The Spirit of the Lord’s Prayer
(week 18/06)
Olubi Johnson
Matthew 6:9-13 NKJV: In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Luke 11:1-4 NKJV: Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” 2 So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done; On earth as it is in heaven. 3 Give us day by day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.”
Here, we see the Lord Jesus teaching us how to pray.
This prayer is actually a summary of all the principles that prayer needs to address and answer:
1. The principle of worship (Jn. 4.23, 24) —-‘Hallowed be Your Name’
2. The principle of enforcing God’s will and Kingdom on the earth by praying for our nations (1 Tm. 2.1-4) —- ‘Your Kingdom come and Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’
3. The principle of meeting our physical and material needs (3 Jn. 2) —‘Give us this day our daily bread’.
4. The principle of walking in love and forgiveness (1 Cor. 13.4-8) —‘Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us’
5. The principle of victory over sin (Rom. 6.14) —‘Lead us not into temptation’
6. The principle of deliverance from spiritual and temporal evil: divine protection (Ps. 91.1-16) — ‘Deliver us from evil’
Our daily prayers: confessions of sins, confessions of the Word and praying in the spirit should mention all these principles and cause them to be enforced using the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
It is not enough just to say this prayer mechanically by rote as is done so commonly today: the vital things are the principles that are mentioned in the prayer and enforcing them daily using the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus by confession of sins, confession of the Word and praying in the Spirit.
It is for this reason the Scripture says above ‘pray after this manner’ not just say alone. We say words that cause these things mentioned in this prayer to come into physical manifestation: this is spirit behind the Lord’s Prayer and not just the letter of it:
2 Corinthians 3:5-6 NKJV: Our sufficiency is from God, 6 who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
