The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father
who art in heaven, Hallowed by Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on
earth as it is in heaven; Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our
trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; And lead us not into
temptation; But deliver us from evil; For Thine is the kingdom and the power
and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Am I worthy enough to offer prayer to God? When we think about our sinful lives and the
fact that we were born enemies of God, the answer to that question is a
resounding, “No!” But thankfully prayer
is not based upon a level of worthiness which we have fulfilled. As we continue our meditations on the
Catechism, the Lord’s Prayer teaches us the necessity of prayer and the
importance of it, but it also teaches us the proper way to approach prayer by
directing us to ask for specific things.
In the Lord’s Prayer we see that of the seven petitions, six of them
focus on spiritual blessings. All of
these blessings flow from repentance and faith in Jesus Christ as our one true
Savior. Daily bread is even granted to
the wicked, but forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are withheld from
those who deny the Triune God and refuse the gracious gift of salvation through
Jesus Christ.
Prayer for the Christian is commanded, because we as
sinner/saints need to be reminded of the necessity of prayer and of the
promises attached to it. The admonition
to pray is included in the Second Commandment, “You shall not take the name of
the Lord your God in vain.” If we are to
use God’s name properly them we are to call upon Him at all times making our
prayers and requests known to him with thanksgiving. All true prayer proceeds out of faith in the
true God. We might reasonably assume
that if our faith is right, our prayer life is right also, but unfortunately
our prayers are far and few between.
Like the wicked who are given their daily bread, we assume that we are
content or that God will grant our needs without our requests. Our prayers are often lacking in abundance
and zeal, causing us to neglect a great blessing and promise that God has
given. God has promised to answer our
prayers, but we are often to busy to ask, or too ashamed, or too distracted.
We may even rightly feel that we do not know how to
pray, but for this there is no excuse.
Countless prayers of the faithful have been recorded in Scripture. Psalms is the prayerbook of the Bible. Jesus prayed many times throughout his
ministry as recorded throughout the Gospels, that we might know better how to
pray. There are countless prayers
throughout the Bible that teach us how we are to pray and for what we ought to
pray. God has indeed commanded us to
pray and promised to hear us. He has
given us prayers to pray that reflect our unworthiness but trust in the
steadfast mercy of God and His lovingkindness showered upon us by the blood of
His Son. This is why true prayer is offered through Jesus work of Salvation for
us.
Even our best prayers are translated by the Holy
Spirit so that they may be presentable to God in accordance with his will. Many of us have distress and troubles in our
lives that should be burdened by God, and not pressing down upon our shoulders
as though a great immovable weight is pinning us down. Many of these God allows to happen so that we
may more faithfully turn to Him in prayer and trust and rely upon His grace as
He told St. Paul
Prayer is not just a command, but it is a gift that
God has granted to us so that we may learn to rely more and more on Him each
and every day for spiritual and earthly blessings. Prayer is one of the tools by which the devil
is kept at bay, because the praying Christian is relying not on himself but
upon God. May God grant us confident
hearts to trust in Him.
O Lord, let Your merciful ears be attentive to the
prayers of Your servants, and by Your Word and Spirit teach us how to pray that
our petitions may be pleasing before You; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our
Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and
forever. Amen.
