Introduction

We are so glad you are joining us for these daily prayer posts. Throughout these weeks we have been listening to the prayers of the Bible and learning from them how to pray. This week we turn our attention to the model prayer Jesus gave His disciples when they asked him, “Lord, teach us to pray.” (Luke 11:1)

Each devotion will take five to seven minutes of your time.

1. We will look at an insight from those who know something important about prayer.
2. We will listen to Jesus as He prays “The Lord’s Prayer.”
3. We will reflect, asking the same four questions each day that invites us to look and listen with intent.
4. And we will pray, for it is in praying that we learn to pray. And it is in praying that the Spirit changes our hearts.

May we encourage you to grab a notebook, a journal, something to write on as you do each prayer guide. Yes, it will add a few minutes to the time it takes to do the devotion, and it will also deepen your experience and shape your walk with God for years to come.

Look

There can be no kingdom of God in the world without the kingdom of God in our hearts.

Albert Schweitzer

Listen

N.T. Wright says, “when we pray, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven…” we are praying as Jesus was praying and acting—for the redemption of the world; for the radical defeat and uprooting of evil; and for heaven and earth to be married at last, for God to be all in all. And if we pray this way, we must of course be prepared to live this way.”

As you read the Lord’s Prayer today, keep in mind that it is meant to be lived, not simply prayed…

Matthew 6:9-13

⁹ Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
¹⁰ Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread,
¹² and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil.
*For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever.
Amen.

Reflect

1. Having read the Word, sit silently for a minute and give God’s Word a moment to settle within you.
2. Re-read the verses slowly and write down some thoughts that resonate with you.
3. Ask the Spirit to help you see the deeper longings, desires or motives in your heart that those thoughts are pointing to. (for example: you may write down, “God’s will in heaven is to become God’s will on earth.”) The Spirit helps us understand that this world is not all there is…all that matters. There is a greater “kingdom” than any on earth.
4. What might “bringing God’s kingdom” to the world around you possibly look like, possibly mean for you to do today?

Pray

Throughout the week we’ll pray “The Lord’s Prayer” together, emphasizing a different line each day.

⁹Our Father in heaven, 
hallowed be your name.
¹⁰ Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.

Take a moment to name a few of the characteristics of God’s Kingdom that you pray are reflected in your life and in the world around you today. For example: God is a just God and justice reigns in His Kingdom. How might you pray that God’s justice is expressed in the world today?

¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread,
¹² and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil.
*For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever.
Amen.

*Some of the earliest manuscripts do not contain this line.