Matthew 6: 9-13 Pray then like this: 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 also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
These verses comprise one of the most well-known passages in the Bible. Probably only John 3:16 and the 23rd Psalm come close to matching this verse for general recognition.
While this is not a formula to make God hear and answer us, it is an excellent blueprint on how to construct a prayer. I know of several godly men and women who use this pattern as they pray. Not praying the exact words but following this model to keep their prayers balanced and focused.
Many Christians are so familiar with this prayer that they recite it from rote memory without really considering what is teaches us. Note that it is a group prayer. It uses plural pronouns such as our, us, and we. It is good to pray on our own, but there is exponential power in group prayer.
It is a concise prayer. In a mere 52 words, it succinctly covers the six topics that make up a balanced prayer proving that prayer need not be lengthy. It has a greeting (since we are starting a conversation), praise/worship, requests for advancing God’s Kingdom, requests for our physical needs, request for forgiveness of sins, and request for spiritual needs.
In my next posts, I will break down the sections in more detail.
Father, please help me to pray! Cause me to be a righteous man so that my prayers will be effective. Teach me to pray in a manner that pleases You.