THE LORD'S PRAYER

“Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.  
Give us this day our daily bread.  
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.  
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.
Amen.”
Matthew 6:9-13

As an example, model or pattern for our prayer life, the Lord’s Prayer or

Pater Noster contains all the different parts of prayer which we will explore

for the next several weeks.  It is the prayer taught by Jesus to His disciples at

their request and still used today by Christians in worship.

Found in two forms in the New Testament, the longer version above found

as part of the Sermon on the Mount plus a shorter version in Luke 11:2-4,

the Lord’s Prayer contains the three common Jewish elements of praise,

petition and a yearning for the coming Kingdom of God.  The different parts

are meant to teach us about God, others and ourselves as we fellowship with

our Father and align our lives with His will. Remember, God is more

interested in connecting with us and speaking from our hearts than the specific

words we use.

Joyce