Outline of a Prayer

Luke 11:1 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”

This is an outline not a prayer that is to be recited, especially over and over. This is the exact opposite of the way that Jesus introduces the model prayer.

Matthew 6:7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

The Model Prayer Outline

Matthew 6:9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.

Our Father in heaven… Catholic → Mary and the saints; others to Jesus primarily; Christ very specifically here directs it to the Father and begins His prayer by addressing the Him first and foremost.

Our… Also note that He is OUR Father, all of ours, which makes us His children. We are to look up to Him and revere Him.

Father… Adam the son of God, this makes Him our Father who physically created and obviously our spiritual Father who gave us His spirit.

Luke 3:38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—

in heaven… God has kept Himself separate from the world in heaven. We are to set our minds and hearts on the things which are above.

Colossians 3:2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

Hallowed be Your name…

Hallowed… to be holy and sanctified; In other words He is set apart from all else and is to be honored and thought of in this fashion.

Your name… God has many names that He goes by, but this being singular represents all that He is – in particular His power and authority to do all that He does – some of those things being what we pray.

The Bible is replete with verses that back this up:

Leviticus 10:3 And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD spoke, saying: ‘By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And before all the people I must be glorified.’ “….

2 Samuel 7:26 So let Your name be magnified forever, saying, ‘The LORD of hosts is the God over Israel.’….

Nehemiah 9:5 …”Stand up and bless the LORD your God Forever and ever! “Blessed be Your glorious name, Which is exalted above all blessing and praise!

Psalms 111:9 …Holy and awesome is His name.

Matthew 6:10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.

Your…Your… a continuation of focus from the previous verse (“Your name”)

Your kingdom come…

Revelation 11:15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”

We are looking forward to the time when the Kingdom of God will be set up on Earth. It will be ruled by God, using His law which reflects His nature to rule, guide and educate the rest of mankind!

Of course our expectation and hope is that we will get to be a part of that.

2 Thessalonians 1:5 which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer;

Your will be done…

Just to be clear, God’s will is done:

Psalms 135:5 For I know that the LORD is great, And our Lord is above all gods.
Psalms 135:6 Whatever the LORD pleases He does, In heaven and in earth, In the seas and in all deep places.

So what does this mean then? It is more about us understanding the will of God.

Ephesians 5:17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

The Bible in its entirety shows us the will of God. If we read and understand the whole book then we will pray accordingly. But we also can often figure out more specifically what God’s will is for us.

Ephesians 1:9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,

As we pray and God answers YES and NO or “not right now” we refine our comprehension of what He wants for us.

On earth as it is in heaven…. Since there are no commas in the Greek offsetting this portion of the sentence, this could referring to the first part of the sentence:

Your kingdom come On earth as it is in heaven. (Like we talked about before)

Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. (This means that we would need be in line with or get in line with it.)

Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
Matthew 7:22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’
Matthew 7:23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Matthew 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.

We are to ask God every day to provide all that we need.

Matthew 6:25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
Matthew 6:26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
Matthew 6:27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
Matthew 6:28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;
Matthew 6:29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Matthew 6:30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
Matthew 6:31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
Matthew 6:32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Matthew 6:34 Therefore do not worry [lack of faith] about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

2 Thessalonians 3:10 For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.

There is still the expectation that we ask for these things or acknowledge them everyday. When we do this, we recognize Who sustains us and looks after us like a loving Father would.

Matthew 6:12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.

our debts…

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The debt that we owe for sin is our life.

forgive us…

1 John 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light [repent of our old ways] as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

This is saying that forgiveness is conditional.

As we forgive our debtors… Another condition; we are to forgive the transgressions against us.

Matthew 6:14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
Matthew 6:15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

If we want a relationship with God:

Matthew 5:23 Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,
Matthew 5:24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

This is how serious God is about this.

Our forgiveness requires their repentance first:

Luke 17:1 Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come!
Luke 17:2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.
Luke 17:3 Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
Luke 17:4 And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

Until then be ready to forgive – a spirit of forgiveness:

Luke 15:18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you,
Luke 15:19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ‘
Luke 15:20 “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.

Matthew 6:13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

do not lead us into temptation…

James 1:13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.
James 1:14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.
James 1:15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

The connotation is then in Matthew 6:13 is “do not let us be lead us into temptation” which goes hand in hand with the next part of the verse:

But deliver us from the evil one…

1 Thessalonians 3:5 For this reason, when I could no longer endure it, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor might be in vain.

He is the one that

Ephesians 2:2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,

2 Corinthians 4:4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded,….

Revelation 12:9 …the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world;….

Galatians 1:4 who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

Not only do we have to watch out for the whole world, but ourselves as well

Matthew 7:11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

SO:

1 John 5:18 We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.
1 John 5:19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
1 Peter 5:9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

For Yours is the kingdom… the prayer is ended with much the same focus as it started – on God’s Kingdom. It is His and His to give to us – which He wants to do.

Luke 12:31 But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.
Luke 12:32 “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

and the power… God is omnipotent! It is through this power that the universe came into existence, the angelic realm was created, we were made into higher order thinking / creative beings, resurrected Christ from the dead back to eternal life, performs miracles and healings

Matthew 26:64 Jesus said to him, It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

It is this same power that we now call upon to hear our prayers. We are to know this and recognize this!

and the glory forever….

Romans 11:36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

Because of who God the Father is and all that He has done and continues to do, we are to always honor, praise and worship Him in all that we think, say and do.

In the Name of Christ

John 14:13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
John 14:14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

Acts 3:6 Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”

Acts 3:16 And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

Acts 4:5 And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes,
Acts 4:6 as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem.
Acts 4:7 And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, “By what power or by what name have you done this?”
Acts 4:8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel:
Acts 4:9 If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well,
Acts 4:10 let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.
Acts 4:11 This is the ‘STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED BY YOU BUILDERS, WHICH HAS BECOME THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE.’
Acts 4:12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

In other words we go through Christ to get to God. He is our intercessor, mediator and expedites our access to the Father.

Amen…. This is not an afterthought or a punctuation to a prayer. It means that all the aforementioned prayer is faithfully true and we agree to it. It is also a name used for Christ, so we do not use it in vain.

Revelation 3:14 “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:

We need to make sure that we do not say this out of repetition or inanely, but that realize that what has been said is the truth before God.