The template for perfect prayer

The Lord’s Prayer – Luke 11

There’s comfort in the fact that despite being with Jesus every day, the disciples didn’t know everything! In Luke 11, they ask Jesus to teach them how to pray.

The passage where Jesus teaches His disciples to pray is interesting, because they explain that John the Baptist taught his followers how to pray. This leads us to a question – do we need to be taught how to pray? Jesus certainly didn’t admonish them for their request for guidance on how to pray.

In Luke 18, we see Jesus condemning the prayer of a pharisee: a prayer of self righteousness, boasting in self-worth and works. It was loud, public and eloquently worded, but there wasn't anything for Jesus to commend. Yet He accepted the prayer of the tax collector: a repentant, humble prayer, quiet, subdued, simple. Jesus tells us here that it’s not really about the words or about being eloquent, it’s about our heart.

Assuming then, we are praying from a humble heart, what did Jesus teach His disciples when they asked Him how to pray? Luke 11 gives us Jesus’ example - “The Lord’s Prayer”.

I like the Lord’s Prayer, because they’re Jesus’ very own words. Jesus’ words are precious, powerful and alive. However, I’ve been in many church services, Christenings, funerals, remembrance services etc, where the Lord’s Prayer is prayed but it has no power, no feeling, no heart. It’s simply a repeating of something that is a tradition, or just “seems right to do”.

I wonder whether Jesus wanted us to repeat the prayer parrot fashion? I can’t imagine that being the case. The Lord’s prayer is lovely to recite, but it’s also a template and we can learn a lot from the pattern Jesus gives us. Let’s break it down so we can look at the parts of it in closer detail:

OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN
This is fundamentally relationship. We need to know to Whom we are praying. If we look at the tax collector/pharisee parable in Luke 18, they both pray to “God.” However, Jesus invites us to a more personal relationship. We can rightly pray to God, however, we can delve into a more personal level by getting to know God as FATHER.

Jesus came to bring us into a new knowledge and relationship with Father God. He was known primarily as Yahweh in the Old Testament. Jesus is inviting us to be more intimate with our Creator by coming to Him as a Father. When we approach God in prayer as Father, the dynamic is changed. We go from a place of Creator/creation to Father/child. He’s still Creator, He is still Yahweh, but the relationship deepens.

HALLOWED BE YOUR NAME
Hallowed just means holy. Jesus is asking us to remember God’s holiness. To paraphrase, we can say ‘holy is His name’. Recognise His holiness, His greatness. You could substitute this phrase for “Blessed is Your name”, “Praise the Name of the Lord our God”. “Magnified be Your name”. Or any other expression of praise or adoration.

YOUR KINGDOM COME
We belong to another Kingdom. There’s more to life than the physical world we see, and we are to desire and pray for His kingdom here. Jesus is effectively praying for the future – bring in the time when God will reign supreme!

YOUR WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IN HEAVEN
This is submission, saying to Father God, “I don’t want my own will, I want Yours”. God is all knowing so we need to pray in line with His Will. He wants the best for us.

GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD
God is our provider, thus Jesus shows us we are to ask Him to provide for us. Every day we need His provision. This is a clue to us that we need to pray every single day!

FORGIVE OUR SINS, AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO SIN AGAINST US
If we have anything against anyone, let it go! Live in a state of perpetual forgiveness and love. We also have probably slipped up too, so keep a soft heart and don’t let those sins hold you back from God’s presence. Sin can become a barrier in our relationship with God, so be quick to repent.

LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL
The word temptation also translates as “trial” in the Greek, so we may better understand it as a requesting God to keep us from trials. Jesus made it clear we have an enemy who wants to kill, steal and destroy (John 10 v 10). We know that we don’t escape every trial of life, but by praying, we invite God into our futures! We release His power in our lives. We need God’s help and divine protection.

This is where the prayer ends in the KJV and NKJV. But interestingly, in the next few verses, Jesus shares a parable which demonstrates the goodness and kindness of God. He tells us to keep asking, keep knocking, keep seeking. It’s no coincidence that He tells us this parable straight after giving us an example of prayer. I urge you to read the whole chapter to see how it flows as part of a continuous teaching.

Prayer should be heartfelt; it builds relationship; it should be daily, and constant. We need to remember that it is VITAL. Jesus prayed regularly and gave us a prayer template. If Jesus needed it, so do we!