What we call, the Lord’s prayer, is found in Matthew 6: 9. It begins with the words: Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
The word hallowed means holy and worthy of worship. Holy also means sacred…not to be violated or profaned. In today’s world we see and hear the name of our Lord violated and profaned every day, especially by the words carelessly thrown around by children and adults alike. Shouldn’t we try to do better than this? How can the One who gave us life and every opportunity to know Him, be so far away from our thoughts that we don’t even reverence His name, but allow it to be used as a cuss word?
The prayer goes on: Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
When Jesus was about to be arrested, He took his disciples to a garden to pray. He prayed: “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.”
When we pray these words, we need to be fully aware that we, like Jesus, are giving up our will and accepting whatever happens as God’s will. As Christians we should want nothing less than for our will to be in-line with His. It is only when His will is done, that things can “work together for good to them that love God.” Romans 8:28
11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
Verse 12 is explained further in verse 14 and 15: For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
We must ask ourselves: If my forgiveness from God is based on my forgiveness of others who have hurt me, am I truly forgiven? In other words, have I truly forgiven others, or do I still hold on to bitterness towards them.? Some things are not that easy to forgive, but we must ask God to search our hearts and help us to let go of these feelings in order to have peace and the assurance of His forgiveness.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen
God never leads us into temptation but it is all around us in every situation. 2 Peter 2:9 tells us: The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.
As it says in 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.
10 But the God of all grace, who has called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
After over two thousand years of praying this prayer, our world is so far away from being in tune with God and following His commandments. Let us, the next time we pray it, not just recite the words, but pay attention to their meaning. Let us truly ask that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Try hard not to be blindly led into temptation, but always aware of the danger of sin that is all around us. To just say “no” is not always easy but when our hearts are centered on Jesus, it becomes easier… because the devil knows who can’t be messed with. For His is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever! Amen