Edikan Uko
- Aug 22, 2018
- 6 min read

How To Pray Using the Lord’s Prayer as a Template

Jesus taught His disciples to pray. He told His disciples not to be like the heathen and not to pray like them, and so He gave them a model prayer which we call “The Lord’s Prayer”. It can be found in Matthew 6 verses 9 – 13:

9 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. (New King James Version)

The Lord’s prayer has all the elements we would ever need in prayer, and so we can use it as a template to pray all the time. You do not necessarily need to recite the prayer whenever you pray, but you can use the elements to put together your own prayer which will be pleasing to God and give you answers to your prayers all the time.

Let us take a look at the components of the prayer and how we can use it to pray:

1. Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. (verse 9)

The first step we should take in prayer is to relate to God. What is your relationship with God? If you are a born-again Christian, you are a child of God and He is your Heavenly Father. Have the confidence to call Him Father. When you pray, call God your father.

Not everyone is a child of God. See what the Bible says in 1 John 3 verse 10:

In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. (New King James Version)

The Bible tells us in Galatians 3:26 what qualifies us to be children of God:

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. (New King James Version)

It is faith in Christ Jesus that makes you a child of God. The Bible says in Romans 10 verse 9:

“that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved”. (New King James Version)

You become saved by confessing with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believing in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead. You become a child of God by doing this. If you would like to accept Jesus into your life as your Lord and Saviour and become a child of God, click the LINK to pray the salvation prayer and begin a new life in Christ Jesus.

PRAYER ACTION 1

When you pray, go to God as His child, and call God your Father and approach Him knowing He is your father.

2. Hallowed be Your name. (verse 9b)

To “hallow” means to honour as holy. This part of the Lord’s prayer is about worship.

PRAYER ACTION 2

Worship God, revere and respect God. Tell God He is awesome, great, holy and mighty and so forth. Say it in your own words and you can also worship God with songs.

3. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven

(Verse 10)

This means we should pray the agenda of God for the earth/the world. For instance, we know that God does not desire that anyone should perish, but that all should come to the knowledge of Christ.

The Bible says in 2 Peter 3 verse 9:

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (New King James Version)

One of the things we should pray about when we pray is for salvation of souls; for the lost all over the world to be saved.

After God raised Jesus from the dead, He appeared to His disciples and told them in Mark 16 verse 15:

“And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature”. (New King James Version)

This suggests that God desires that the gospel be preached all over the world to everyone. That is God’s agenda! Therefore, one of the things you should pray about is for people to preach the gospel all over the world. Pray for God to move people and orchestrate events for the gospel to be preached. Pray for missionaries and ministers of the Gospel. In those nations where Christianity is either outlawed or stifled, pray for the move of God. You can see and understand God’s agenda as you study the Bible. As you do so note what God’s plan and agenda is and pray about it.

Other ways to locate the agenda and priority of God is to pay attention to what your local church, evangelistic ministries or churches are doing. Pray about their plans, outreaches, and projects. That is also the agenda of God for the moment.

PRAYER ACTION 3

Pray for God’s agenda; that His will should be done on earth.

Pray for the lost to be saved, for salvation of souls in your community, family, and across the nations of the earth.
Pray for the spread of the gospel to all nations.
Pray for God to move people and orchestrate events for the gospel to be preached everywhere and people should surrender their lives to Jesus Christ.
Pray for missionaries and ministers of the gospel.
Pray for outreaches, crusades, missions.

4. Give us this day our daily bread.

(verse 11)

In this part of the Lord’s prayer you ask God for the things you need and the things you desire. Remember that He is your Father. “Daily bread” suggests that there are things you need for your daily sustenance. They are material things, social needs, etc. Ask God to give it to you (Read Matthew 7:7 – 11).

PRAYER ACTION 4

Ask God for the things you need and the things you desire.

5. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.

(Verse 12)

This tells us that we ought to forgive people who do us wrong. Unforgiveness hinders answers to prayer. Unforgiveness prevents a person from being forgiven. Read Math 6: 14 – 15 and Math 18:21 – 35. Jesus was very clear that we have to forgive people who offend us.

Jesus said in Matthew 6 verses 14 – 15:

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses”. (New King James Version)

Whenever you are struggling to forgive anyone because you feel hurt about what they did, say “I cleanse my heart of all hurt by the Blood of Jesus”. Say it over and over till you release the hurt. Also think about your own sins, if God should withhold your sins and hold it over you, can you thrive with such a record? Is it really worth not receiving forgiveness from God and answered prayers? Therefore forgive everyone who has wronged you and then move on with joy and trust God for better life experiences. You may forgive people in advance. By so doing, their wrong doing has no power to hurt you.

PRAYER ACTION 5

Forgive everyone who has wronged you in any way and then ask God to forgive you of your own sins.

6. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. (verse 13a)

You need God’s guidance, leading and protection. In this part of the Lord’s prayer you ask God to lead you in the right way, and lead you away from temptation and evil. Also ask God to deliver you from any evils, known and unknown. Also ask God to deliver you from all evil works of the wicked (See 2 Timothy 4:18).

There is power in the Name of Jesus, so command that evil works in your life and environment be destroyed in the Name of Jesus Christ. Anything in your life that appears to be out of place e.g. unemployment, turmoil, disfavour, disease, sickness, unrest and so forth, as a child of God you have the authority to use the Name of Jesus to command those things to be destroyed or terminated.

Do so as you pray every day. You will notice that it will make a huge difference in your life.

PRAYER ACTION 6

Ask God to lead you in the right way, and lead you away from temptation and evil.
Ask God to deliver you from any evils, known and unknown.
Ask God to deliver you from all evil works of the wicked (See 2 Timothy 4:18).
Command that evil works in your life and environment be destroyed in the Name of Jesus Christ.

Anything in your life that appears to be out of place e.g. unemployment, turmoil, disfavour, disease, sickness, poverty, unrest and so forth, as a child of God you have the authority to use the Name of Jesus to command those things to be destroyed.

7. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

(verse 13b)

End your prayer by praising and extolling God. Tell God He has the power, glory, the ability, and that He is sovereign, He rules and reigns forever.

Also trust God that He is in control (Daniel 4:17).

Bringing It All Together

Here is a handy guide that brings everything together.

Download The Lord’s Prayer Praying Template