An Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer
The past few weeks I’ve been writing about the new Bible study, Teach Us to Pray: Learning to pray from the Lord’s Prayer and teachings of Jesus. The first two lessons in the Bible study are preparatory to studying the Lord’s Prayer. Lesson 3, however, is where we begin to dig into the Lord’s Prayer itself. But first, we open with a short introduction to the study before getting into the first of five Focus Points identified in the Lord’s Prayer.
Most recognize Matthew 6:9—13 as a Model or Pattern prayer. In it, Jesus teaches us principles by which to pray. Consistent with teaching principles, the prayer is short and to the point. We are given a framework made of the principles, which correspond to each focus point below; through praise and petition, we fill in the prayer with the personal details of the joys or burdens on our hearts.
‘Our Father who is 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 do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from evil.
[For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’] (Matthew 6:9—13)
Five Focus Points
In this study, Five Focus Points of The Lord’s Pattern Prayer have been identified, corresponding to each phrase of the prayer. The study is built around looking at the Lord’s Prayer through the lenses of those five points of focus.
Lessons 3-8 address each of these five Focus Points. What are these Focus points? Why are they important to studying the Lord’s prayer? How might the application of these Focus Points change our prayers, and our lives? Searching the Scriptures for the answers to these questions is the meat of this Bible study.
Teach Us to Pray
Jesus intended this prayer to teach us, his disciples, to pray, in answer to the disciple’s request. With biblical insights and built-in times for prayer in each lesson, this Bible study teaches us how to view and to use Jesus’ pattern prayer; it teaches us to pray.
In our next post, we dive into the Lord’s Prayer itself and give a taste of what is in store in the Bible study Teach Us to Pray.
To read all the blog posts related to the Bible study, Teach Us to Pray, scroll down “Archives” on the Blog page.