Luke 11:1-13
The Lord’s Prayer

Pastor Dave taught that what we call the Lord’s Prayer are not words to recite, divorced from their meaning. Jesus teaches us how to place our minds and hearts in a humble posture of prayer.

Our Father in heaven
We are sinful creatures, and yet we have the privilege of calling the Creator of the universe our Father. We are privileged to address Him in the same way Jesus did.
hallowed be Your name
May we keep His name holy and approach His throne with reverence. May we not tarnish His name by transferring to Him the faults of our earthly fathers.
Your kingdom come
The kingdom of God is the climax of His redemptive plan for us, bringing forgiveness of our sin and restoration of a fallen, broken world. Jesus ushered in the kingdom of God; he will establish it fully and completely at the right time. There is no doubt about that. May we prize God’s kingdom more than we love the things of this world.
Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven
This is perhaps the hardest part of the prayer. We have desires and hopes; we have recommendations for how we want God to work in our difficult circumstances. Our own will is strong. But Jesus, by teaching and by example (Luke 22:42), tells us to subordinate our will to our Father’s will. Whatever His will ordains is a good gift (v13) – the best gift.
Give us this day our daily bread
During the Israelites’ wilderness wandering, God provided them with manna, one day at a time, to test them. (Exodus 16:4) Would they trust him as each day dawned? May we express daily trust in God’s provision for us.
and forgive us our sins
Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. (Hebrews 9:22) Let us not gloss over the issue of forgiveness nonchalantly. Jesus suffered and died so that we could have fellowship with God and call Him Father.
for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us
This statement does not describe a transaction. God doesn’t forgive us to reward us for forgiving others. Rather, because we are forgiven, we are compelled and enabled by the Holy Spirit to forgive others.
And lead us not into temptation
We acknowledge that it is not God who tempts us. (James 1:13-14) In fact, God does not allow us to be tempted by our own evil desires beyond what we can bear and always provides a way of escape.
(1 Corinthians 10:13)

May we hold the Lord’s Prayer before us this week as we pray and consider how our prayers compare. I fear that my prayers are often more like instructions to an AI assistant or an attempted negotiation! Lord, help us pattern all our prayers on Jesus’ teaching.