Matthew 5:1 through Matthew 7:28 is tells us about Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.  I could spend a long time discussing all the lessons that were given in this sermon. However in this discussion, I want to talk about the perfect prayer that Jesus taught in that sermon.  Matthew 6:9-13 Jesus teaches the prayer:

Our Father in heaven,

            hallowed be your name,

            your kingdom come,

            your will be done

               on earth as it is in heaven.

            Give today our daily bread.

            Forgive us our debts,

              As we also have forgiven our debtors.

            And lead us not into temptation,

              But deliver us from the evil one.

If you learn this prayer, learn its meanings and pray it to God, then you have covered everything that needs to be in a prayer.  If you are like me, you probably learned this prayer as a child (maybe slightly different words depending on your bible version/translation), but have you ever really thought about those words and what you are saying?  Let’s take a closer look.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.  With these words we are acknowledging God is holy and majestic as well as personal and loving.  It is a statement of praise and uses God’s name in a manner of honor.

Your Kingdom come, as your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Here we reference God’s spiritual reign.  His kingdom that was announced in the covenant with Abraham, the kingdom that some day will be complete when all evil is destroyed and God establishes the new heaven and earth.  We are praying that God’s perfect plan will be accomplished in this world as well as the next.

The whole prayer to this point is giving God the praise he expects from us.  This is what true prayer is all about, praising God and not ourselves.  However the remaining part of the prayer is for us.

Give today our daily bread.  We are asking God to meet our needs, not our wants.  Bread is representative of the nutrition we need to sustain life.  We acknowledge that God is the sustainer and provider for our life’s needs.

Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.  Here we are asking God to forgive us for our sins, and acknowledging that we must forgive others in order to gain forgiveness from God. 

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.  We know that God would never lead us into temptation, but God does allow us free will and with that there is temptation.  Often the temptations are so subtle or so normal to us; we don’t even realize it is there.  We are asking God to help us see our temptations and to help keep us away from those temptations, to protect us from Satan so we make the right choices. 

So the Lords’ prayer is the perfect prayer.  It gives God the praise he deserves, asks God to meet all of our needs, acknowledges we know his glorious kingdom for us is coming, and asks God to help us make the right decisions and choices in life.  I think this covers everything needed in a prayer.

I am not saying it is the only prayer we should say, but if it were the only prayer, we have covered everything.  This is why you will often see church’s end a personal prayer with this prayer.  Praying these words ensures we have covered everything.  We should continue to ask God for our wants, as long as we realize he will not give us any more than he plans for us. We definitely want to pray for specific issues, people and events so that we acknowledge we know what God wants and it helps us come closer to God.  But ultimately, we are praying to praise God, and this prayer does just that.

So next time you are in a Church or other gathering and somebody leads you into reciting the Lords’ prayer, stop and think about the words and the meaning of the prayer.  With the understanding of the words, your prayer will have so much more meaning and God will appreciate the praise!