Live in Harmony With the Model Prayer

"Let your name be sanctified." -MATTHEW  6:9.

MANY people can recite the Lord's Prayer from memory.  In our door-to-door ministry, we often refer to this prayer to help householders understand that God's Kingdom is a real government that is going to bring wonderful changes to our earth. Or we may refer to the first request in the prayer to show that God has a personal name, which is to be sanctified, or "treated as holy." -Matthew 6:9.

Did Jesus intend that this prayer be repeated word for word every time we pray, as is done by many in Christendom?  No. Just before Jesus provided the prayer as a pattern, he said:  "When praying, do not say the same things over and over again." (Matthew 6:7)  On a later occasion, he restated this prayer but used a different wording. (Luke 11:1-4)  Thus Jesus helped us to know what sort of things we need to ask for and in what order of importance. Hence, it is fitting to call it the model prayer. 

In this article and the next, we will analyze the content of the model prayer. As we do so, ask yourself, 'How can this model help me to improve my own prayers?  And, more important, am I living in harmony with the prayers? 

Next time: Live in Harmony With the Model Prayer Part I- "OUR FATHER IN THE HEAVENS"

From the Watchtower magazine