Our Father: The Power of Praying the Lord’s Prayer
I first memorized the Lord’s prayer as a child in Awana at my small midwest church. I’m so thankful I hid these words in my heart as a young child. They’ve been with me through the highs and lows, bringing comfort and spiritual power when I’m drained or lost. They are the words I pray when I don’t have any words to pray.
The Lord’s Prayer in the Bible
The Lord’s prayer was shared by Jesus with his disciples as a part of the sermon on the mount, the longest sermon Jesus preached found in Matthew 5-7. In his Bible commentary Tony Evans calls this sermon “Jesus’s kingdom manifesto. In this sermon, he explained what the kingdom is, how it works, and what it ought to look like.”
In this manner, therefore, pray:
-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 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.
In Luke 11 we get more context as to why Jesus shared the Lord’s Prayer.
“Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” -Luke 11:1
A disciple asked Jesus to give them a lesson on prayer, a model to follow. Was this unnamed disciple’s motivation pure? Eh, it feels a little more born out of competition or comparison or a bit of first century FOMO. But no matter whether or not the reason behind the ask came from the right place, Jesus’s answer is a gift.
The Lord’s Prayer As A Model to Follow
Worship
“Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your name.”
The prayer begins by focusing our eyes on God and his character–God is a loving Father, sovereign in heaven, and holy in all He does. God is worthy of praise and our life’s devotion.
The word “hallow” is not something we use often in our modern vernacular. It means to set apart as holy, to bless, to keep sacred, to reverence and to honor. God’s name, His reputation, all of His character–deserves this kind of treatment.
I love also that this simple phrase of worship contrasts God’s nearness and relatability (He is our Father! A doting dad who is close at hand) and God’s distinction from us as He is both in heaven and hallowed.
Surrender
“Your kingdom come. Your will be done. On earth as it is in heaven.”
It isn’t enough to acknowledge God or believe in His existence to be a follower of God. True belief means true surrender. Whatever we are building on earth–our wealth, our fame, our reputation, our agenda, our desires–are made subject to God and His will for our lives.
As a life-long member of a democracy, resisting a kingdom feels natural to me. My value system is built around independence. And yet.
God calls me to a kingdom.
To surrender my will to His will, trusting that He is a GOOD KING. One who always has my best interests at heart. One who is powerful enough to protect me from all adversaries. One who cares deeply about my growth and participation in the kingdom.
Ask
“Give us this day our daily bread.”
Often we may feel that we don’t need to express our needs to Gods because He already knows them. In fact the verse immediately preceding the Lord’s prayer, says just that.
“Don’t be like them [the religious leaders who prayed for show], because your Father knows the things you need before you ask them.” -Matthew 6:7
Asking for our needs isn’t about informing God, it’s about inviting Him into the mundane and meaningful of our lives. It’s about recognizing every good thing we have is a gift from Him and received from Him. (James 1:17)
Asking God for what we need, not every once in a while, but daily keeps us close to Him and dependent on Him as our Father.
Confession
And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.
Confession is the heart of the Lord’s prayer. Set right in the center is the call for us to live as forgiven forgiving people.
The truth is we live everyday committing sin against God and against other people. We are in deep; in debt to God with a minimum payment we could never make, let alone hope to pay off the balance. I love this video for breaking down sin in it’s original context.
But Jesus. Jesus steps in by His death pays the penalty for us so we can live in freedom.
But our freedom isn’t just for us; it’s for freeing and forgiving others for the sins they’ve done against us. This also is a practice of acknowledging who God is (our Holy, Sovereign Father) and surrendering our will to His. Our desire is often for us to get grace and others to get what they deserve, but that isn’t the way the kingdom of God works.
Ask
“And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.”
The Lord’s prayer folds back on itself with another ask, this time for spiritual power and victory from temptation and the Devil. Our lives are not just unfolding on a physical plain of existence but on a supernatural one as well.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. -Ephesians 6:12
Prayer is not just a feel-good exercise, but how we arm ourselves for battle.
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. -Ephesians 6:18
Ask God to intervene on your behalf, not just for the ordinary, the daily bread, but for daily victory against the kingdom of darkness by living as a child of the light.
Surrender and Worship
“For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
The prayer concludes with the traditional ending of worship and surrender, subjecting all our lives to the kingdom of Christ and recognizing Him as the most powerful and glorious King both now and forever.
How to Use the Lord’s Prayer to Grow Your Prayer Life
1. Pray it!
Sometimes life is grief-filled and heavy and it’s hard to find the words to pray. Reciting the Lord’s prayer is like putting a needle in the groove of a record player. It gives our soul something to follow and lean on.
Even when we struggle with surrender or forgiveness or feeling like God is meeting our needs–we can pray the Lord’s prayer as a prayer of faith. We may not fully feel them, but just saying the words reassures our hearts and realigns our perspective.
In her book Little Habits, Big Faith (I highly recommend this book to all parents!) my friend Christie Thomas talks about wanting to grow her prayer life and not knowing where to start. She decided to incorporate something tiny (so small it could easily become a habit) and simply began to pray the Lord’s prayer everyday. Even though it wasn’t “a lot” this habit made a huge difference in her faith and kickstarted a journey to praying more intentionally and building other faith habits.
2. Model your prayers after it.
The structure of WORSHIP-SURRENDER-ASKING-CONFESSION-ASKING-SURRENDER-WORSHIP can be a helpful pattern to follow as we regularly come before God. Pause at the end of each phrase, internalize it, and then pray your own prayer of worship or surrender or asking or confession. Continue to follow the structure through till the end of the passage.
I especially like this prayer structure for contemplative prayer and for writing out my prayers in a prayer journal or journaling Bible.
RELATED: 15 BEST BIBLE VERSES ABOUT PRAYER
3. Memorize and meditate on it.
Memorizing this prayer is a powerful way to meditate on it and carry it with you throughout your day.
And so, as we carry the Lord’s Prayer with us, whether spoken aloud in moments of desperation or quietly pondered in the stillness of our hearts, may we find it not just a recitation, but a living, breathing guide. May it shape our worship, refine our surrender, embolden our asking, deepen our confession, and ultimately, draw us closer to the Father who hears and answers.
May these words, first whispered by many of us as children, continue to be a source of strength, comfort, and unwavering connection to the King whose kingdom, power, and glory endure forever. Amen.
Want to Learn More About Prayer? Check out these resources!
- ACTS Prayer Model with Examples and Free Printable!
- 12 Ways to Grow a Powerful and Consistent Prayer Life
- 7 Life-Changing Prayers in the Bible
- FREE PRAYER JOURNAL and Bible Study Worksheets
