Matthew 6:7-13

⁷ “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. ⁸ Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. ⁹ Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
¹⁰ Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread,
¹² and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil.
For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen

Do you ever struggle with prayer? Have you ever wondered why you should pray regularly? And how? I certainly have, at times, and I’ve found answers to these questions in the prayer that our Lord Jesus taught his disciples.

First, when we pray, we don’t need to say a lot. God already knows what is on our hearts and won’t be impressed by long and wordy prayers.

Second, because he already knows what is on our hearts, the prayer is actually for us! We need to pray to stay in relationship with our Father in heaven, and there are words we actually need to hear and speak out loud to remind us of who God is and who we are. God is holy, his name is worthy of reverence and praise, and he is our Father. He loves us and will provide for our needs. He forgives us our sins and protects us from temptations and attacks of the evil one. The kingdom, power and glory are his, forever.

As for us, we need God daily. As his children, we long for his kingdom here on earth, where his will is done, as it is in heaven. We still sin, so we need to ask God -and each other- for forgiveness, and be willing to forgive those who sin against us. We need our Father’s help to overcome temptation and shouldn’t try to face the evil one on our own.

As I consider the structure of the prayer, I notice that Jesus taught us to begin remembering that God is our Father. As his children, to ask for his kingdom to come and his will to be done before voicing our requests. Perhaps this helps us to keep the right focus. The final words, which I have written in italics because they don’t appear in all manuscripts, bring the prayer to a close in the same way as it began: recognizing who God is and our dependence on him.

I’m amazed at how much Jesus taught us in such a short prayer!

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for teaching us how to pray. Please help us to recognize our dependence on our loving Father and revive in our hearts the longing for your kingdom to come and your will to be done. Amen.