Category Archives: The Lord’s Prayer

Text: Matthew 6:5-15 It has been said that “to be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” Although this is true, just because something is necessary for life doesn’t mean that it comes naturally to us. In Luke 11:1 we read, one day Jesus was praying in aContinue reading “The Lord’s Prayer | 1”

Last time we saw that “to be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing. ” And yet as John Onwuchekwa says in his helpful book on prayer, “we don’t treat prayer like breathing. We treat it like prescription medication meant to rid us of an infection. Once theContinue reading “The Lord’s Prayer | 2”

Jesus introduces his model prayer by highlighting two dangers that we need to avoid in our prayer lives. In vrs 5-7 he warns about ostentatiousness. Instead of our “flowery” prayers drawing attention to us we should go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, whoContinue reading “The Lord’s Prayer | 3”

As we reflect on the opening three requests in our Lord’s model prayer we are reminded about how easy it is to pray about our honour, our kingdom and our purposes. How do we respond when we are disrespected, dishonoured, and disregarded? We get angry! “God, help them to treat me with the respect andContinue reading “The Lord’s Prayer | 4”

Christian prayer begins with a passion for God’s honour, kingdom and will but it doesn’t end there. Just because we should not prioritise food and clothing doesn’t mean we don’t need them. If the first three requests are vertical in orientation the last three are horizontal. Jesus invites us to pray for three things inContinue reading “The Lord’s Prayer | 5”

We have seen how true Christian prayer is firstly orientated in a vertical direction by displaying concern for God’s name, kingdom and will. Last time we started to examine the horizontal aspect of our praying. We should pray for provision, pardon and protection. Today we turn to consider how our prayer should include a dailyContinue reading “The Lord’s Prayer | 6”

For the last few days, we have been examining the horizontal dimensions of the Lord’s prayer and seen how we need to pray for provision and pardon. Today we turn our focus to the last request for protection. Like pardon from past sin, protection from future sin is found in Jesus. “AND LEAD US NOTContinue reading “The Lord’s Prayer | 7”