Sunday School: The Lord’s Prayer – What Does This Mean?

Jesus taught the Lord’s Prayer on at least two occasions: during the Sermon on the Mount and when the disciples asked about prayer. One is recorded for us in the Gospel of Matthew and the other in Luke. The version in Matthew is the one the Church has memorized and that we recognize. The version in Luke contains selected petitions to give the disciples examples of the kind of things to pray about. There Jesus emphasizes that we should keep praying for these same things because God wants His children to ask for things “with all boldness and confidence … as dear children ask their dear father.” (Martin Luther, Small Catechism 3.1)

The Lord’s Prayer teaches us to focus on God’s desires and will, not on ours. We pray for His name to be made holy, His kingdom to come, His will to be done and then only for our physical needs, forgiveness and deliverance from Satan.

You may have noticed that our prayers are filled with requests for physical concerns — for healing, for food and clothing, for guidance in making decisions and for protection in times of disaster. We tend to focus on our wants and desires. Yet our Heavenly Father knows these and will take care of them. God wants us to share our wants, worries and desires with Him, but then leave these in His care. (Philippians 4:6-7) Then our focus can be on His kingdom and His righteousness. (Matthew 6:33)

So… how do we do that? Praying from our hearts has its problems. Our old, sinful nature still lives there (Mark 15:17-23), which urges us to focus on our desires and our new nature, filled with the Holy Spirit, which urges us to focus on God’s word, his worship, his will and the needs of others. That is where the Lord’s prayer comes in. It reorients our priorities because it is God’s own words. That is why it is the most prayed Christian prayer of all.

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