Do you value the Lord’s Prayer? It is a fixed part of worship services and also a regular part of my family’s evening devotions. Jesus himself taught it to us. It is wonderful that we can approach God as our own Father and we can address him informally, ask him whatever we need and surrender to his care. As a friend of my youth once said ‘if something has been forgotten when prayed in our words, the Lord’s Prayer will cover it’. It is so true.

Then we won’t forget to ask forgiveness which otherwise happens too often. Who would want to air his dirty laundry, right? However, it is necessary to get our laundry washed as Jesus reminds us. In the Lord’s Prayer, we ask for everything we need and forgiveness is part of that. Besides bread, we also need God’s guidance and protection.

“Pray, then, in this way:
‘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 have forgiven our debtors [letting go of both the wrong and the resentment].
‘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, AMP)

The kingdom and the power and the glory

Saying the Lord’s Prayer regularly makes it a bit meditative. In different seasons different petitions become dear to us. Lately, the last words of the prayer have been occupying my mind. ‘For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.’ Very often I have hurried through this without pondering on it. But maybe there is some deeper meaning in these words after all. Maybe saying these words blesses and protects us in a mysterious way?

Namely, kingdom (dominion) and power and glory are the things humans have always desired to possess. Seeking dominion, power, and glory has also been corrupting people for thousands of years. When we pray the Lord’s Prayer we surrender these to God, we let God have his rightful place and we take the place that blesses us most and belongs to us as his children. Could the last words of the Lord’s Prayer be the most significant after all? Because praying those words deports us from the core of all temptations: desiring dominion, power, and glory for ourselves. But when we give these – kingdom, power, and glory – to God, we are freed to live according to God’s will for us. And that is what is good for us.

 

Dear God,
Your profound wisdom is more than we can fathom.
Thank you for immersing us in it with your love.
For yours is the kingdom and the power and the honor forever.
Thank you for adopting us as your children.
And that you that we can surrender to your care
knowing that you will guide, protect, and bless us.
Be forever praised!
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

Q4U: How do you value the Lord’s Prayer? Does it help you to surrender to God? Or do you struggle with giving God the kingdom and the power and the glory?

Be blessed, my fellow pilgrim, as you submit to God by praying the Lord’s Prayer!

*[As you might have noticed, I enjoy reading the Bible in different translations and love comparing them. I have started linking the Bible verses toBiblegateway.com so you can easily read (and compare) them in the different versions I’ve used while preparing each post.].

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash. Linking up today with Dance with Jesus, Five-minute Friday, Worth Beyond Rubies.