Luke 11: 1-4 & Matthew
6: 9-13.
“Our Father in Heaven,
Hallowed be Your name,
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil,
For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever
and ever, Amen”.
The Lord’s Prayer is one of the most
popular prayers among the Christian fold. It is a prayer that was instituted by
Jesus Christ
himself. Jesus
taught his disciples how to say this prayer and today, it is a general prayer
usually used to round up a prayer session in church services, groups and even
in family or even in personal devotions.
There are countless versions of this
short but interesting prayer. Practically, every growing child knows how to say
this prayer as it is always used when praying. Today, I would be writing about
“The Lord’s Prayer – The Contents”.
Most people say this prayer with so
much ignorance as they do not understand its contents in its entirety. Now,
let’s break this prayer down for easy understanding.
“Our Father In Heaven”
This part shows we believe that our
God lives somewhere – in Heaven. Our God lives far up in the Heavens, but He
sees everything that happens here on earth, even in our darkest closet. He is
the Omnipresence – He is everywhere at the same time. With this phrase, we know
that our God and Father is in Heaven
“Hallowed Be Your Name”
“Hallowed”
means “Holy”. Each time we recite
this line, we remind ourselves that our God is Holy and faultless in all His
doings. We also become aware of our sinful nature as we adore and worship the
true God.
“Your Kingdom Come,
“Your Will Be Done On
Earth As It Is In Heaven”
In this line, we are making a request
that the kingdom of God be made manifest here on earth. God’s kingdom is life,
holy, pure and peaceful. So, we are asking that the earth be transformed into
what God originally planned it to be – a peaceful and beautiful garden where
all we do is to give glory to God through everything we do.
“Give Us This Day Our
Daily Bread”
In this part, we are showing our total
dependency on God. We are telling God that He is the provider of all we have
and are. We are letting God know that we need Him in everything (physically,
spiritually, emotionally, mentally and every other way) and it is a daily need.
“And Forgive Us Our Trespasses”
Like we earlier said, this prayer
comes in various versions, and as such, the various versions used different
words in place of “Trespasses”. Versions used “debt”; another used “sins”, but let
us still focus on this our version which used “trespasses”. This part reminds
us that we have in one way or the other, come short of God’s expectations of
us. We are reminded that we need God’s forgiveness every day.
“As We Forgive Those Who
Trespass Against Us”
As we receive God’s forgiveness in
places we have sinned, we call to mind those who we haven’t forgiven and we
forgive them. The combination of last point and this point “And Forgive Us Our Trespasses, As We Forgive Those Who
Trespass Against Us” really
means a lot.
It shows that we receive God’s
forgiveness if only we forgive others who have sinned against us. It implies
that if we do not forgive people who might have sinned against us, we should
never expect forgiveness from God.
“And Lead Us Not Into
Temptation”
Temptation will definitely come, but here,
we are showing our total reliance in the power of Jesus to overcome the
temptations of this world. The devil
tempts us, but God tests us. We need to understand that God doesn’t tempt us;
He only tests us to grow our faith and to show the extent of our love for Him.
“But Deliver Us From Evil”
Here, we are requesting for the
protection of God over our lives and over everything that relates to us. We
have to recognize that God is the source of our protection; He is our shield
against the evil arrows from the pit of hell. Only God, can save you and I,
that’s why we constantly need to call on Him.
“For Thine Is The
Kingdom, The Power And The Glory,
Forever And Ever, Amen”.
This is a hymn of praise to God
Almighty. NB: not all versions of the Lord’s Prayer
contain this part. This part of the prayer simply gives glory
and honour to God for His unending faithfulness in our lives and in all His
doings.
Conclusion
Like Jesus said while talking to his
disciples, we are not to pray to impress people (Matthew 6: 5-7). We are rather
expected to humbly and wholeheartedly approach God in a simple manner as a
child will approach his father. We are to know that God is the source of our
strength and the giver of our life.