In this manner, therefore, pray: 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 debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Matthew 6:9-13
In this Scripture, Jesus gives us a model for how we are pray. The prayer is called the “Lord’s Prayer” and it is also referred to as the “Model Prayer.” Let’s examine the four aspects of this prayer and how it should be a model for us in our prayer life. Our prayers should contain the following elements.
**Praise
Our prayers should be overflowing with praise and adoration to God. He is our Father and He rules and reigns. He is our King and we genuflect in praise of His greatness, power, and grace. We await the day His Kingdom is fully revealed in power and might upon this earth. Let us praise God in prayer at every opportunity.
**Petition
Praying for the needs of others and our own needs has a rightful place in our prayer life. Praying for needs is one of our greatest privileges as a Believer. Pray for needs knowing that God knows us better than we know ourselves.
**Pardon
This component is two-fold. We are to ask for forgiveness and confess our sins when we pray. (1 John 1:8-10) We continually need the cleansing from sin so that we can continue to grow in the faith.
We are also taught to forgive others in this example. As a matter of fact, God’s forgiveness of us and our forgiveness of others go hand in hand. You can’t have one without the other.
**Purification
Jesus ends His model prayer by praying for our holiness. We should be pursue holiness by seeking to become more like Jesus every day. We are not saved by our works, but, we are saved for good works. (Ephesians 2:8-10)
It is not wrong in any sense to recite the Lord’s Prayer as written in Matthew (Luke). However, the point of Jesus’ teaching seems to be more about form and element as opposed to strict recitation. Our prayer-life should contain elements of praise, petition, pardon, and purity.
Every prayer may not contain every element every single time. But as we incorporate these components into our regular prayer time we will grow in knowledge, grace, love, and hope!
Tony French
mrtonyfrench 