““This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. ’”
Matthew 6:9-13 NIV
Jesus taught his disciples how to pray in Matthew 6. The Our Father prayer is said many times as it is written and taught by Jesus taught. There is an also another way that we can look at the Our Father. We can look at it as a template on how to pray to God. Let’s break it down step by step.
Our Father in heaven
The first step is to acknowledge God as your Heavenly Father. This is an important first step because Christianity is all about having an intimate loving relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
Hallowed is your name
This is saying that Gods name is Holy. Throughout the Bible there are many names for God that acknowledge his many attributes and ability. By acknowledging his names and saying it’s holy you are boasting and exulting His name and ability over your situation. Spend time worshiping him and lifting up his name. You can say that by calling Gods specific name you are expecting his to show up in that manner through your prayer. Example of this is Jehovah Jireh, Our provider or Jehovah Rapha, Our healer. As you pray, take time to call on God by name. Worship and exult him bigger than the situation that you are praying about.
your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
This part of the Our Father is acknowledging and confessing that God is completely sovereign in heaven and on earth and has his will will come to pass regardless of the situation on earth. We pray that Gods complete rule and authority will come to pass in our lives through us. This calls for us to submit to his Holy Spirit every day.
Give us today our daily bread
We can pray for whatever we need to survive and God will answer. The words “Our daily bread” give us this indication. You can pray that Gods will will come to pass in your life and situation. Specifically mention what you need God to do using his word to support your request. If there is a person, a situation or a need this is the time that you can mention it during prayer.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Spend some time asking God to forgive you for any sins. Known or unknown. Sins that you have done willfully or that you don’t know you committed. And pray that the Holy Spirit will show you if there is anyone else that you need to forgive. If you are holding unforgiveness in your heart then God will not hear you.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Pray for strength that God will help you through the power of the Holy Spirit so that you don’t fall into temptations and sin. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says this.
“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”
1 Corinthians 10:13
So pray that you will always see the way of escape that God provides for you.
Thanksgiving and praise
End your prayer with praise and thanksgiving because God heard your prayer and will answer.
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” 1 John 5:14-15
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:6-7
Next week I’m going to plug in specific Bible verses into this template to show you how to pray powerfully using the word of God. But for now, it’s time to pray.