Jesus Teaches Us To Pray
Luke 11: 1-11
He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.”
In this passage, commonly known as ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ we see Jesus teaching his disciples how to pray. This is also for us, his current disciples.
The prayer opens with an address to our Father. This reaffirms our core belief as Christians that God is our Father, when we pray we are approaching as brothers and sister to Christ. It also unites believers across the world into one community of worshippers as we pray to “our” Father and not individually to “my” Father.
There are three key aspects that we encounter in this prayer:
1. Praise
This prayer starts with acknowledging who God is and praising Him. We as His children are called daily to meditate on His character and His goodness. The more we do this, the more we will soon realise His compassion, mercy, favour towards us and we will begin praising him. Prayer should always start with looking at God and praising Him for who He is and for how faithful He always is.
2. Pardon
Focusing on God’s character and His faithfulness will also cause us to reflect on your sinful nature. Therefore, we see the need to repent and ask for forgiveness in the Lord’s prayer. All of us have sinned, but by God’s grace and because of Jesus’ obedience to die for our sins, we can ask our heavenly Father to forgive us. Note, how the prayer includes “for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.” showing, that we need to forgive people too in the place of prayer. As we celebrate the unmerited favour and freedom we experience in Christ, we are to also extend that favour to those who have wronged us. This can be very hard at times, and we can always bring it before our Father and ask Him to help us forgive.
3. Petition
After giving God the glory due Him and examining our heart motives, we can now bring our requests to Him. Jesus tells us that our Father knows what we need and what’s on our hearts already (Matt 6:32-33), but He longs for us to come to Him and ask Him to change us as we pursue Him, His kingdom, and His righteousness.
Prayer should always lead us to be more like God. It is not a “to-do-list” for God but rather, a “to-be-list” for us. The Lord’s Prayer is a great guide to how we should pray through; praise, pardon, and petition.
Let’s pray the Lord’s Prayer together:
"Our Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.”
- Desarie Nayagam
He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.”
In this passage, commonly known as ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ we see Jesus teaching his disciples how to pray. This is also for us, his current disciples.
The prayer opens with an address to our Father. This reaffirms our core belief as Christians that God is our Father, when we pray we are approaching as brothers and sister to Christ. It also unites believers across the world into one community of worshippers as we pray to “our” Father and not individually to “my” Father.
There are three key aspects that we encounter in this prayer:
1. Praise
This prayer starts with acknowledging who God is and praising Him. We as His children are called daily to meditate on His character and His goodness. The more we do this, the more we will soon realise His compassion, mercy, favour towards us and we will begin praising him. Prayer should always start with looking at God and praising Him for who He is and for how faithful He always is.
2. Pardon
Focusing on God’s character and His faithfulness will also cause us to reflect on your sinful nature. Therefore, we see the need to repent and ask for forgiveness in the Lord’s prayer. All of us have sinned, but by God’s grace and because of Jesus’ obedience to die for our sins, we can ask our heavenly Father to forgive us. Note, how the prayer includes “for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.” showing, that we need to forgive people too in the place of prayer. As we celebrate the unmerited favour and freedom we experience in Christ, we are to also extend that favour to those who have wronged us. This can be very hard at times, and we can always bring it before our Father and ask Him to help us forgive.
3. Petition
After giving God the glory due Him and examining our heart motives, we can now bring our requests to Him. Jesus tells us that our Father knows what we need and what’s on our hearts already (Matt 6:32-33), but He longs for us to come to Him and ask Him to change us as we pursue Him, His kingdom, and His righteousness.
Prayer should always lead us to be more like God. It is not a “to-do-list” for God but rather, a “to-be-list” for us. The Lord’s Prayer is a great guide to how we should pray through; praise, pardon, and petition.
Let’s pray the Lord’s Prayer together:
"Our Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.”
- Desarie Nayagam
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