The final petition of the Lord’s Prayer concerns prayer for God’s protection. We are instructed to pray for the prevention of temptation and for the protection from evil. The word temptation has a double sense. The English word temptation is usually defined as the “seduction to evil.” But the Greek word is neutral and is…
Month: October 2018
The Lord’s Prayer: Forgive as We Forgive
The most costly and essential thing God ever did was to provide us with the forgiveness of sin. This part of the Lord’s Prayer focuses on meeting on of the most critical needs we face. Before we get into the meat of the request, it is helpful to understand sin and the affect it was…
The Lord’s Prayer: Our Daily Bread
This request marks the transition from praying God’s agenda into praying for our agenda. How do we pray for our physical and material needs? Jesus taught us that it is appropriate and right for us to ask him to meet our physical and material needs. While he does not promise to meet our wants, he…
The Lord’s Prayer: Thy Kingdom and Thy Will
The word “kingdom” comes from the Greek word basileia, which literally means “rule” or “reign.” We can therefore understand that the Kingdom of God as the rule and reign of God within the hearts and lives of his people (Luke 17:20-21). Dallas Willard describes the Kingdom of God as the range or extent of which…
The Lord’s Prayer: Hallowed be Thy Name
Praying to God as “Father” reminds us that we pray on the basis of our relationship with God. Our relationship with God is a love relationship, not a legal relationship. God desires an intimate relationship with us. Prayer is one of the vehicles at God’s disposal by which he can demonstrate who he is. In…
The Lord’s Prayer: Our Father
If prayer is something we are to do without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17), then we need to make sure we are doing it properly. Jesus taught his disciples to pray, but its important to notice what he did not teach them. For example, he did not teach them the posture of prayer. Nothing is said…
The Lord’s Prayer: Basic Instruction
When Jesus began teaching on the subject of prayer, he anticipated that there would be questions about how prayer should be offered. Prior to the model prayer he listed some basic do’s and don’ts about how to pray. In Matthew 6:5-6, Jesus told the disciples to not pray like the hypocrites, because they pray with…
