The Lord’s Prayer
The disciples noticed there was something different about Jesus' prayer life. They had learned prayers from childhood, but Jesus prayed with an intimacy, confidence, and authority they had never seen before. They wanted that same relationship with God, so they asked Him:
"Lord, teach us to pray."
— Luke 11:1
He taught them the Lord’s Prayer. The disciple adapts to his teacher, so I am using the acronym ADAPTS to remember the different aspects of the prayer Jesus taught.
ADAPTS
A-Adoration. Acknowledging God as the Father to be worshipped.
D-Dominion. Asking for the kingdom to come.
A-Ask. Asking for God’s provision.
P-Pardon. Ask for forgiveness and extend forgiveness to others.
T-Temptation. Ask to de delivered from temptation.
S- Sovereign. God is sovereign. We leave everything in His hands.
“In this manner, therefore, 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 this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 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.”
Matthew 6:9-13
Chapter 1: Adoration — Acknowledging The Name Of The Father
Jesus begins the prayer with,
“Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.”
Jesus instructs us to begin with comprehension that God is our Heavenly Father. Paul’s says in Galatians,
“Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.”
Galatians 4:6-7
He says that we are sons of God, and that God sent the Spirit of His Son, the Spirit of Jesus, into our hearts. The Spirit of Jesus Himself calls out to God in and through us, “ Abba Father.” Abba is Aramaic for father. It is what infants would say. Jesus addressed God in this way when He prayed intensely in the Garden Of Gethsemane.
“Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what You will.”
Mark 14:36
We are not slaves, but sons, and even heirs, co-heirs with Christ. In love the Father predestined us to the adoption of sonship. We were predestined to adoption as sons and daughters.
“He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will. ”
Ephesians 1:5 NIV
“For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.”
Romans 8:29
A good metaphor for predestination is an airline flight. They schedule the flight, the destination, flight crew, and cost of tickets. They ensure the plane is in prime condition and properly maintained. All you do is purchase a ticket and then get on the plane. You are predestined to arrive at the scheduled destination. You don’t have to do any of the preparation. In the same way God orchestrates everything for you to be adopted as His son or daughter. All you do is believe. Adoption means to place as an adult son or daughter. It is a legal position. Jesus is our brother. Jesus is 100% God, Son of God and 100% human. We share in the relationship that Jesus has as a human with the Father.
“Jesus said, ‘Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
John 20:17
Jesus was speaking as a human being that He was ascending to His father and God. We share in His relationship with God as a human.
“Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters. He says, ‘I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters; in the assembly I will sing your praises.’”
Hebrews 2:11-12
Jesus is the first human being in the new creation to have a relationship with the Father. Adam was the first human being, but he forfeited his relationship with God.
Jesus is the “firstborn”, the first One risen from the dead. We are of the same family as Jesus. Jesus calls us brothers and sisters. Jesus is our brother. We are sons and daughters of God. By God’s grace we are of the same family as Jesus!
We are sons and daughters of the Father. We have the very Spirit of Jesus. God has brought us into an elevated position. We share the relationship Jesus has in His humanity with the Father. Jesus became human so we could be sons and daughters of the Father. We are not counted as sinners but as holy sons and daughters.
After teaching us to address God as father, Jesus then says to say, “Hallowed be Your name. Hallowed means holy or set apart from common. Holiness can be understood from a wedding stress that is set apart from normal every day use. It wouldn’t be worn to do gardening. It is set apart for a special purpose. That is what holy means.
Peter says,
“for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’”
1 Peter 1:16
God’s name is who He is. It’s His character.
Moses in the desert asked God what His name was.
“Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ” God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ “This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.”
Exodus 3:13-15
God’s response was “I Am Who I Am.” The Hebrew grammar conveys “I am, and will continue to be, and will be forever. There has never been a time that God wasn’t “I AM”. For our perspective it can be said “He who was, and is, and is to come.
“John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne,”
Revelation 1:4
From God’s perspective He is always “I AM”, present tense.
God was also saying in Exodus “Whatever you need, I am that.” as well as “Everything that I am, I am that.” We are only what we are sometimes. We aren’t always nice. However, God is always everything He is.
Jesus declares the name of the Father in our midst, as He dwells inside of us.
“He says, “I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters; in the assembly I will sing your praises.”
Hebrews 2:12
He reveals the name of the Father to us.
God proclaimed His name to Moses.
“And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.’”
Exodus 34:6-7
He begins by repeating His name Yahweh twice. Yahweh comes from the verb To Be.
Then He says, “compassionate and gracious. He was revealing His name to explain what just happened in the story where the Israelites sinned by worshipping the golden calf. Per the intercession of Moses, God was compassionate and forgave their egregious sin. Compassionate means to suffer with. God suffered with His people. That is why He delivered them from slavery. God suffers with us when we suffer.
“As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;”
Psalms 103:13
Gracious means to bend down in kindness to an inferior. God inclines Himself to us who are inferior to Him. Grace is like the sun that shines regardless of merit because that is its nature. so God is gracious regardless of human merit, because that is His eternal nature.
Long suffering means endless patience. God only judges when persistent rebellion has no repentance. He is slow to anger.
Abounding means more than enough.
God abounds in kindness and faithfulness.
Kindness is God’s benevolence expressed in word or deed. God seeks your very best.
The root word for faithful means to be firm. It is used in Isaiah 22:23 for a peg driven into a firm place in the wall. They would drive a peg into a firm place in the wall to hang pots and pans. I had set up a television stand, and I drove a bolt into the stud, so that it would be firm and support the weight of the television. I was never worried about the television falling. The bolt was firm in the stud. It was faithful and reliable. In the same way God is faithful and reliable. We can trust that He will be who He is.
The same word is used in Numbers 11:12 for a nurse carrying an infant. God is faithful and carries us as a nurse carries an infant.
“Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their ancestors?”
Numbers 11:12
You can trust Him to always seek your best. You can trust Him to act according to His nature.
Maintaining love or lovingkindness for 1000’s means He watches over it like a guard to demonstrate His lovingkindness to us.
He forgives wickedness, rebellion, and sin. Wickedness means crooked.
Rebellion is revolt against God affirming our autonomy. Sin means to miss the mark. God forgives all 3 forms of sin. The word for forgive means to lift up. God has lifted sin up from us, laying it down on Jesus on the cross. The burden of sin that weighed us down has been lifted. We are forgiven.
The revelation of God’s name mentions that He doesn’t leave the guilty unpunished. How is that congruent with what He said previously about forgiving sin? We must see in in context of the story that prompted the revelation of His name. God forgave the Israelites that had sinned against Him with worshipping the golden calf, but he judged 3000 who were killed. They were unrepentant..They didn’t want forgiveness. They wanted to persist in their rebellion against God. When people reject forgiveness and grace, and choose to remain in their sin, they are judged. It’s interesting to note that is says He judges to the 3’s and 4’s, but maintains loving kindness to 1000’s. The word generation isn’t in the Hebrew. It says to the 3’s and 4’s. The vast difference between 3’s and 4’s and 1000’s, shows that God is inclined to lovingkindness much more than judgment. God only judges those that don’t want forgiveness, and want to stay in their sin. Although there are consequences from sin that affect children and grandchildren, Ezekiel 18:20 says the child doesn’t share the guilt of the parent. Everyone is responsible for their own sin.
“The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them.”
Ezekiel 18:20
Jesus then goes on to praying the kingdom. Domain means kingdom.we are to pray, “Your kingdom come Your will be done.”
What is the kingdom? The kingdom of God is the restoration of the creation as God originally designed it. There will be the final consummation when Jesus returns , but it is constantly increasing now. It began with the baptism of Jesus, continuing through the apostles and our day.
“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”
Isaiah 9:6-7
There still is suffering, persecution, and tribulation for the church. The apostles and early believers Christians had trouble in the world, but the kingdom increased through them. Why is it good news?
Because Jesus has the power and authority to cast out the kingdom of Satan and introduce His kingdom. An example is an abusive father and husband who has an encounter with Jesus. Now he is loving. He has been transformed. There is now harmony. Jesus has cast out the bad family life and brought harmony. That is the kingdom.
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,”
Romans 14:16-17
It’s the restoration of the creation and life as God originally designed it.
Jesus preached the good news of the kingdom. THAT was His message.
“Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.”
Matthew 4:23
“But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.””
Luke 4:43
We execute in prayer the implementation of His kingdom.
It’s like a presidential executive order. Jesus has given us the keys of the kingdom. Keys are the ability and authority to enter a domain.
“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind (prohibit) on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose (permit) on earth will be loosed in heaven.””
Matthew 16:18-19
By sharing the Gospel with people believing and obeying God’s will, His will is done here on earth as it is in Heaven. Of its INCREASE there will be no end. Jesus gave us the authority. When we bind, or prohibit something in prayer, it is bound, or prohibited in heaven. We can affect things on earth. When we loose, or permit something in prayer, we loose, or permit it in heaven. We can exercise our influence in prayer.
When did the kingdom begin? It began at Jesus’ baptism when He was anointed with the Holy Spirit, and continues to increase now. What was the message of Jesus? It was the good news of the kingdom of God. It is the process of God restoring all things in the creation as He originally designed it.
Ask. Give us this day our daily bread.
The next thing Jesus says to pray is to Ask , which is to pray for God to give us this day our daily bread.
“Give us today our daily bread.”
Matthew 6:11
We are to ask for God to provide for our daily needs. Our natural tendency is to be anxious regarding the things we need for our life.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Matthew 6:25-27, 33-34 NIV
We need to focus our attention on the kingdom and not be anxious about our life and provision. Anxiousness chokes the word of the kingdom.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7
We need to present our needs to God in prayer, with thankfulness, trusting that He will answer us. We then need to reject anxious thoughts, replacing them with thoughts of His word, from the Scriptures
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
Philippians 4:8
Think in Greek is LawGEEzomigh. It means to take an inventory. It’s very careful thinking.
It means to conclude. You think about your needs and conclude that God can and will provide.
“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Luke 11:11-13
God is our Father and treats us as a father treats his children only better. He is not reluctant to meet our needs.
When I was 30 I was a missionary in Mexico, and as a missionary I didn’t have a lot of money. I needed a computer to work on music, and decided to ask my dad for the money to buy it. It was hard for me to get to the point of asking for it, but I finally managed to ask. Without even hesitating my dad agreed. I realized that he was extremely willing to give me the money without any reluctance. With pleasure he gave me the money. I realized how he was pleased to help me. This made me understand how graciously the Father delights in showing kindness to us.
Pardon. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
The next thing we are to pray is to pardon, which is to ask “forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. We need to acknowledge our need for forgiveness. If we confess our sins God is faithful to forgive our sins, and cleanse from all unrighteousness
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John 1:9
“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”
Hebrews 1:3 NIV
We are forgiven and purified. The old testament priest had to stand and continually offer sacrifices. Jesus completed our purification and sat down at God’s right hand, meaning that nothing else needs to be done for our forgiveness. Our purification from sin is complete.
“For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: ‘This is the covenant I will make with them after that time,’says the Lord. , ‘ I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.’ Then he adds: ‘Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.’”
We must extend forgiveness to those who have sinned against us.
“God refuses to raise a breed of sons and daughters who are unlike Him. It’s not in His nature, so He confronts it in ours.”
[Jack Hayford. Prayer Is Invading The Impossible. ]
We extend the grace that God has given us. If we hold a grudge it stops the flow of grace. It gets “stuck”. It’s like building a dam that stops a river. Let the river of grace flow through you. Stop rehearsing the offense in your mind. Subtle resentment and bitterness can grow and spread like cancer.
“See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”
Hebrews 12:15
Understand what forgiveness is (and isn’t)
Forgiveness is:
- Releasing your right to personal revenge.
- Letting go of bitterness and the desire to make someone “pay.”
- Entrusting justice to God (Romans 12:19).
Forgiveness is not:
- Saying what happened was okay.
- Pretending it didn’t hurt.
- Automatically restoring trust.
- Removing consequences.
Even on the cross, Jesus Christ prayed, “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:34). Forgiveness didn’t mean injustice vanished — it meant He released vengeance to the Father.
“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
Colossians 3:13 NIV
After you have forgiven, when thoughts of the offense come into your mind, replace them with thoughts of God instead of reinforcing those thoughts.
Pray blessing on them. As God’s grace and blessing ours through you as you pray, God will purge you of bitterness and resentment.
Temptation. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. ’”
Matthew 6:13
We must set our wills to mature and reject sin.
“When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.”
James 1:13-14
We are essentially saying, “Far from You being the source of temptation You are my deliverer.”The two work in tandem: “Don’t bring us in, but bring us out!”
“He is saying, “When you pray, acknowledge that the Father isn’t your problem when temptation assails you, but that He is your protector.”
[Jack Hayford. Prayer Is Invading The Impossible.]
“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; Hee will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”
1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet He did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Hebrews 4:15-16
“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.”
Matthew 4:1
Jesus responded to temptation with “It is written.”
“Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, ‘If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.’ But He answered and said, ‘It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”
Matthew 4:3-4
The battle is won in the mind.
“Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.”
Romans 13:14
In the same way you get dressed everyday, clothe yourself with Jesus. The word THINK I’m this verse means to think beforehand. We think of sin before we do it. When the thought comes defeat it with Scripture.
Clothe yourself with Christ? Think of who you are in Christ, who God has made you in Christ.
“but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
n nJames 1:14-15 NIV
God isn’t the source of temptation. The devil and the sinful nature is. The Word DRAGGED AWAY is used in a hunting analogy where an animal is lured away from its safety.
ENTICED is like bait used in fishing. This desire conceives like a woman gets pregnant and gives birth to sin which gives birth to death. Just as the bait promises food for a fish and then hooks the fish in its mouth and kills it, so it is with sin.
When you are tempted
1 Know it’s not a God, but the devil who uses your sinful nature
2 Resist knowing God will provide a way out.
Defeat it in your mind with Scripture. Speak it is written. Speak a Scripture you have memorized.
An example is Romans 6:11
“In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
Romans 6:11
You can say, “I am dead to sin but alive in Christ” Pray to the Father “Deliver me from this temptation.
Sovereign. Leave everything in His hands.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
Matthew 6:13
All prayer concludes by placing everything in God’s hands. Recognize that God is sovereign. He is supreme in power and authority. He is free to do what He chooses to do.
“Prayer may be filled with faith, uttered with boldness, offered in obedience, and overflowing with praise and confidence. But after all is said, it’s still up to Him.”
[Jack Hayford. Prayer Is Invading The Impossible.]
The Big Picture
1 God is sovereign — all power, glory, and authority belong to Him.
2 He entrusts stewardship — the church exercises authority on earth in line with heaven.
3 Our dependence is central — through prayer, obedience, and humility, we participate in His kingdom.
We surrender to God as He seeks our highest God.
His kingdom in the world, His provision for our needs, and concession of our Godly desires, His forgiveness of our needs and intervention in our relationships with others, and His help to overcome temptation all stem from who He is.
We respond with “Yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory Amen.