“Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need 
of before you ask Him. In this manner, therefore, pray: Matthew 6:8-9

“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. Matthew 24:36

So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. Mark 10:18

Our Father in Heaven
(inspired by the Lord’s Prayer)
You are our God in Heaven,
Your name is holy and revered.
We long for Your kingdom to come 
Bringing an end to our pain and fears.
A world without the need for wars,
Where everyone lives by Your will.
A world where no one is hungry
And everyone gets their fill. 

We envision no one begging on corners,
We imagine no one sleeping in parks,
Or children who fear being gunned down at school 
When once they feared only the dark.
We look forward to mamas feeding their babies
And daddies with pride in their jobs.
No more parents begging for food 
While each hears the other one sob.

We pray for the world to grow spiritually
Gaining the wisdom to understand
If we don’t live together as a family
We will die unforgiven and damned.
Someday, Lord, I hope we will see
The enormous debt You’ve forgiven us.
And maybe that day, come to realize
Unforgiveness is simply unjust.

Somehow we must come to see
It’s our sin that keeps us apart.
And the blessings that we foreclose
By our cold unforgiving hearts.
But until that time comes to pass, Lord,
Until we can forgive and love as you do,
We can only pray that the grace of your love
Will protect us and carry us through.
Linda Troxell © May 25, 2022

The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, they will be done 
In earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. 
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: 
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever, 
 Amen Matthew 6:9-13

Our Father Who Art in Heaven
God is our heavenly Father. We address Him as our Father, a reminder that none of us is an only child; we are but one of many children in a family, His family. And He is in heaven, a reminder that He is above us and that heaven rules over the earth. Our heavenly Father is not to be compared to earthly fathers. For, while some earthly fathers are considered horrible and abusive, and others are considered good and loving, none of them comes close to the perfection of our heavenly Father. Therefore, if there is a comparison to be made it is comparing earthly fathers to God. But why bother? No one is good but the Lord. So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. Mark 10:18

Hallowed be Thy Name:
The first thing we should do in any prayer is set His name apart as holy. And here we do just that. We remind ourselves that His name alone is to be honored. We remind ourselves too, that while we are a part of Him, He is not a part of us. Because, He is unique, in a class of His own, the only one worthy of worship. Because He is transcendent over all of His creation, He alone is to be worshipped and obeyed. And Jesus answered him, “It is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’” Luke 4:8

Thy Kingdom Come:
We pray for His kingdom to come to earth, soon. We know His heavenly kingdom is coming someday, but no one but the Father knows when. “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. Matthew 24:36 If we have pledged our allegiance to God, to His kingdom, and to His rule, then we are committed to following God. That means always living by His commands and laws. It is through following God and our commitment to the kingdom agenda that we discover our purpose in God’s plan. And so, if we are doing all that we can to follow God’s ways, then we need not worry about when His kingdom comes for we will be prepared.

Thy Will be Done:
Once we have pledged our allegiance to God and to His kingdom agenda, His priorities are our priorities. And His will is our will. God is sovereign, He rules everything and our allegiance to Him must be total. There is no question, God will accomplish His plan. The only question is will we play our part in its accomplishment?  Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’ Isaiah 46:10

On Earth, as it is In Heaven:
We want God’s kingdom to come to earth so that His will is done on earth as it is done in Heaven, that is automatically, immediately, and completely. It is done with joy and without question. His sovereignty is complete, there is no part of life that He does not rule. God’s ultimate will is for everyone to be saved, to come to know Him as the truth and the way, and to live in eternity with Him. Who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2:4  Our allegiance is to God and His kingdom. So, of course, we want His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. 

Give us This Day our Daily Bread:
When we have bowed to God’s will and we have pledged our allegiance to Him, we will have agreed to be dependent on Him for provision. In order for God’s plan to be accomplished, we must depend on HIm completely. God wants to provide for us and if we ask Him every day for that day’s provision, He will provide. For The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time; You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. Psalm 145:15-16  However, we must ask each day for only that day’s provision. For, only by receiving His provision one day at a time will we remain dependent on Him. 

And Forgive us our Trespasses:
We cannot have a truly intimate relationship with God if there is unrepentant, unforgiven sin between us. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, Isaiah 59:2  We must ask God to forgive us each day for that day’s sin. Because when God forgives our sin, and if we are truly repentant, He will, our sin is canceled as if it never existed and our intimacy with Him is restored. 

As We Forgive Those Who trespasses Against us:
Just as our sin unforgiven by God prevents us from having intimacy with Him, so too does sin against us that we have not forgiven. Holding onto sin is holding on to anger and resentment. It is not our’s to question why God allows sin, not even the sins that we see as most horrible. We know from the life of Joseph, that what man does for evil God can use for good. God calls us to forgive all sins against us.  Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Luke 6:37  By not forgiving we are committing yet another sin. We cannot achieve intimacy with God when our sin is unforgiven, nor can our relationship with God be intimate while we carry anger or resentment in our hearts. 

Lead us not Into Temptation:
We might as well admit it, the enemy is smarter than we are. He can tempt us into many situations that once in, we can’t get out of by ourselves. By asking God to lead us not into temptation, we are asking Him to lead us away from those temptations and situations the enemy wants to lead us towards. Here, we are preemptively praying for God to lead us away from temptations we are not yet equipped to handle. We ask Him to keep us on a path He has anointed. Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, To practice wicked works With men who work iniquity; And do not let me eat of their delicacies.  Psalm 141:4  Of course, we will have trials as Christians, and as we grow, our trials will grow proportionately. But we don’t want to face any trial until we are equipped to face it. Prayer prepares us to face our trials in a manner that honors God and allows us to grow spiritually

But Deliver us From Evil: 
We have prayed for God to lead us away from temptations we aren’t equipped for. And He will. However, it is usually when we are disobedient that we find ourselves following the enemy into an evil for which we are not equipped. This part of the prayer is saying  “Just in case I don’t obey when you try to lead me away from temptation, will you please deliver me from the evil situation that is the result of my disobedience?” And of course, God will help us when we pray for His help. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. Isaiah 43:2   But that does not amount to a get out of jail free card. Who knows how much damage we will have allowed by then? Not to mention, the help He gives us might not look anything like the help we had in mind. In fact, it isn’t unusual for God’s means of rescue or help, to look quite contrary to what we were hoping for.

For Thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory Forever,
This line probably wasn’t part of the original text. But someone along the way was moved enough that he or she, felt it was important to end this beautiful prayer by acknowledging God’s Absolute Power and Glory once more. This line is that acknowledgment. It is an ending in which, after asking God to bring His kingdom to earth so that everyone will follow His will; after asking God to forgive us of our sins as well as acknowledging our duty to forgive sins against us; after asking God to protect us from temptation and to deliver us from evil; indeed, after asking God to take over our entire lives and provide for us day by day, we are simply telling Him one more time that we know who He is and we gladly bend our knee to worship HIm.
Amen Matthew 6:9-13 (KJV)

A Note to the Reader
The last part of the prayer is disputed because it is in some versions of the Bible and not in others. For example, it is in the King James Version (KJV) but not in the New International Version, (NIV). It is pretty well settled that it was not part of the original text. However, for those of us who learned this prayer from the King James Version as children with this last part included, it feels incomplete and may or may not make some of us anxious when it is left out. I know some will think this is “Adding to the Bible.” Those kind souls may say that I’m being blasphemous. I’m sorry if my choice to include this line causes distress to anyone, but I don’t think God will be mad about a little extra glory. So, I have chosen to include it here. And I’m in good company, King James must have approved of it too. Although, I don’t really know anything about King James, so I really shouldn’t assume he’s good company.

Points for Pondering or for Prayer
Or
Perhaps for Putting Pen to Paper

I was taught this prayer when I was very small, about 5 years old. I don’t remember learning it or
memorizing it. So, maybe I absorbed it more than learned it. Although it was always comforting to me, I must admit I never took time to really look at what it says or its meaning, line by line

How about you.?
Did you learn this prayer as a child?  If you did write a few lines about what you remember about that time. 

Did you memorize it as a child?  If you did, write a few lines about that process.

Have you learned it or memorized it as an adult? If you have, write a bit about when you memorized it, and how. 

Have you ever before looked at this beautiful prayer line by line as we’ve done here? 

If you haven’t how do you feel about it now after you have? Did it change anything at all for you?  Did it bring up more questions, perhaps?  Write a bit about what this was like for you.