The first petition that Jesus teaches us to make in our prayers is this: “Hallowed be Thy name.” As we come to this first petition, you might be thinking that this is rather abstract and distant from your life, that it is not very practical. But the wonder of prayer is that, through Jesus Christ, we can make our requests known to God and He is ready to hear us in our needs. And we do not deserve to be heard by God. Really, we do not deserve anything from God.
It is a wonderful thing that we can make requests known to God and that Jesus teaches us to make petitions in our prayers. Our prayers should include confessions of sin and of our unworthiness.īut prayers may also include petitions. In our prayers we should be expressing our thankfulness to God for all that He has done. We should also make prayers of praise and adoration. And they divide nicely into two groups of three-the first three dealing with God, His name, His kingdom, and His will and the second three dealing more directly with our needs.Īs we begin to look at the petitions of the Lord’s Prayer, let us remember that our prayers should include more than just petitions and requests. Today we will begin to look at the petitions of the Lord’s Prayer. Last week we considered the introductory address of the Lord’s Prayer: Our Father which art in heaven. You can find that prayer in Matthew 6 and Luke 11. We have begun looking together at the subject of prayer from the point of view of Jesus’ own instruction in the Lord’s Prayer.