And He said to them,“When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be Your name.Your kingdom come.3 ‘Give us each day our daily bread. 4 ‘And forgive us our sins, For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.'” Luke 11:2-4 (NASB)
The Lord’s prayer in Luke Chapter Eleven lays out what Jesus thought were the essential parts of our daily lives. The simplest outline of this prayer hits upon the following four points.
Purpose
Our first priority in life is to be in right relationship with God, hold him in reverential awe and love, seek his glory, and pursue the advancement of his kingdom. By calling him “Father,” we acknowledge that we have benefited from Christ’s finished work on the cross and his resurrection, which paved the way for us to experience the new birth and become part of God’s family. To make God’s name holy means we do not take him or our relationship with him lightly. Jesus is not our “boyfriend” or our servant. He is Lord of Lords, and Abba Father is greater still. Being his child does not incite us to hold him in the contempt of familiarity. To “hallow” his name means we seek God’s glory. We do not seek to bring him down to our level; instead, we devote ourselves to bringing him glory through all we do. God’s glory is our ultimate priority, and one way we glorify him is by prioritizing what is important to him – the advancement of his kingdom.
‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done,On earth as it is in heaven.Matthew 6:10 (NASB)
Putting God’s kingdom first requires us to act accordingly. We must make the changes to our daily lifestyle that will enable us to be obedient. As Christ’s disciples, it is our responsibility to make the Great Commission our life mission. The first part of the Lord’s prayer requires us to acknowledge that Jesus is the Lord and live accordingly.
Provision
If I had written the Lord’s Prayer, I would have been more spiritual than Jesus by not placing our plea for daily sustenance before asking for forgiveness. That is because I am a religious person at heart, just like you. We like to impress people with our spirituality, but Jesus did not have our hang ups. He unashamedly placed the need for food ahead of the prayer for forgiveness. God cares about the everyday needs of people. I have heard other religious people say that they hate to ask God for personal needs because he is “so busy” and has much more important things with which to concern himself. Such a statement reveals that the person who said it does not have a very high estimation of God, his love, his power, and his desire to help us. It also reveals that such a person probably is not really God’s child. What parent would refuse to feed his hungry child, if it were in his power to do it? When we are unsure of God’s power and his heart toward us, we are afraid to ask for things, or we think he will not bother with us. God delights to provide for his children. He is a good Father, and his heart is disposed to bless us.
Pardon
To forgive is to release someone from the debt owed to us. We all owed God a debt for which we had no means to pay. That is why Jesus came to die on the cross as God’s lamb. He was the perfect sacrifice, who took our punishment and pain to make it possible for us to be released from the guilt and condemnation associated with our sin. When a person places his or her trust in Jesus and what he did for us as Savior, he or she comes into a right relationship with Abba Father and has all the privileges and responsibilities of being God’s child. One of the most important of those responsibilities is to pardon all those who offend or “owe” us anything. Jesus is the king of “pay it forward,” and he requires us to pass on the blessing of pardon that he gave to us.
Protection
Lastly, Jesus tells us to ask for God’s protection against evil and temptation. In Matthew’s version of the Lord’s prayer, Jesus expands upon this theme.
‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Matthew 6:13 (NASB)
Human beings are weak, thanks to a built in residual connection to the old order of things through our bodies. As Jesus said:
Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:41 (ESV)
This last part of the Lord’s prayer emphasizes that we are unable to stand against evil without God’s help. The world is a hostile place, especially for followers of Christ. Paul warned us that everyone who lives as a true disciple, who boldly shares the gospel and makes disciples, will suffer persecution. (2 Timothy 3:12) In addition, the world system, our own sin nature, and the devil conspire against us to tempt us to depart from our determination to put God and his kingdom first. We all face temptation to live selfishly and independently from God. Immorality and lust are rampant, tempting us to abandon our holiness to God and purity. Life’s many distractions seek to pull us away from pursuing the Great Commission. If Satan was able to lure Adam and Eve away from their devotion to God, how much more are we susceptible to his temptations, since we have a sin nature! It is only because of the indwelling Spirit and God’s protection that we can survive and thrive in such an environment. Jesus does not want us ever to take that for granted.
Prayer
Each day as we look to God in prayer, let us remember the four main points of the Lord’s prayer. Here is a condensed version of this already short prayer.
Father God, let me live today with your glory and purpose always in mind. Order my steps so that I do not waste a single minute of this day. Thank you that you care about me. I trust you to provide everything I need, just as you provided forgiveness to me. I likewise pardon others. Lastly, God I acknowledge that I am totally dependent on your protection from evil, sin, and temptation. Thank you for sending your Spirit to live your Son’s life through me. Amen.
