And he said to them, “When you pray, say:
“Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread,
and forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.”” Luke 11:2–4 (ESV)
This week’s verse of the week is probably familiar to most everyone. It is the Lord’s Prayer as Jesus teaches it in Luke 11. There is a good chance that you have already committed this verse to memory and are able to recite it.
But the problem with familiarity is that we often approach this prayer without much thought. We recite the words out of routine with little appreciation for what we are actually praying.
As we consider these verses, this week my challenge for you is to thoughtfully ponder each petition and the implication of these words.
Father, hallowed be your name.
It is no ordinary thing to live for the glory of God, but that is exactly what we pray here. I confess that God is not always my greatest desire or my #1 priority. Often I prefer to live for my own glory before the glory of God. But the reason God wants us to live for his glory is that ultimately, nothing else will matter. Jesus teaches us to pray this petition because he desires our lives to matter.
Your kingdom come.
We are in times of political upheaval. Many of us are looking for that perfect candidate who will sweep in to save the day. We are looking for a Savior. We can put our hope in presidents, but Jesus is the King of kings, the Lord of lords, and the President of all presidents.
We want change in this world. That change starts with me. It starts with me having a kingdom mindedness. This petition is that God’s reign would extend into my life. It is to pray that he would be Lord. But for many of us we don’t want to give control over to anyone else. We want to be in control. The prayer is “have your way with me God!” As God has his way with each of individually, we will be brought together for a greater good.
Give us each day our daily bread.
We serve a God with whom there are no limits. Everything we have comes from him. He calls us to live with an abundance mindset, relying on his unlimited potential. But we are given to a scarcity mindset where we are left with fear, worry, and anxiety. Each of us has value. Each of us provide value. As we offer our value to others, God provides for our every need. I am not just asking for God to give to me. I am asking God to provide for the needs of all and that I would take part in that endeavor.
Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
This is a hard prayer to pray. I often wonder if this a prayer better not prayed. I am praying that if I am unwilling to practice grace towards others that God not practice grace with me. It is a bold petition in light of the grudges we hold and gossip we spread. Are we truly willing to ask this? Are we truly willing to do this?
And lead us not into temptation.
My spirit is willing, but my flesh is so weak. So often I know what to do, but I don’t do it (see Romans 7:15–25). A lack of obedience comes from a lack of faith. Faithful means to be FULL OF FAITH. When temptation comes my way, I pray God will give me the faith to stand. When I cannot stand, I will fall back in the arms of his grace.
Marliss Laughridge says
Pastor Phil you are so right. Because everyone has it memorized, it is often recited without much thought. Personally I think it is probably the most abused prayer we as Christians pray. I am under the impression that if we do not think about what we are praying, the Lord probably doesn’t hear the prayer. So thank you for this reminder and this challenge to always thoughtfully pray these words of the Lord’s Prayer.