As a child of God, how do you pray? Jesus through the Lord’s Prayer teaches us how to pray. There are two accounts of the Lord’s Prayer and each has significance in our lives as Christians.
Matthew introduces Jesus as the Messiah who was spoken about and the prophecy was fulfilled. He speaks on what should happen before, what was promised and what we have witnessed. Jesus thus correlates the past and the present by speaking against praying like hypocrites. He criticizes those who pray with the intention of seeking attention and admiration from others rather than genuinely communicating with God.
Jesus does not want us to pray and showcase ourselves giving publicly so as to be seen we are walking with God. He advises us against showing and telling everyone that we are fasting as fasting is about a personal relationship with God and encourages us against putting our treasures on earth but in Heaven and not being anxious about anything as the Father ultimately provides.
Luke on the other end is focused on Jesus and the present. Jesus in Luke 11:1-13 teaches us about a personal relationship with God. In this passage, Jesus uses the example of a person going to their friend at midnight to ask for bread to emphasize the importance of persistence and boldness in prayer. The person in need of bread approaches their friend at an inconvenient time, yet because of their persistence and audacity, the friend eventually responds to their request.
Jesus uses this example to illustrate that if an imperfect human friend can be persuaded to help through persistence, how much more will God, who is loving and generous, respond to the requests of those who seek Him? Jesus encourages us to ask, seek, and knock in prayer, with the assurance that God will answer and provide what is needed.
Furthermore, Jesus highlights the goodness of God as a loving Father. He compares earthly fathers who provide good gifts to their children, even though they are imperfect, to how much more God, the perfect Father in heaven, desires to give good things to His children when they ask.
From the passage, we learn that a relationship can lead to asking from a place of innocence, seeking from a place of wanting to understand and knocking from a place of wanting to access. When the Lord’s Prayer is also broken down you learn more aspects of your relationship with God.
Referring to God as Our Father in Heaven, we recognise our covenant relationship with Him. Hallowed be your name acknowledges God as a loving and revered Father who can’t be compared to anyone else. God is then recognised as a King who has a divine order when you ask for his Kingdom to come. Note God chooses what to do and his choice is always intended. That is why we ask His will to be done so that we benefit from his benevolence.
Through the Lord’s Prayer, we also recognise God’s ability to provide the necessities of life, both physical and spiritual, on a daily basis when we ask Him to give us our daily bread. God is intentional in providing. You don’t have to beg Him. Do not worry about what you will eat or wear as he has promised in the scripture that he will take care of your needs.
But it’s important to understand that Jesus also emphasises on forgiveness in the Lord’s Prayer. Forgiveness brings redemption. God can forgive you for anything, even when you feel you have fallen short of his glory. But his forgiveness comes with a reconciliatory expectation. He asks you to first forgive others who have wronged you.
God then delivers victory to us by delivering us from evil. God’s desire to guide and protect is witnessed when we ask him to lead us not into temptation but to deliver us from evil. Even with victory being guaranteed, you still have to redefine your relationship with Him. He never breaks his covenant. It is us, his creation, who break fellowship with Him. Eulate the way Jesus prays, intercedes and speaks the word of God. Refer to the Lord’s Prayer always.
Matthew 6:5-13
Luke 11:1-13