the Father’s praise- Hallowed be your Name. The goal of Jesus’ entire life and ministry was to honor his Father. We pray the same in our world- “Father, may your name be praised today in my life, my family, my church family, neighborhood, community. In biblical understanding, one’s name signifies one’s reputation. When we pray, “hallowed be your name”, we pray, “Father, elevate your reputation in…”

The 2nd Jesus-prayer focuses on the Father’s purpose- Your kingdom come. The main message of Jesus’ ministry was this: “The time has come. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the good news.’ After rising from the dead, he declared: ‘All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me…’ We pray, “Father, may your kingdom come, may your rule and reign become a reality today… in my relationships, my finances, my schedule, my body, my sexuality, my work, my politics, my shopping, my stuff,…It’s all yours. Bring it all under your liberating rule!

The 3rd Jesus prayer-focuses on the Father’s provision- Give us today our daily bread. According to Jesus, human physical well-being really matters. This prayer is not about ‘spiritual bread’ but about material, bodily, everyday, tangible human needs. Note the key word, basic: Jesus did not tell us to pray, ‘Father, give us our daily Iced Blended Mocha Frappaccino with whip.” No, we are to pray for daily bread- a basic staple of life. Luther added: “As we pray for bread we are praying at the same time for everything necessary for the preservation of human life, clean drinking water, a healthy body, good weather, house, home, …good business and government, justice and peace.”

The 4th Jesus-prayer focuses on the Father’s pardon and reconciliation:  Forgive us…, as we forgive…. Sin is essentially seeking my own kingdom over God’s, my own name over God’s, my own will over God’s. Sin involves trespasses (the wrong I’ve done) and debts (the good I’ve left undone). I find this 4th Jesus prayer-the most challenging, because in it Jesus ties our forgiveness to how we forgive others: “We are essentially saying, “Father, I ask you to forgive me in the same way that I forgive those who have sinned against me.”

Finally, the 5th Jesus-prayer focuses on the Father’s protection- Lead us not into temptation. We are in a spiritual battle: the devil, the world and our own flesh never stop attacking us, seducing, deceiving, dividing, distracting, discouraging,, and so on. Like sheep, we are profoundly vulnerable. And the Father is our Good Shepherd.

These are the Lord’s Prayers, focusing on the priorities of Jesus: the Father’s Praise, Purpose, Provision, Pardon, and Protection. When we ask, ‘teach us to pray, Lord,’ Jesus doesn’t give us a formula or mantra for rote repetition. Jesus gives us a trellis- a framework for growing a lifetime of prayer.