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Intention

The Lord’s Prayer contains powerful principles to create God’s heavenly designs

Scripture

“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.”
– Matthew 6:9-13

Reflection

The Lord’s Prayer is very familiar to us all, but it’s not just something for us to recite. It contains powerful principles to create God’s heavenly designs, establishing God’s Kingdom here on earth. The Lord’s Prayer, in its entirety, is a rich blessing not only in our lives but to transform our world.

Hallowed be Your name: We begin the Lord’s Prayer by entering His presence in adoration and exaltation of our Heavenly Father. We can do this because we are His beloved children. In this place of worship, we hear His heart and have the privilege to pray in agreement with the things He has designed for us and others — Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.

When you ask for your daily needs, believe that He cares for you and wants to answer your request. After Jesus teaches the Lord’s prayer, He goes on to say, “Do not worry about what you will eat… but seek first His kingdom and righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Forgiveness is the essence of the Gospel. Jesus models forgiveness and expects us to follow His lead. He expects us to forgive all who hurt and offend us. Jesus had every right to be angry and agitated by those who were responsible for all the pain and suffering He endured.  Nevertheless, His response was to forgive them.

Don’t allow unforgiveness to block the effectiveness of your prayers. We want our prayers to be motivated by love, not judgement or anger. Proverbs 4:23 tells us to guard our heart, because everything we do flows from it… including how we pray.

Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us — Pray. It’s a simple word, but it’s surprising how easily my pride will get in the way of asking for help. Peter the disciple was so confident — even after Jesus warned him that he would deny Him three times. Peter declared that no matter what, he wouldn’t desert Him, and that he was even willing to die for Christ.

Jesus encouraged Peter twice to watch and pray in this (to ask God for help) so that he would not fall into temptation. Peter didn’t do this because he was so self-confident. Nonetheless, when the time came, his assurance disappeared. This demonstrated his lack of prayer preparation, and he failed terribly.

Many times, I hear God (I even agree with Him), but at times I fail to make time for that Word, to pray it through until it’s worked out in my heart and life and overflows to those around me.

Like Peter, I believe that ‘I’ve got it’ and conclude that no action is required! As a result, I only find myself in a mess, asking God what happened, or, worse, questioning God with “why did You allow this?”

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Prayer

Lord,
I adore You; You are worthy of my praise.
Please forgive me for… (be honest).
I forgive ___  (be specific) and ask You for grace to love them as You do.
I recognise I need Your help, especially to appreciate and not judge those who are different from me.
I come in humility, to see through Your love and listen to Your heart for our nation (pause, listen and pray what He shows you).

Amen.

Author Bio

Shiree is passionate about empowering people to draw closer to God by teaching them to walk with Him in every aspect of their life. She is the director of the Australian House of Prayer for All Nations. She has been involved in Youth With A Mission (YWAM), an international movement dedicated to knowing God and making Him known, for over 30 years. She is qualified in leadership development, discipleship, children and youth work, worship and prayer.

21 Days Prayer Points

1. Pray that God would rule over this election, that righteous leaders would be elected to govern this nation in truth and justice because, “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice.” Proverbs 29:2
2. Pray God’s blessing upon all our current parliamentarians and leaders, including their families and all the candidates of all the parties standing for this federal election. 1 Timothy 2:1-3
3. Pray for a multiplication of prayer and unity across the Body of Christ in Australia, that people will wake up to the dangers facing our nation and respond in prayer. Ephesians 5:14
4. Pray for a Revival for Australia, Spiritual Awakening and Transformation for our nation, and the proclamation of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. John 3:16

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