MESSAGE SUMMARY
The arc of the prayer spans the whole of cosmic reality with its heights and depth.
Jan Milic Lochman
The Context of the Lord’s Prayer
- Incorrect Attitude in Praying
- Praying out of Self-Righteousness (Matthew 6:5)
- Praying out of Superstition (Matthew 6:7-8)
- Prayer is a window to the human heart & mind. The prayer we recite reveals more about us than about God. They often expose our selfishness and our misconceptions about God. ~ James Mulholland
- The Lord’s Prayer is the opposite of these attitudes.
- Pray then like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. (Matthew 6:9)
- Jesus praying to the Father
- The Lord’s Prayer is a window into Jesus' heart and mind when He chats with the Father. (Luke 11:1-2)
- The Lord's Prayer is about learning from the Only Son who is in the bosom of the Father how to relate to God:
- Drawing Near to the Father
- Aligning with the Father's Heart
- Trusting the Father
Father, hallowed be your name
- Your Name
- A name encompasses a person’s character, temperament, moral worthiness, integrity, words and deeds, achievements, reputation, goals and promises.
- God’s name is Jehovah, with the following meaning:
- The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.” (Exodus 34:6-7)
- Hallowed Be Your Name
- Hallowed means that God is being known and treated correctly, exalted
- Opposite: God’s name being profaned and blasphemed.
- In the bible, it was God’s people who caused God’s name being profaned (Ezekiel36:22-23)
- The prayer is not about hallowing God’s name by our own strength
- Jesus’ prayer implies that only God Himself can make His name hallowed
Spiritual Exercises
The Lord’s Prayer is not just the best starting point to learn to pray. It is a lifelong practice that leads us into spiritual maturity.
- Reciting the Lord’s Prayer
- Pray slowly and let the Prayer shape our hearts
- Connect the Lord’s Prayer with our lives
MUSIC CREDIT
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This is My Father's World <Words & Music by Franklin L. Sheppard, Maltbie D. Babcock, Aaron Purdy, Jennie L. Riddle>
God I Look to You <Words & Music by Jenn Johnson>
Still <Words and music by Reuben Morgan>
Our Father <Words & Music by Brooke Ligertwood, Scott Ligertwood, & Jonas Myrin>
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