“This, then, is how you should pray:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come,
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today 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 the evil one.’
For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
(Matthew 6:9-15 NIV)
In Luke’s account, the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. Jesus responded by reciting what we recognize as the Lord’s Prayer or “Our Father.” Perhaps we have uttered these words so often by committing them to memory that they have lost their meaning.
Jesus purposely begins this prayer with “Our Father.” This name for God introduces us to His paternal love. Not only is God majestic and holy, but He is also personal and loving. As believers, we are privileged to call God our Father! God is a Father who loves and cares for each of His children. His love is blessedly extreme! Our heavenly Father will search us out and rescue us from the pit. His love is everlasting! There is nothing we could ever do to make Him stop loving us. This nurturing, paternal love is one of security and encouragement.
Because of God’s great love for us, we look to Him with awe and wonder. We hold Him in the highest esteem and revere His name. We desire that His will be done because we believe that it’s best.