DEVOTION – LORD’S PRAYER
“Our Father who art in heaven.”
We address the heavenly Father who sent His beloved Son to save us from our sins and in His amazing grace chose us to be His children. Just as a three-year-old child is unafraid to ask her dad for whatever is on her heart, let us boldly bring our prayer to the Father Who made us and saved us.
“Hallowed be Thy name.”
What we say and do can either ruin our family name or bring glory to it. Jesus teaches us to pray that the Father’s name, which we carry with us as His children, would be holy among us by what we say and what we do. Because only the Bible identifies who our Father is and describes all that He has done to save us, we pray that His Word would be taught faithfully among us. Pray for our pastors, professors, teachers (Sunday school and parochial), and missionaries who proclaim the Father’s name to you.
“Thy kingdom come.”
The Father’s kingdom is not some tyrannical, oppressive kingdom, “but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17) Pray that as the Father’s name is spread through His Word, His kingdom would come, bringing righteousness, peace, and joy to us and to others.
“Thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven.”
As children of the heavenly Father, we do not pray
“MY will be done,” but with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane we pray “THY will be done.” As the angels of God in heaven obey His Word and do His pleasure (Psalm 103:20-21), we His children on earth want to carry out His will and not our own.
“Give us this day our daily bread.”
While the Father gives food, clothing, and shelter to believers and unbelievers alike, we His children look to Him for these things and pray He would give us what we need for today. We also give thanks to our Father for giving us FAR more than just our daily bread. We are confident in faith that when tomorrow rolls around, He will open His hand and satisfy us again.
“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
How many times have we “crossed the line” and trespassed against our Father’s will? Do we even know? We pray that the Father would forgive us for all those trespasses, and we rejoice in the full and free forgiveness His Son died to give us. Children love to imitate their dads. So we also pray that the Father would help us to imitate His forgiveness when someone “crosses the line” and trespasses against us.
“Lead us not into temptation.”
Remember what your Father said about temptation: “God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13) Pray your Father that when temptation comes, He would show you the “emergency exit” to flee it.
“Deliver us from evil.”
Make no mistake about it, the Evil One is on the prowl. He “walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) Pray for yourself and your fellow believers (us!) that our Father would rescue us from the evil that is around us and even within us (our old man of sin). We pray it confidently because the “kingdom, power, and glory” all belong to our heavenly Father.
May this perfect prayer from our perfect Lord continue to echo from the lips of young and old alike in our churches, homes, and classrooms. “‘Amen! Amen!’ that is, ‘Yes, indeed, it shall be so!’” (Luther’s Small Catechism, Sydow Edition, page 225)
Nathan Pfeiffer is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Spokane, Washington.