“Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’ And he said to them, ‘When you pray, say:
‘Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread,
and forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.’” (Luke 11:1-4 ESV)
A parallel passage of Scripture to this one is found in Matthew 6:9-13:
“Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.”
One rendition is slightly different from the other in wording, but they both give the same basic message. But was Jesus intending that they and we should recite these same exact words over again in a sort of ritualistic fashion? I don’t believe so (see Matthew 6:7). I believe this was to be a model prayer in order to give them and us a guide as to the kinds of things that they/we should be praying about, since they were asking him to teach them to pray.
When I was much younger I learned that a model prayer should include four things: 1. Adoration, 2. Confession, 3. Thanksgiving, and 4. Supplication, for which the abbreviation is ACTS or A.C.T.S. And I believe this may have been modeled after the “Lord’s Prayer,” as it is commonly referred to. But is it true that every time that we pray that we need to include all four of these items? I don’t believe so. Again, I believe that is a model prayer.
So, what is the danger of us reciting the “Lord’s Prayer,” over and over again? It can become just words that we recite without us even meaning the words that we speak. It can become a ritualistic religious practice, but not anything that we are applying to our daily lives, in practice, and not anything that we genuinely mean from the depths of our hearts. And it can end up superseding the rest of the teachings of the Scriptures with regard to the things that we should be doing and saying, as followers of Jesus Christ.
So, should we be thanking and praising the Lord Jesus every day of our lives? I believe that we should. But we need to be more specific in our expressions of praise and thanksgiving, as applied to whatever it is we are going through on any particular day and with regard to what the Lord is doing in our lives today. Like I will thank the Lord for a good night of sleep and/or for another day of life to serve him. And I will thank him even for opponents, for through opposition I am strengthened in my walk of faith.
And I pray for the salvation of all people and that my loved ones will all surrender their lives to Jesus Christ. And I pray for the prayer needs of other people. And I pray for physical and mental strength just to make it through each day, for I am growing old and some of my mental and physical agility is beginning to deteriorate, which often happens to people as they age. And in prayer I choose to forgive those who have sinned against me, and I pray that I may love my enemies as my Lord loves and forgives me.
And I do pray that the will of God will be done in my life and that God will use me for his purposes and for his glory. I pray that he will guide me in what I am to write each day, that he will put the thoughts in my mind that he wants me to have and to share. And I pray that I will have the right attitude in my life’s situations and that the will of God will be accomplished in my life each day. For my goal in life is to serve the Lord Jesus with my life in being who he created me to be and for his purposes.
And then if we are to pray and to ask the Lord for forgiveness, I believe that we need to be more specific in what we ask forgiveness for and that we understand what all the Scriptures teach on that subject. For they teach that if we claim to be in fellowship with God but while we walk (in conduct, in practice) in darkness (sin), we are liars, and that if sin is what we practice, and not righteousness, and not obedience to God, that we will not receive forgiveness of sins and we will not inherit eternal life with God (1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Romans 6:1-23; Galatians 5:16-21).
So, the Lord’s prayer is a good model for us to follow with regard to the things we should be praying about each day, but we should guard against making that our only prayer and against being ritualistic about it to the point that it has no meaning in our lives, or to the point to where we neglect to pray for other people and their needs or where we fail to pray more specifically about the things going on in our lives each day. For our prayers to the Lord need to be current and specific and relative to our lives today.
Here are some additional Scriptures on the subject of Prayer:
[Matthew 5:43-45; Matthew 6:5-13; Matthew 9:37-38; Matthew 24:20; Matthew 26:39-44; Mark 11:25; Mark 13:17-19; Mark 14:38; Luke 1:13; Luke 6:12,27-28; Luke 10:2; Luke 11:1-4; Luke 18:1; Luke 19:46; Luke 21:36; Luke 22:32,40-46; John 17:1-26; Acts 1:12-14,23-25; Acts 4:23-31; Acts 8:22-24; Acts 9:40; Acts 10:1-48; Acts 12:5,12; Acts 13:3; Acts 14:23; Acts 16:25-34; Acts 27:28-29; Acts 28:8; Romans 1:10; Romans 8:26; Romans 10:1; Romans 12:12; Romans 15:30-32; 1 Corinthians 14:13-16; 2 Corinthians 1:11; 2 Corinthians 9:13-15; 2 Corinthians 13:7-9; Ephesians 1:15-17; Ephesians 3:14-19; Ephesians 6:18-20; Philippians 1:3-20; Philippians 4:5-7; Colossians 1:3-14; Colossians 4:2-12; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-3; 1 Thessalonians 3:9-10; 1 Thessalonians 5:17,25; 2 Thessalonians 1:10-12; 2 Thessalonians 3:1-3; 1 Timothy 2:1; 2 Timothy 1:3; Philemon 1:4-6,22; Hebrews 5:7; Hebrews 13:18; James 5:13-18; 1 Peter 3:7,12; 1 Peter 4:7; 3 John 1:2; Jude 1:19-21; Revelation 5:8]
Near the Cross
Hymn lyrics by Fanny J. Crosby, 1869
Music by William H. Doane, 1869
Jesus, keep me near the cross;
There a precious fountain,
Free to all, a healing stream,
Flows from Calvary's mountain.
Near the cross, a trembling soul,
Love and mercy found me;
There the bright and morning star
Sheds its beams around me.
Near the cross! O Lamb of God,
Bring its scenes before me;
Help me walk from day to day
With its shadow o'er me.
Near the cross I'll watch and wait,
Hoping, trusting ever,
Till I reach the golden strand
Just beyond the river.
In the cross, in the cross,
Be my glory ever,
Till my raptured soul shall find
Rest beyond the river.
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