Praying What Jesus Taught Us To Pray

To pray is like living in a farmhouse surrounded by many different fields. Today we look at another Field close to the Farmhouse, the Prayer Jesus Himself taught us.

The wonder of the Prayer that Jesus taught us lies in the way it expresses so simply and completely all that a disciple will ever need to ask the Father. So it is one of the fields we will often visit because we will learn to pray by praying.

The first three petitions are not about our needs, but the Father’s. In the overarching perspective of all Creation, all Eternity, and our very existence, the very, very best thing that can happen each day for you and me is for the Father to be Glorified, for the Father’s Kingdom to come, and the Father’s Will to be done. These three requests cover everything we shall ever need in any and every situation. In one most important sense, we never need to pray anything else. As Jesus Himself demonstrated in Gethsemane, in agony, sweating blood He prayed "thy will be done" for three long hours.

The second part of the Prayer our Teacher models for us covers the three essential needs that you and I will ever have: our bodies need food, our souls need peace in our relationships with God and with others, and our spirits need protection from evil. So, He who perfectly understands what you and I need instructs us to ask for food for our bodies, forgiveness in all our relationships, and protection from all evil.

So the essence of all we will ever need to pray is modeled for us as Jesus in His Humanity stands with us in our humanity and leads us in talking to our True Father - the One in the Heavens; the One who made us; the Lord who is Merciful and Gracious, slow to anger and Abounding in Steadfast Love and Faithfulness; the One who maintains Love to thousands and forgives wickedness; the One who will fulfill His Eternal Plans for all who love Him.