The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on 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.

At every worship service, we follow the invocation with the Lord’s Prayer. Something I hear frequently, especially from Baptist and non-denominational Christians, is that they find the practice a bit uncomfortable. There seems to be some fear about be “too Catholic” or participating in vain repetitions. So let’s look at what the Westminster Larger Catechism says and address those fears.

Q. 186. How does God direct us to pray?

A. The whole word of God, but especially the Lord’s prayer, which our Savior Christ taught his disciples, directs our prayers.

Q. 187. How should we use the Lord’s prayer?

A. The Lord’s prayer not only directs us as a model for our other prayers but may also be used as a prayer itself that will promote our understanding, faith, reverence, and the other gifts of God in us that are necessary for us to pray properly.

The Lord’s Prayer is an example prayer drawn from the Sermon on the Mount. It’s very short and simple, but it contains all the essential elements of prayer that we find in Scripture. There’s adoration, confession, supplication, intercession, and thanksgiving. If you pay attention to our prayers throughout our worship service, you’ll hear all of those elements. If you read the Psalms, you’ll find them as well.

But does Jesus intend for us to use this prayer “as a prayer itself” like the catechism says? I think so. First, notice that the prayer is framed in first person plural. It is a collective prayer, not an individual prayer. Second, Jesus opens the prayer saying, “Therefore, pray then: Our Father…” Most English translations will supply a phrase like “after this manner” or “like this.” That’s not a bad translation, but it can be misleading. Jesus is not saying, “Pray like this, but don’t use this prayer.” Instead, he’s saying pray like this, as opposed to the way the hypocrites pray.

In addition to the fact that I think Jesus intends us to pray this prayer together, there are also good practical reasons for using it. First, if we’re going to us the Lord’s Prayer as a model, we probably need to know it. It’s becoming increasingly popular for Christian writers to come up with “prayer methods.” They range from perfectly good and appropriate (like the ACTS method) to dangerous (like “centering prayer”). But Jesus himself has given us a model for prayer!

Second, the Lord’s Prayer is perfectly and infallibly inspired. When I pray, my prayers are all messed up. I ask for things that I shouldn’t. My mind wanders, and I lose focus. I get concerned with myself instead of looking to Christ. But the Lord’s Prayer can straighten me out. It’s the same reason we say the Apostles’ Creed right after the sermon.

Finally, some people struggle with prayer, and set prayers like the Lord’s Prayer are helpful. Prayer doesn’t come natural to us. Children and new believers need to learn to pray. Furthermore, I don’t always know what to pray, but the Spirit helps me (Rom. 8:26). The Spirit has also provided me with words. The pinnacle of the Spirit’s words are in the Lord’s Prayer, but the Bible includes a great number of prayers that can provide words for the voiceless. When we don’t know what to say, we can pray God’s words back to him, knowing that they are perfect and effective.

So we pray the Lord’s Prayer, not because it’s a magic spell or because we’re trying to be Catholic. We pray the Lord’s Prayer because it is Christ’s gift to us. We are sinners with all sorts of false motives, but he offers his words to cleanse us. We are weak and small, but he has stooped down to meet us. Let’s not take that for granted.

If you want to study the Lord’s Prayer further, our Catechisms have great line-by-line expositions. See questions 186 and following in the Larger Catechism or questions 98 and following in the Shorter Catechism.

Updates

On Wednesday, I was advised by Madeleine’s doctor to stay in Starkville until we were sure about her status. As of writing this (late Thursday), there hasn’t been any progress, so I’m expecting to be back in town for worship on Sunday. Thank you for your continued prayers as we get ready to introduce Lois!

Also, I neglected to mention this Sunday, but whenever Lois is born, Rev. Ron Pierce has agreed to preach in my absence. At that time, he will also serve the Lord’s Supper. So please be in preparing to come to the Table within the next couple of weeks.

Your friend in Christ,
Reid