Luke 11: 1-4 & Matthew 6: 9-13.
[center]“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 trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil,
For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever, Amen”.[/center]


The Lord’s Prayer is one of the most popular prayers among the Christian fold. It is a prayer that was instituted by Jesus Christ himself. Jesus taught his disciples how to say this prayer and today, it is a general prayer usually used to round up a prayer session in church services, groups and even in family or even in personal devotions.

There are countless versions of this short but interesting prayer. Practically, every growing child knows how to say this prayer as it is always used when praying. Today, I would be writing about “The Lord’s Prayer – The Contents”.

Most people say this prayer with so much ignorance as they do not understand its contents in its entirety. Now, let’s break this prayer down for easy understanding.

“Our Father In Heaven”
This part shows we believe that our God lives somewhere – in Heaven. Our God lives far up in the Heavens, but He sees everything that happens here on earth, even in our darkest closet. He is the Omnipresence – He is everywhere at the same time. With this phrase, we know that our God and Father is in Heaven

“Hallowed Be Your Name”
“Hallowed” means “Holy”. Each time we recite this line, we remind ourselves that our God is Holy and faultless in all His doings. We also become aware of our sinful nature as we adore and worship the true God.

“Your Kingdom Come,
“Your Will Be Done On Earth As It Is In Heaven”
In this line, we are making a request that the kingdom of God be made manifest here on earth. God’s kingdom is life, holy, pure and peaceful. So, we are asking that the earth be transformed into what God originally planned it to be – a peaceful and beautiful garden where all we do is to give glory to God through everything we do.

“Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread”
In this part, we are showing our total dependency on God. We are telling God that He is the provider of all we have and are. We are letting God know that we need Him in everything (physically, spiritually, emotionally, mentally and every other way) and it is a daily need.

“And Forgive Us Our Trespasses”
Like we earlier said, this prayer comes in various versions, and as such, the various versions used different words in place of “Trespasses”. Versions used “debt”; another used “sins”, but let us still focus on this our version which used “trespasses”. This part reminds us that we have in one way or the other, come short of God’s expectations of us. We are reminded that we need God’s forgiveness every day.

“As We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us”
As we receive God’s forgiveness in places we have sinned, we call to mind those who we haven’t forgiven and we forgive them. The combination of last point and this point “And Forgive Us Our Trespasses, As We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us” really means a lot.

It shows that we receive God’s forgiveness if only we forgive others who have sinned against us. It implies that if we do not forgive people who might have sinned against us, we should never expect forgiveness from God.

“And Lead Us Not Into Temptation”
Pardon me to use the word “test” instead of “tempt” in this context. Temptation will definitely come, but we are relying in the power of Jesus to overcome the temptations of this world. The devil tempts us, but God tests us. We need to understand that God doesn’t tempt us; He only tests us to grow our faith and to show the extent of our love for Him.

“But Deliver Us From Evil”
Here, we are requesting for the protection of God over our lives and over everything that relates to us. We have to recognize that God is the source of our protection; He is our shield against the evil arrows from the pit of hell. Only God, can save you and I, that’s why we constantly need to call on Him.

“For Thine Is The Kingdom, The Power And The Glory,
Forever And Ever, Amen”.[color=#000099]
This is a hymn of praise to God Almighty. NB: not all versions of the Lord’s Prayer contain this part. This part of the prayer simply gives glory and honour to God for His unending faithfulness in our lives and in all His doings.

Conclusion
Like Jesus said while talking to his disciples, we are not to pray to impress people (Matthew 6: 5-7). We are rather expected to humbly and wholeheartedly approach God in a simple manner as a child will approach his father. We are to know that God is the source of our strength and the giver of our life.

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