The Lord's Prayer

When a disciple asked the Lord to teach them to pray, Christ demonstrated a short prayer that perfectly summarized what Christians believe and how we should live.

His example is a template we can use for making our own prayers. He used adoration, confession and supplication. 

Heather Bell

In ​adoration we address God as Our Father, showing our relationship, reverence and gratitude for His love and care. This conveys God’s holiness, and the desire for His will to be done. The confession is our request for the forgiveness of our sins, along with the condition that we must also forgive others who have wronged us. In supplication, we ask for food to nourish our bodies and His Word to nourish our souls. To overcome our weaknesses, we pray for God to extend His guiding hand over us to grant discernment and to steer clear of temptation and sin.

Delores Smyth says, “This prayer focuses our thoughts on what is important in life by summarizing everything we must do to be good and faithful servants: revere God, accept His will, know His Word, love each other through forgiveness, and resist evil.” 

In one of my former Bible studies, we were asked to rewrite The Lord’s Prayer, customizing it to be meaningful to our families. This is the version my son, Prentice wrote when he was in high school. 

"Thank you, God, for your forgiveness. Give us strength to face temptations. Help us to pick up the sword to protect the ones we love. We pray for the sick and weary that they find peace under your wings. We ask that you envelop us with the love of Christ and help us to be more and more like you every day. Please send your angels to encamp around our house and protect us from all the evils of this world. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen."
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I invite you to consider writing a prayer following Jesus' example.

​In His Name, Heather