The Disciples' Prayer

We call it the “Lord’s Prayer” but it might better be called the “Disciples’ Prayer.”  Jesus was praying one day when one of His followers asked Him to teach him and the others how to pray.  Jesus answered by suggesting these five basic prayer requests (Luke 11:3-4 and Matthew 6:7-13, KJV):

For Reverence:  “Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name” 

For the Kingdom:  “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”

For Daily Bread:  “Give us this day, our daily bread.”

For Forgiveness:  “And forgive our trespasses as we forgive them who trespass against us.”

For Help in Testing Times:  “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

“In your prayers,” Jesus said, “do not go babbling on like the heathen, who imagine that the more they say the more likely they are to be heard. Do not imitate them.  Your Father knows what your needs are before you ask him” (Matthew 6:7-8).  Jesus urged his followers to escape from praying in meaningless rote and yet the very prayer He taught us sometimes becomes, for many who recite it, a meaningless rote.  We are so familiar with the words of “Our Father” that we can repeat them with no effort at all and often times with no serious recognition of what we are saying.  We turn Jesus’ words into what he called “empty phrases.”  We “go babbling on” without any conscious understanding of what we are saying.

It is “Our Father”—not mine, not yours—but “Our Father.”  It is “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done” not my will or yours.  It is “Give us” not me alone, “our daily bread.”  It is “forgive our trespasses” not mine, not yours alone.  It is “lead us” not just me, not just you, but “lead us not into temptation.”  Prayer is nothing but “empty phrases” if we give no thought to what we pray.  Make it simple when you pray.  Pray for reverence, for the kingdom, for daily bread, for forgiveness, and for help in testing times.