THEINC - The Lord's Prayer

Genesis 1:1 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 

The Lord's Prayer is the model of prayer that Jesus taught us, as recorded in the gospels of Matthew and Luke.   Matthew 6:10-14   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. 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 men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. Luke 11:2-4   He said to them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’ ” It is presented here in traditional and modern language:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy 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. for ever and ever. Amen	Our Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours. Now and for ever. Amen
This prayer is prayed daily by thousands of Christians, and can be seen both as a model for prayer, and as to be repeated as part of our daily prayer. It starts by addressing God as our Father in heaven, that although His name is honoured, and above all other names, we are His children. As such, we occupy a place of privilege, and He wants us to spend time in prayer with Him. We then pray that God's Kingdom, or rule, will become the norm on earth, replacing human rules and governments, which too often are driven by greed and power. Only then do we turn to our own needs, and ask our Father for our basic human needs to be satisfied, and that He would forgive the wrong things that we have done. We ask for God's guidance and protection as we journey through life. Finally we turn back to God, and acknowledge His supremacy and position as the Almighty ruler.
Pointers for Prayer : Pray the prayer through, and then take one of the phrases. Spend a few moments reflecting on that phrase, for example, imagining what it means for God's Kingdom to come, or how we forgive those who sin against us. Then use these thoughts for further prayer, finally coming back to pray through the Lord's Prayer again.

All material is copyright to The Teal Trust, 2002, but may be reproduced with permission for non-profit use.

John 3:16-21 16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, F that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.G 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." H