The Lord’s Prayer, also known as the Our Father Prayer, is a prayer that Jesus Christ taught his disciples as an example of how to pray. It is one of the best-known and most frequently repeated Christian prayers. The prayer is found in the Bible in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4.
Prayer is connecting the link between humanity and divinity. In prayers, humanity draws grace, mercy, and help from divinity. It is a profound depth of communion between God and man. Recognizing the efficacy of prayer, the disciples ask the Lord Jesus to teach them how to pray. The Lord gave them more than they asked; He gave them a divine template for prayer: The Lord’s Prayer.
A template that transcends generations and will forever remain the bedrock for the prayer of praise and worship, with a bit of intercession and supplication. A complete prayer pattern, you may call it.
The Lord’s Prayer Text
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Matthew 6: 9-13
While the Lord’s Prayer predominantly captures the impact of praise and worship in the believer’s prayer, it can be adjudged the most profound example of praise and worship prayer the church will ever know, or better still, the source of all praise and worship prayer ever prayed.
- The Lord’s Prayer started with “Our Father,” an act of reverence and worship for our heavenly father, father of all grace. In worship, we proclaim to God who He is, his supremacy and almightiness. In praise, we declare his wondrous works and the wonders of His might. Psalm 100:4 tells us how we can only access God’s presence through thanksgiving, praise, and worship. It is noteworthy that we are not qualified to make any petition of the Lord unless and until we have praised, thanked, and worshipped him for who he is and for what he’s done for us.
- When we say “Our father in heaven,” we reverently worship him, declaring He is God and father above all. We proclaim His supremacy and pre-eminence in all things and overall.
- “Hallowed be your name” by this, we remind him (of course, He never forgets) that His name is most holy. His name has done wonderful and terrible things in righteousness. Proverbs 18:10 says, “the name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it and is safe” When we hallow His name, we praise and worship him for the great deliverance His name has wrought for us. Would you take a few minutes to recount a few of His wonders in your life and give Him Praise?
- When we pray “your kingdom come,” we proclaim his Lordship and supremacy. We establish His throne over and above all thrones, powers, and governments. So He is the only God who has no rival. His name and praise will never end.
- When we say, “your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” we declare our absolute obedience and allegiance to Him, who is God and king over the heavens and the earth. Obedience is arguably the highest form of worship to God. In 1 Samuel 15:22, God declared that obeying is better than sacrifice. When we wholeheartedly declare that his will be done, we declare our allegiance to Him.
- Even while making petitions for our daily bread and the forgiveness of our sins, it comes from the reverence and acknowledgment of God as our only source of providence and forgiveness.
The Lord’s Prayer gave us a complete template for prayer and underscored the importance of praise and worship in our prayer life. When we praise and worship God in prayers, we provide a fast track for our petitions and needs. In this prayer, we enjoy an absolute atmosphere for praise and worship as we see God take center stage in our prayers and lives.
The prayer comes to a conclusive end by acknowledging that to God belongs the kingdom, the power, and glory forever. What a depth of worship. The great king Nebuchadnezzar failed to recognize this truth, and he received a beast’s mind for a season.
When we deeply revere and worship this truth, God opens the floodgates of His blessings to us.
What a prayer, what a people beloved, what a savior, and what a GOD.
Also read: PRAISE THE LORD
