“if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” 2 Chronicles 7:14
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Prayer is essential for the man or woman of God! Throughout the Bible, there are countless examples of prayers that are not only heard by God, but that are answered and used to enact powerful change in the lives of the pray-er and those around them. There are also many examples of prayers that are amiss, that don’t meet up with God’s expectations or desires. Join us in this weekly study as we uncover God’s desire for prayer, and our committment to it!
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The Power of Prayer

Powerful Prayer #6: The Lord’s Prayer
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Jesus’ Teaching On Prayer

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Jesus’ teaching on prayer introduces a new set of six episodes in Luke’s gospel. These episodes deal with the kingdom and power, 11:1-12:34. This first episode consists of the Lord’s prayer, made up of five points (seven in Matthew), a teaching parable and a set of sayings. A rabbi would normally teach his disciples how to pray, and prompted by a question, Jesus outlines a form of prayer for his followers. The kingdom of God is bursting in on Jesus’ disciples and so their prayer-life should reflect this reality. They need to pray for the coming reign of God, forgiveness in his sight and protection in the time of testing. Kingdom blessings are here for the asking – forgiveness, acceptance and resurrection-life through the indwelling Spirit of Christ.
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Breaking down the passage
v1. The disciples ask Jesus for a form of prayer that might be uniquely theirs.
v2-4. The prayer, taught by Jesus, is liturgical in form and typically commences with an invocation, an address to God. In the Lord’s prayer, God is addressed as “Father”; this is a very intimate address, a sign of the disciples’ status before God. Then follows a list of requests that comply with the will of God:
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i] “May your name be honored” May God be recognized for whom he is.
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ii] “May your reign begin” Referring to the glorious coming of the kingdom in the last day, but also its present realization in the life of believers; the kingdom is a “now” / “not yet” reality.
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iii] “May we receive “each day” (day by day) all that is necessary to realize the reign of God.” Here, Jesus is referring to the promised work of the Spirit in the life of a believer – “gifts” and “fruit”. The word “bread” is used to image the “manna” once supplied for the wilderness wanderings of the people of Israel. God gives his people what they need for service on the “way”.
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iv] Forgive us our failings, past, present and future. “Forgive us when we fail to serve you faithfully, for even we can forgive, albeit imperfectly.” We must always remember that our forgiving is not the ground of God’s forgiving, rather, the fact that we can forgive a little reminds us that God can forgive much.
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v] “Let us not be overwhelmed by Satan’s destructive evil, both now and at the great tribulation .” We will always be tempted and will often fall. Jesus is not speaking about temptations, but a test/trial that has the power to destroy our faith. “Let us not be done-in at a time of testing.”

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A little prayer will do it
The issue of prayer is made complex by pious assumptions. Prayer is talking to God; it can involve many elements such as thanksgiving, praise, confession….. The only area of difficulty concerns what we call “intercessions” and “supplications.” Intercessions are prayer-requests for others, and supplications are prayer-requests for ourselves (lit. to humbly beg).
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When the disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray, he gives them a list of proper requests. We call this list the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus sets out to underline the fact that God gives us what he promises. We don’t have to bash at God’s door to receive his promised blessings; he is the perfect loving Father who gives his very person to us, along with all the inherent blessings that are ours in him.
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The Bible tells us that our prayers should be “according to the will of God.” That is, we should ask of God those “good gifts” he has promised to give us. The Lord’s Prayer is a list of those “good gifts”, gifts we may ask of God in the sure knowledge that they are ours in the asking. As for the rest of our “needs”, we can certainly speak to Jesus about them, but we should not expect God to act outside his revealed will