Does Jesus want you to pray a certain way?

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Prayer is the language
Prayer is the language (Photo credit: Lel4nd)
This prayer, often called the “Lord’s Prayer,” when it could more accurately be titled the “Disciples’ Prayer,” is not a set group of words to repeat. When Christ said to “pray, then, in this way,” He didn’t mean pray with these exact words. His intention was to give them a pattern for the structure of their own prayers, especially since He had just warned them of the dangers of meaningless repetition. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t recite it, as we do with so many passages in Scripture. Memorizing it is actually helpful so you can meditate on its truths as you formulate your own thoughts. The prayer is mainly a model we can use to give direction to our own praise, adoration, and petitions. It is not a substitute for our own prayers but a guide for them.

The initial benefit of this prayer is the way it exhibits the believer’s relationship with God. “Our Father” presents the father/child relationship; “hallowed be Thy name,” the deity/worshiper; “Thy kingdom come,” the sovereign/subject; “Thy will be done,” the master/servant; “give us this day our daily bread,” the benefactor/beneficiary; “forgive us our debts,” the Savior/sinner; and “do not lead us into temptation,” the guide/pilgrim.

This prayer also defines the attitude and spirit we ought to have. “Our” reflects unselfishness; “Father,” reflects family devotion; “hallowed be Thy name,” reverence; “Thy kingdom come,” loyalty; “Thy will be done,” submission; “give us this day our daily bread,” dependence; “forgive us our debts,” penitence; “do not lead us into temptation,” humility; “Thine is the kingdom,” triumph; “and the glory,” exultation; and “forever,” hope.

In similar ways the prayer can be outlined to emphasize the balance of God’s glory and our need. It can also show the threefold purpose of prayer: to hallow God’s name, usher in His kingdom, and to do His will. And it details our present provision (daily bread), past pardon (forgiveness of sins), and future protection (safety from temptation).

No matter how perfect a pattern this is, we must remember our Lord’s previous warning about our attitude in prayer. If our hearts are not right, even the Disciples’ Prayer can fall into misuse. So how do you make sure you have the right heart attitude? Just make sure you focus on God. That’s why this prayer is such a helpful model. Every phrase and petition focuses on God—on His person, His attributes, and His works. You prevent your prayers from being hypocritical or mechanical when you focus on God, not on yourself.

True prayer comes from humble people who express absolute dependence on God. That’s what our Lord wants in our prayers. The more we think true thoughts about God, the more we will seek to glorify Him in our prayers. Commentator John Stott said, “When we come to God in prayer, we do not come hypocritically like play actors seeking the applause of men, nor mechanically like pagan babblers, whose mind is not in their mutterings, but thoughtfully, humbly and trustfully like little children to their Father” (Christian Counter-Culture: The Message of the Sermon on the Mount [Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1979], 151–52).

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