Passages: Matthew 6:9-13
Big Idea: Prayer is our joyful response to our Father in heaven, expressing our complete dependence on him in everything.
Ages: 8-11
Six lessons exploring The Lord's Prayer.
In Luke’s gospel, Jesus’ disciples asked to be taught to pray. Jesus gives them what is commonly referred to as the Lord’s Prayer. In Matthew 6, this prayer is found in the context of the Sermon on the Mount.
The Lord's prayer has six requests. The first three focus on God - his name, his kingdom and his will. Before it’s about us, it’s about him. Our prayers are to be God-centred, giving him the glory he rightfully deserves. We are to be jealous for his name, his rule and his plan. Reminding us, before it’s about ‘me’ it's about ‘he’.
Because of Jesus, God is now our heavenly Father. Unlike our earthly fathers, God our Father knows us completely and loves us unconditionally. Because Jesus has dealt with our sins at the cross, our Father in heaven will never turn his face away. He is the Father we all long for. This is the heavenly Dad we pray to.
As his children, we are to be jealous for his name. He is known by the promise he makes, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (Genesis 12). He is El Shaddai (Genesis 17:1). He is God almighty, the keeper of the Covenant who is able to bring the dead to life. He is Jehovah Jireh (Genesis 22). He provided the substitute ram for Isaac, he provided his own Son as our sacrifice. He is our provider. He is Yahweh, the great ‘I am’. When we pray that people will honour God as he deserves. Our Father in heaven deserves all our honour and praise.
We are to pray that all will submit to his rule. Since the time of Adam and Eve, Satan has been given limited rule. But then Jesus turns up and declares the Kingdom of God is at hand. Jesus systematically goes about demolishing Satan’s rule - casting out demons, restoring broken bodies, calming raging storms - climaxing in the final defeat of Satan in his death and resurrection. At the cross Satan’s power over us - sin and death - was dealt with once and for all. Praying for the kingdom of God, is praying that people would stop living in rebellion to him, turn to Jesus and live with Jesus as their King.
God is independent. He does not need anything from anyone. But we are not. The second three requests focus on our physical and spiritual needs. They remind us that we matter to God and we’re utterly dependent on him. Prayer is our declaration of our dependence and trust in him in all things. For our existence - our daily bread. For our spiritual renewal - the forgiveness of our sins. And for help in forgiving others and resisting Satan’s temptations.
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