The Lord’s Prayer for Real Life.

The Lord‘s Prayer for Real Life. When we say Jesus only gave us one model of prayer, we do not mean to say that we pray these exact words and no more. When we say this model is simple, we do not mean that it is shallow. We must have a growing understanding of the six aspects of this prayer. We cannot remain static in our grasp of how Jesus taught us to pray-where there is no movement, there is no life. And too many Christians have lifeless time of prayer, led by those who have remained in the shallow end of the pool.

If Jesus said to pray in this way, did he do the same? In other words, did Jesus follow the model of the Lord’s Prayer at other time when he prayed? We have only short snippets of Jesus’ other prayers recorded in the Gospels. He gives thanks before distributing bread and fish to a large group. He cries out in agony to this father in the garden before his arrest. And he cries to God while on cross.

The only extended prayer of Jesus’ that Scripture record in John 17. Many call this the “true Lord’s Prayer,” because Jesus was prayer for himself. In it he models what he taught the disciples.

Take one phrase per day from the Lord’s Prayer and focus on it for your prayer time. Spend one day just thinking about what calling the God of the universe “Father” really means.  If he truly is your Father, what responsibilities does he have toward you? What responsibilities do you have in your relationship with him? What does it mean that he is in heaven?

If you pray for God’s kingdom to come, what will you expect to happen?

How can you demonstrate god’s kingdom on earth?

God bless you.