by Pastor Paul Dugan
For centuries, Christians around the world have been using the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) to build a life of prayer. There are so many things that seem to divide believers and churches. This prayer is one thing that unites the whole church, regardless of race, culture, tradition, denomination, or worship style. The whole church is included in the “OUR” of “Our Father...” When we pray this prayer, we are not alone!
The Lord’s Prayer is actually six prayers- “The Lord’s Prayers”:
The Father’s praise: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name,
The Father’s purpose: Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
The Father’s provision: Give us today our daily bread.
The Father’s pardon and reconciliation: And forgive us our sins, as we also have forgiven those who sin against us.
The Father’s protection: And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’
The Father’s promise: For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
When we pray these prayers, we are praying the heart of Jesus. His entire ministry is essentially an answer to these six petitions. His life, ministry, suffering, death, and his resurrection have brought the kingdom- on earth, as it is in heaven. And he longs that your life and mine would be a living answer to these prayers. Wherever the Lord’s Prayers are answered, people experience renewal, restoration, and the blessings of life in the kingdom of God.
Jesus did not give the church these prayers as a script to be mindlessly repeated by rote. Rather, they form a trellis. I believe Jesus intended that we take these six petitions and grow a whole life of prayer on them, as a vine grows on the structure of a trellis, or as a jazz artist creates improvisational music on the structure of a chord progression.
Today we focus on the Father’s purposes, building on this second petition: Our Father in heaven, …your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
I invite you to pause right now, find a quiet place, and practice putting this prayer into your own words. For example,
“Father, rule without rival today in...” (ex. in my affections, desires, family, relationships; in your church, world; in our community, nation)
“May your will be done today in...” (ex. in my work, decisions, priorities, plans, reactions)
Connecting the Lord’s Prayer and the Psalms: Jesus built his own prayers on the Hebrew psalms, Israel’s ancient book of prayer. The Psalms include many songs that celebrate the Lord’s rule and reign (psalms of enthronement). Here are a few (click on psalm for a link to a guide): Psalm 47; Psalm 20; Psalm 21; Psalm 24; Psalm 29; Psalm 47, Psalm 48; Psalm 84; Psalm 91; Psalm 93; Psalm 96; Psalm 98; Psalm 144; Other enthronement psalms: 2, 45, 61, 72, 87, 89, 110, 123, 125, 132, 135, 144.
Here is one of my favorite improvisations on the second petition of the Lord’s Prayers:
“Father, rule us by your Word and Spirit in such a way that more and more we submit to you. Keep your church strong and add to it. Destroy the devil’s work. Destroy every force that revolts against you and every conspiracy against your Word. Do this until your kingdom is so complete and perfect that in it you are all in all.” (based on the Heidelberg Catechism).
For a guide to praying the third petition of the Lord's Prayer click HERE.
For an excellent book on praying the Lord’s Prayer: Fifty-seven Words that Change the World, by Darrell Johnson.