to you anyway. However, our wants and needs will change the more the spirit begins to take dominion in our lives.
Sound scary or spooky? It isn't. It's wonderful. You are still in control; it’s not like some mystical experience where you are carried away from yourself. You still have your free will. God wants freewill offerings; otherwise we would be like the angels, born to do his will. If you follow the spiritual walk, you will not only have fulfillment in this life but in the Age to come, resurrection life (Luke 18:29).
THE LORD’S PRAYER
The "Lord's Prayer" is the deepest prayer contained in the Word of God. The Lord God himself was teaching us how to pray and what to pray for. It is something that should be studied in depth. The following words will only skim the surface in understanding the prayer. Since it was spoken by God on this earth, in the form of Jesus Christ, it can only be an eternal Word of God, its expression continuing to unfold forever. It as applicable to Christians today as it was when it was spoken.
THE LORD'S PRAYER IN CONTEXT
We must first see that the title "The Lord's Prayer" is actually a misnomer. In the context in which it was spoken, Jesus was teaching his audience how they (not He) should pray. In one case (Matthew 6) He was speaking to the multitudes in His Sermon on the Mount. In the other instance, (Luke 11) He was speaking only to His disciples, in response to their inquiry "Lord, teach us to pray". So technically, the prayer may properly be called the "disciples prayer" or even the "multitudes prayer". No matter what we call it, let's first examine the context and the background in which it was spoken.
The prayer is spoken only twice in the Gospels, in Luke 11:2-4 and in Matthew 6:9-13. In Matthew, the Lord was speaking to the multitudes, which included a mix of people including some believers, some undecided and some who were there for the curiosity factor.
In Matthew 6, during the Sermon on the Mount, He addressed the topic that true believers should not be hypocrites, as the religious leaders of Judaism were, the Pharisees and the Sadducees. He told them that the Pharisees did "good deeds" in order to be seen by man and gain the favor and respect of men. He instructed them not to pray as the Pharisees did, with vain repetitions and long prayers, thinking they would be heard for their many words. By praying in public, on street corners and in synagogues, they were again seeking the favor from men, not from God. Jesus told the crowd to do good deeds in secret, and to pray in secret, and that the Father would then reward them openly. And as they were praying to the Father in secret, in v.9-13, he told them what to pray in secret; that was Lord's Prayer.
In Luke 11, Jesus spoke the words of the "Lord's prayer" in a different context. There he was speaking only to His disciples. He spoke in response to their inquiry of "Lord teach us to pray" (Luke 11:1). So the Lord answered them. He said "This is how you are to pray". Thus came the Lord’s Prayer recorded in Luke 11:2-4.
In this case, however, He gave the disciples additional guidelines in how to pray, guidelines He did not give the multitudes (Luke 11:5-13). Following His speaking of the prayer recorded in Matthew, He spoke to them another parable as further instruction on how to pray. He said: “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and from inside he answers and says, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’
“I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence [shamelessness] he will get up and give him as much as he needs”.
Jesus was teaching them the principle of persistence in their prayer. He showed the disciples that even if God is your friend, that fact alone does not give any special inside track on getting prayers answered. He pointed out that real persistence means asking God and seeking God (the Greek words are "ask and keep on asking, seek and keep on seeking" (see New American Standard Version of Luke 11:9-10). The point He was making, knowing man as He did, that too many will give up if the answer does not come quickly enough for them. They will wonder why God didn't answer their request and not be persistent long enough to get the answer.
Jesus goes on to liken persistence to shamelessness. Often if a person wants something bad enough he becomes shameless in his pursuit of it, not caring how he looks or what others think. His mind is set on only one goal and will do whatever it takes to obtain it.
Jesus goes on to note that you must go to God in prayer with a faith that He will give you what you are praying for. Their faith was to be like that of an earthly Father. A human Father will not give his son a stone when he asks for a fish, then "how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask (and who keep on asking”. (Luke 11:11-13). The answer will come even if it's in a form that you not agree with, or worse, will not perceive it as the answer at all.
Therefore, in Luke 11, The Lord had given the disciples a complete response to their inquiry regarding prayer. Of course, the same principles apply to us as well, 2000 years later.
ANALYZING THE PRAYER ITSELF
Volumes could be written and myriad words could be spoken about the "Lord's Prayer". It is, however, a prayer that God really will answer. When praying this prayer you are seeking "His Will", not your own. Too often we pray for personal blessings or other things that God may not be concerned with at all. He is concerned only with His own will, which in the long run will benefit us more than our whims of the moment. Let's examine the prayer, one line at a time, from Matthew 6:9-13.
1. Hallowed Be Thy Name
First, (v.9) starts with "Our Father who is in heaven Hallowed be Your name". This verse teaches us how to approach God in prayer. We must approach Him with worship and reverence in our hearts. Words synonymous with "Hallowed are (from the Oxford Concise Thesaurus): worshiped, honored, Holy, sacred, consecrated, sanctified, blessed and revered. We approach Him in worship, in a recognition of who He is, how glorious He is, that He is the all in all, the Holy Father who created the heavens, the earth and us. In approaching Him thus, we are recognizing that He as God, can do anything, including answering our prayer. In a word we Glorify the Father before asking anything.
2. Thy Kingdom Come
Verse 10 begins with ..."thy Kingdom come..." Therein, God reveals His entire purpose for the earth and His involvement in it. He wants to accomplish in the Earth what already exists in heaven. It is only in the Kingdom of God that "His will" will be done on earth. And He does not want us to wait until we "die and go to heaven" - He wants His Kingdom to BE ON EARTH, just like it is in heaven.
What is the Kingdom? As stated above, it is a place of continuous joy, blessing and all the other attributes or fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). The Kingdom is an eternity of blessing existing both on Earth and in Heaven. Jesus did it in heaven by, after resurrection, obtaining authority over all of creation. It is up to us, His elect, to manifest on earth what He has already accomplished, in the Spirit realm, where He and the Father reside as one.
3. Thy will be done, On Earth As It Is In Heaven
In Verse 10 Jesus says: "Your will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven". What an audacious request! As we you look around us in this age we see anything but God’s will being done. The world is under darkness and futility, cursed from the time of Adam and Eve (see Genesis 3; Romans 8: 20-21). How then is it possible that God's will is to be done on a corrupted Earth, as perfect as it is done in heaven? The answer is that only God can do it. That's why we are praying for it. We are recognizing that we cannot do it in our own futile efforts. No man/women or multitude could possibly accomplish this, only the unlimited God.
As Paul puts it (Galatians 5:19-21) the deeds of the flesh done on Earth by the corrupted human nature are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, and carousing. Contrast this with the deeds done in Heaven, in the Spirit realm, where God lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). Quite a difference! We have a big job ahead of us. We must pray that God change both this present world and you/me.