The Lord’s Prayer ( Part 1 )
Scripture
”This, then, is how you should 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 today our daily bread.” Matthew 6:9-11
Observation
This scripture is Jesus Himself talking to His disciples (which includes you and I) as to how to pray the right way. Yes there’s a wrong way of praying and previous verses in Matthew chapter 6 would show us that. We can see from the first phrase “our Father in heaven “ that prayer should feel intimate. Why ? Because we’re not just speaking to any god but Our Father who happens to be our God . Already this should put our hearts at rest before going in further in the prayer. When a 5 year old for instance goes and asks a good dad for a toy, they don’t go hoping if he’ll get it for them they just lay their requests and wait expectantly . What makes this scripture even special is that we are given insight on the location of our Father . In heaven , where possibilities are glorious , endless and supernatural . Even as a human when someone shows consistent gratitude we are inclined to do more for them. “Hallowed be thy Name “ Here we’re being told to praise the name of the Lord, to set it apart . The root meaning of the word “name” stands for His reputation, fame and glory. I noticed how even before we go into our requests it’s important to allow the will of God to find expression in our lives . Unfortunately this is an area where a lot of us Christians fall short. Why? because we want to do things our own way and then go back to God for Him to put a stamp on it. However when we watch the life of Jesus He did nothing except the will of His father. The irony is the things we chase after when we neglect God are our inheritance as children of God. They will be added to you ONCE you seek the kingdom of God. (Matthew 6:33). It is only after we ask for His will to be done then we ask for our daily bread, which is our needs.
Application
It is important to go to God with a heart posture of a child . This is because it removes fear and already builds your faith . Children believe everything and anything from their parents. Knowing where our father is , we should dare to ask for bold and big things . No more playing safe . This is a God who says He’s able to do exceedingly abundantly more than we can think or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). Before going straight into requests it’s very important that we spend quality time praising the name of Lord . Praises can look like spoken words , songs , poems, clapping , raising a sound which display the works of God , His attributes and many others . It’s important we have the heart posture of seeking God and His kingdom before anything else . Do a quick self check , are your conversations promoting the kingdom of God ? Are your finances promoting the kingdom of God ? Does your business promote the kingdom of God ? All roads in our lives should lead to the father and His will before anything.
Prayer
Heavenly Father thank You for Your word today. Thank You for the blue print you’ve provided for me to pray to You . I bless your Holy name for You alone are worthy . Let everything You desire for me in my life come to pass. Not my will but Your will be done . Help me to delight myself in You so that I will also receive the desires of my heart in Jesus Name I pray amen.