In Matthew (chapter 6), Jesus provides a sound teaching on the dos and don’ts of prayer. In one instance, He instructs us to refrain from lengthy, verbose prayers. In another instance, He instructs us to find an intimate space to seek God through intercession. Yet, the most powerful thing that Jesus did within that scriptural text is present to us a specific guideline on how to pray. Now, you could probably search online for hundreds of bible studies on the Lord’s prayer. This post will not resemble one of those theological analyses. Instead, I want to convey how in its simplicity, the Lord’s prayer possesses great power.
[To read the Lord’s prayer, arrow down to the bottom of today’s post.]
Specifically, I want to focus on two verses of the Lord’s prayer and share how I’ve come to understand them. Verses 10-11 reads, “10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread.” [Reminder] Earlier in chapter 6, Jesus instructs us to refrain from verbose prayers. Subsequently, He uses the aforementioned two short verses in a prayer to address our needs/wants/desires and God’s will.
Often, we go to the Lord in prayer with so much on our hearts. We want safer neighborhoods. We want a new house or a new car. We need a miracle for our friend. We want a quick solution to a major dilemma we’re facing. Thus, we go before the Lord and declare a long list of grievances and expectations. In our desire for the “best” answer from God, we repeat these long list prayers habitually. We get stuck in this bad habit because we forget that the Lord knows what we have need of before we ask Him. Either that or we don’t believe.
We don’t believe? Yes, we don’t believe.
If we truly believed that God has our best interest at heart, then we would realize the power of verses 10-11. When we pray for God’s kingdom to come and for His will to be done (in earth as it is in heaven), we are praying for God’s best. We are acknowledging that in God’s kingdom, there is peace, there is provision, there is order, there is justice. Therefore, we are calling those things into being when we declare, “Lord, thy will be done.” As if that’s not enough we also pray, “Give us this day, our daily bread.” Daily bread doesn’t only refer to food. Daily bread refers to sufficiency. In other words, we are asking God to give us the exact things that we need to make it through the day. We are asking God to give us enough. Therefore, we don’t have to be burdened down by lack or overwhelmed by gratuity. In obtaining our daily bread, we are content with what is enough for our specific circumstances.
Do you see how the two verses are packed with so much authority?
We really have no need to bring a Christmas list worth of stuff to the Lord during times of prayer and intercession. God knows what we need. It is His will that our needs are met and that we live contently. So, stop making yourself anxious or overwhelmed. Stop wasting time asking for a million things over and over again. Demonstrate faith in God and say, “Lord, thy will be done. Give me this day what is sufficient for me.” It’s simple yet powerful. I assure you, if you only prayed the Lord’s prayer for the rest of your life, it would be enough. It’s sufficient to release the blessings of the Lord over you, your family, your friends, and your community.
I hope you enjoyed today’s devotion. If you would like us to go in-depth regarding other verses of the Lord’s prayer, let me know in the comment section below.