The Lord's Model Prayer

There are many things that the disciples could have asked Jesus while they walked with Him during His ministry here on the earth.  They could have asked Him how they could give better sermons,  they could have asked Him how they could attract larger crowds, or they could have asked Jesus countless other questions,  but they didn't.  Out of all of the questions the disciples could have asked Jesus they chose to ask Him to teach them how to pray.

Prayer is a vital and powerful component to the life of  the believer.  The Lord urges us to pray.  He tells us throughout Scripture to call on Him with various prayers and supplications.  The Lord will work mightily through the prayers of those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ.

The Lord even gave us a model prayer that is intended to be our guide on how to pray.  Sometimes we end up just repeating it word for word without ever truly thinking about what exactly we are saying.  Sometimes it can be vain repetition if we are not careful if we just recite the prayer from memory.   We are all familiar with the Lord's Prayer as we know it as which is found in Matthew 9-13 which says,

"Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
as we have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptations,
but deliver us from the evil one."

Jesus wants us to know the One that we are praying to and that is very important if we want our prayers answered.  We are to call out to our Heavenly Father and we need to do it with a reverence of who He is.  Our Heavenly Father is the Creator of all things seen and unseen.  He is the great Living God.  He is the only God.  There is no other God except Him and Him alone.  His name is Holy and He alone is worthy of our worship and all of our praise.  He deserves a place of honor in our lives that is His alone.  The Lord wants to be our number one love.  

When we come to Him in prayer we must keep in mind who it is we are speaking with and we must come to Him with a humbled heart and a sweet awe as we come into His wonderful presence.
We also should pray that His kingdom will come soon.  His kingdom will come when the Lord Jesus descends from heaven on a cloud. 

We also ought to pray that the Lord's will be done here on earth as it is done in heaven.  The Lord is sovereign and He reigns over all.  The Lord have the final say over everything.  If  He didn't He wouldn't be God. 

We also must remember that the Lord will provide our daily needs and we should continue to pray that He will continue to meet our needs.  The Lord may not give us the things we may think we want, but He will sustain us with the things He knows that we need. 

We also need to confess any sin in our lives and repent of it.  We also need to forgive those who have hurt and wronged us and give them over to the Lord.  We need to ask for forgiveness of those whom we have wronged as well.

We should also pray that the Lord would protect us from the evil one, the devil, for he does come at us like a lion seeking someone to devour.  We can take comfort that the Lord will protect us and keep us safely sealed by His Holy Spirit when we have trusted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

We must continue to pray and call out to the Lord with all kinds of requests for all kinds of people.  We must never give up calling out to the Lord and believing that He will indeed answer our prayers when we call out to Him in faith. 

Let us continue to call out to the Lord in prayer and not give up.  We must also remember to listen to what the Lord is saying to us in His Word and as we are praying in the Spirit.  The Holy Spirit will help us to pray when our words fail us and sometimes they do.  Sometimes we just don't know what to say,  but he Lord knows our hearts and out needs.  He knows our concerns even before we utter a singe word. 

The Lord wants to hear for us.  May we not neglect this time of praying to the Lord.

Lord,

Thank You for the opportunity that You give to us to pray to You.

We come humbly to Your throne of grace.

We lift up Pastors and their families.

We lift us those facing illness and sorrow.

Lord help us to forgive those who hurt us.

Lead us not into a place where we will be tempted.

Protect us with the full armor of God against the wiles of the devil.

Place a hedge of protection around us.

Help us to live for You each and everyday.

Provide for our daily needs for all that we have comes from You.

May Your kingdom come soon O Lord.

May Your will be done on the earth as it is in Heaven.

For You are Holy and Powerful.

And Your Kingdom will never end.

Praise The Lord for He is good.

Holy is Your Name Heavenly Father.

Thank You Lord Jesus.

Thank You Holy Spirit for indwelling all who believe.

You are the Lord O God.

Come Soon Lord Jesus.

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen.