Praying the Lord’s Prayer

Here are a few thoughts on praying the Lord’s Prayer from Bishop JC Ryle. I shared these with our congregation last Wednesday evening as we prayed our way through the prayer. Take a moment to read them and then pray through the prayer the Jesus taught us to pray.

Petition 1: Hallowed Be Thy Name

The [first petition] is a petition respecting God’s name: “Hallowed be thy name.” By the “name” of God we mean all those attributes under which He is revealed to us, — His power, wisdom, holiness, justice, mercy, and truth. By asking that they may be “hallowed,” we mean that they may be made known and glorified. The glory of God is the first thing that God’s children should desire.

Petition 2: Thy Kingdom Come

The [second petition] is a petition concerning God’s kingdom: “thy Kingdom come.” By His kingdom we mean first, the kingdom of grace which God sets up and maintains in the hearts of all living members of Christ, by His Spirit and word. But we mean chiefly, the kingdom of glory which shall one day be set up, when Jesus shall come the second time, and “all men shall know Him from the least to the greatest.” This is the time when sin, and sorrow, and Satan shall be cast out of the world. It is a time when the Jews shall be converted, and the fullness of the Gentiles shall come in, and a time that is above all things to be desired.

Petition 3: Thy Will Be Done on Earth as it is in Heaven

The [third petition] is a petition concerning God’s will: “thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.” We here pray that God’s laws may be obeyed by men as perfectly, readily, and unceasingly, as they are by angels in heaven. We ask that those who now obey not His laws, may be taught to obey them, and that those who do obey them, may obey them better. Our truest happiness is perfect submission to God’s will, and it is the highest charity to pray that all mankind may know it, obey it, and submit to it.

Petition 4: Give Us This Day our Daily Bread

The [fourth petition] is a petition respecting our own daily wants: “give us this day our daily bread.” We are here taught to acknowledge our entire dependence on God, for the supply of our daily necessities. As Israel required daily manna, so we require daily “bread.” We confess that we are poor, weak, wanting creatures, and beseech Him who is our Maker to take care of us.

Petition 5: Forgive Us Our Debts

The [fifth petition] is a petition respecting our sins: “Forgive us our debts.” We confess that we are sinners, and need daily grants of pardon and forgiveness. This is a part of the Lord’s prayer which deserves especially to be remembered. It condemns all self-righteousness and self-justifying. We are instructed here to keep up a continual habit of confession at the throne of grace, and a continual habit of seeking mercy and remission.

Petition 6: Forgive us Our Debts, as we Forgive Our Debtors

The [sixth petition] is a profession respecting our own feelings towards others: we ask our Father to “forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” This is the only profession in the whole prayer, and the only part on which our Lord comments and dwells, when He has concluded the prayer. The plain object of it is, to remind us that we must not expect our prayers for forgiveness to be heard, if we pray with malice and spite in our hearts. To pray in such a frame of mind is mere formality and hypocrisy.

Petition 7: Lead Us Not Into Temptation

The [seventh petition] is a petition respecting our weakness: “lead us not into temptation.” It teaches us that we are liable, at all times, to be led astray, and fall. It instructs us to confess our infirmity, and beseech God to hold us up, and not allow us to run into sin.

Petition 8: Deliver Us From Evil

The [eighth petition] is a petition respecting our dangers: “deliver us from evil.” We are here taught to ask God to deliver us from the evil that is in the world, the evil that is within our own hearts, and not least from the evil one, the devil. We confess that, so long as we are in the body, we are constantly seeing, hearing, and feeling the presence of evil. It is about us, and within us, and around us on every side. And we entreat Him, who alone can preserve us, to be continually delivering us from its power.