Unpacking the Lord's Prayer Part 1 - A Deeper Dive
Part 1 - series introduction
Scripture: Matthew 6:9-13
message recap
From the Gospel of Matthew:
“9 This, then, is how you should pray:
‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’
”
These words, spoken by Jesus as a lesson on prayer, are known universally as the Lord’s Prayer. Throughout history, it has served as a cornerstone of worship and as a unifying prayer for people of all Christian traditions. We at Ocoee Oaks include this prayer every week as part of our regular order of worship. Some might suggest that incorporating the Lord’s Prayer into worship each week might make us complacent about its message. But there is so much we can learn from this prayer. Jesus used it to teach his disciples - and us - about prayer.
The Lord’s Prayer teaches us what praying is all about. Prayer is not easy! It does not come naturally to most people. Prayer must be learned and practiced, and it requires dedication and discipline. Do you remember the scene from the Garden of Gethsemane on the night of his arrest when Jesus asked his disciples to keep watch while he went to pray? When he returned, he found all of the disciples sleeping. Frustrated by their inability to stay awake for just one hour, Jesus tells Peter, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41) And again Jesus returned to find them all asleep. Jesus made a simple request of his disciples: “pray with me.” Yet, they failed even to stay awake.
Studying the Lord’s Prayer can actually help us learn to pray. Theologians have consistently considered the Lord’s Prayer “the prayer that ends all prayers.” Here’s a sampling of what some notable religious thinkers and writers have said:
Tertullian, the 2nd-century theologian, said the Lord’s Prayer is “ “truly the summary of the whole Gospel.”
In the 4th century, Augustine said, “Run through all the words of the holy prayers [in Scripture], and I do not think that you will find anything in them that is not contained and included in the Lord's Prayer.”
In the 13th century, St. Thomas Aquinas called the Lord’s Prayer the most perfect of all prayers.
The Lord’s Prayer forms the basis of what Christian life is supposed to be like. It is not as much a formula for prayer or a ritual for worship as it is a way of describing a Christian life. This concept will be our focus over the next several weeks. We will examine the Lord’s Prayer in detail because it outlines values and priorities that make up what is supposed to be a Christian lifestyle. We’ll try to answer the question, “What exactly are we professing when we pray the Lord’s Prayer, and why is it important to include it every time we gather to worship?”
It’s easy to assume that everyone knows the Lord’s Prayer. After all, along with verses like John 3:16 and the 23rd Psalm, the Lord’s Prayer is one of the Bible's most recognizable scripture passages. Even Atheists and those of other faiths know the words. But as Christians, do we pray the prayer, or do we just simply say the words? As we suggested earlier, incorporating the prayer into our weekly worship services can cause us to become complacent and robotic. Only when we take the time to study the words and affirm the commitments we are making do we begin praying the Lord’s Prayer rather than just saying it.
As we go through each of the phrases in the Lord’s Prayer and as we learn what those phrases mean, let’s consider how we can make our lives align with the message Jesus taught.
how is it with your prayer life?
While the focus of this short series is not necessarily on the act of praying, it is still important to consider how we incorporate prayer into our daily lives. If someone asks you about your prayer life, how does it make you feel? Uncomfortable? A little guilty? The truth is, all of us can probably use some improvement in this spiritual discipline.
Perhaps we should start with a change in attitude. Rather than thinking in terms of a “prayer life,” we should strive for a “life of prayer.” It’s a subtle change, but it breaks our tendency to restrict prayer to a specific block of time at the beginning or end of the day. It opens our minds to the idea of continuously conversing with God. If our relationship with God is like with another human, he should be a constant feature of our life and thoughts.
Through Jesus’ sacrifice, all barriers between man and God are removed. We are not only invited to talk to God, but the Bible suggests that this is why we were made.
“20 The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland to give drink to my people, my chosen, 21 the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.”
Unfortunately, we often forget that God is waiting for us to communicate. We fall into the trap of believing there are rituals to be followed, magic words that must be used, or states of mind to get ourselves into. Yet all we have to do is speak.
We live in a world of constant distraction. We bury our noses in screens, even during time spent with the important people in our lives. Prayer is about more than choosing the right words. It’s about intentionally seeking time and space without distractions so we can dwell in the presence of God. It might mean turning off the radio on the drive home from work or putting off the phone call for a few minutes. God wants to hear from us. He wants us to live a life of prayer.