The Lord's Prayer

One of the major facets of Jesus' life was His consistent prayer life, chronicled throughout the Gospels, particularly in Luke.  Jesus made such a habit of prayer, both corporate and seclusive, that His disciples finally asked Him to teach them how to pray.  In Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4, Jesus answers His disciples and offers a divine perspective into proper prayer.

The first part of the Lord's prayer is the most important part.  Jesus is clear to indicate that the object and recipient of prayer is God, the holy and heavenly Father.  This should be the focus that undergirds all prayer.  If we are not consciously centering our prayer on the Lord, then prayer is failing its primary function, which is communication between us and Him.

Secondly, prayer is defined as requesting the Lord's provision as well as expecting Him to do so.  When we pray, it is a declaration of allegiance as well as a statement of reliance on the Lord.  We are aligning our needs and desires with His sovereignty.  Allying with God's will is prayer's intention.  When we pray, we are uniting with the Lord in reliance of His power to provide.

Thirdly, salvation is intimately tied to prayer.  It is by prayer that the grace of salvation is appropriated by faith.  The vocalization of prayer is thus key, otherwise there would be no reason to prayer in private (Matt. 6:5-6).  It is important to note that although prayer can be silent, for Jesus, prayer was defined as an audible endeavor.  Unfortunately, the 21st century Christian has tended to overemphasized the privacy of prayer as to downplay the need for praying audibly.

The Lord's Prayer is not to be considered the only possible prayer for believers should pray.  Instead, it is a basic prayer rubric of form and content. The points include, reverence for the holiness of the Lord, reliance and alignment with His sovereignty, and recognition of the Lord as the sole source of salvation, are key components of effective prayers.  Let us strive to learn from our Lord Jesus' teaching and to apply His stated prayer principles to our prayers.