Guest Post: This is a post by my oldest sone when he was 14 years old. “Mom,” he says. “I studied the Lord’s Prayer and wrote this. Do you want to use it as a guest post?” Without hesitation, I said “Absolutely!” In my mind, I’m thinking, “My junior high son studied God’s Word and wants to share what he studied with others. Of course I’m going to post it!”
When Jesus said this is how you should pray, He meant that we should use The Lord’s Prayer as an outline for our prayers.
“Our Father in Heaven”
This means that the first thing we should do is address God personally. This will help you have a better relationship with Him.
“Hallowed be Your Name”
This means that you should be humble before God and praise His name.
“Your kingdom come”
You should pray for the church so that it may grow. Also pray for Christians around the world to grow in God.
“You will be done on earth as it is in Heaven”
Now you should pray that God’s will will be done all around the world by everyone.
“Give us this day our daily bread”
Now you can pray for your needs and problems.
“Forgive us our debts as we have also forgiven our debtors”
This means you should ask God to forgive your sins and to ask Him to help you forgive others.
“And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil”
This means you should ask God to help you obey Him and to not fall into temptation.
The Lord’s Prayer helps us to know what every prayer should be like. Now, if you ever don’t know what to pray for, go to the Lord’s prayer, and it will help you.
Angie
First – no wonder you are a proud momma! I think that too often, we think that prayer is "all about us" – our wants, our desires – and focuses so much on our lives. Ok – maybe not "WE", but certainly – I think that too often MY prayer is all about me, my family, my friends. I neglect the larger reason for prayer – to ask for forgiveness, to pray for ALL, to ask for guidance in my daily walk. I would never have thought about the Lord's Prayer being a "guideline", but seeing it written this way – it certainly does seem obvious. 🙂 Too often, I think that the Lord's Prayer is not really thought about – it is said, but it is not reflected upon. It is a religious "saying", if you will, for many who recite it. Really reflecting upon God's Word – is so necessary. It is not a BOOK as so many say – it is a GUIDE by which we should live if we believe in Him.
Kari Scare
This pattern really does help to know how to pray. I mean, most of us already know the prayer, so we can make the transition easily into using it as a pattern for all of our prayers. I have been doing this more lately too. It has helped me go from making prayer too complicated to feeling like I am connecting more in prayer. And really, isn\’t connecting with God what prayer is all about?
Angie
All things contained within have meaning and I think sometimes we miss what is right in front of our face because we do not open our minds and reflect. Sometimes my girls will say something and I think, "wow – why didn't I see that?" I have an "AHA moment". Reading Jonathon's post was one of those for me. I will certainly be reading and reflecting more deeply – It is apparent that I have missed much by not doing so. 🙂
Kari Scare
Happens to me all the time. We look so hard for meaning that we miss what\’s right in front of us. But when we become willing to hear, it\’s amazing how much God will say to us and how varied the methods He\’ll use.
Mark Allman
Jonathan,
Nice job on reminding us on how we should pray. I appreciate it! Go proud momma. 🙂
Mom
Jonathan,
Thank you so much for pointing this out – I have used the Lord's Prayer as a guideline for many years. It is all encompassing and helps you to remember to bring all that you want to pray for to God. Very insightful of you.
Your Proud Gramma
Jonathan Scare
Thanks, I've been trying to do more of this stuff since I'll be going to high school in the fall
Coach_Mike
Absolutely what it is meant to be… Jesus said pray "like" this. When we give glory to God from the very start the rest of the prayer makes so much sense to us, and the requests are statements of faith more than seeking God to do something specific for us, as if He does not know what we want and what is best for us before we ask. I love the Lord's prayer in teaching youngsters how to pray. Thanks Kari…
Kari Scare
The idea of it being a statement of faith gives the prayer even more depth. Not only good for young people, but also for the rest of us when we are in a hurry or struggle waking up in the morning even while praying.
mary
What a great post. You have every right to be proud of him mom! He has cut to the point and made it simple…just like Jesus tried to do for us.I shared it on my FB page!
Kari Scare
Thanks! He and his dad are both matter-of-fact, to-the-point guys. Good balance to my youngest & I who sometimes use too many words to make our case.
Loren Pinilis
My kids are four and two, and I can't wait until the day when they (hopefully) will be able to talk about scripture in such a deep and relevant way. The more I study the Lord's prayer, the more amazing it becomes. It's such a great blueprint about how to approach our Lord!
Kari Scare
The Lord's Prayer not only works for the young and new faith, but it works for even the deeper faith. Jesus definitely gave us the perfect blueprint for connecting with Him. Your kids will get there, I have no doubt!
Barb
Jonathan, I love this post. You've given a real, clear outline people can use to pray the Lord's prayer and make it personal to them. I often use the Lord's prayer as a springboard for my own prayers, and I do it pretty much the way you outlined. I love the beauty of the words, but I also love how it orders my prayers – starting first with remembering God and who He is and praising Him, then remembering that my my life should be wrapped up in serving HIm and doing His will, and then moving on to some of those other things. Thanks for a great post!
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[…] You can even do this on a smaller scale if you want. Take what is known as The Lord’s Prayer for example. Understanding that Jesus provided this as an example of how to pattern our prayers can really help transform your prayer life. See what I mean by checking out The Lords Prayer — An Outline for All of Our Prayers. […]
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[…] sometimes by singing and always by reciting the Lord’s Prayer in unison. I’ve always known The Lord’s Prayer and can still recite it by memory. It is an anchor point for helping me know how to pray. It’s […]