Our Father in Heaven: Jesus’ Pattern for Prayer
My first vivid memory of prayer was sitting on the old, gray, living room couch with my mom and asking Jesus to be the Savior of my heart. It wasn’t eloquent, well-worded, or articulate, but I remember asking Jesus to be my “Lord and Savior,” to “forgive me of my sins,” and “make me right with God.” All of these concepts, in their fullness, were far beyond the grasp of my three-year-old mind. And yet, I prayed them with earnestness and conviction, and I firmly believe that was the day I gave my life to Christ and was brought into his family.
Why do I remember those precise phrases, even though I did not fully comprehend them then? Because my parents had modeled the Lord’s Prayer for me time and time again. I knew that pattern of confession, repentance, submission, and salvation like I knew the bedtime song they’d sing as they lulled us to sleep. It was a part of the liturgy of our disciple-making home just as much as brushing my teeth and getting into pajamas was a part of our bedtime routine.
When teaching on the kingdom of God, Jesus left his disciples with the Lord’s Prayer, specifically instructing them, “When you pray, pray like this.”[1] Here in Scripture is a prayer suited for memorization and repetition—a prayer that, when it becomes a part of our own practice, can teach our children core doctrines of the Christian faith. The Lord’s Prayer shows us God’s role in the universe (Theology Proper), who we are in relation to God and one another (doctrine of mankind), and what it means to submit ourselves to God and his rule (theology of salvation).
Let’s unpack the prayer a few phrases at time and see how this unfolds (and how we can fruitfully explain this prayer to our children as we pray it with them).
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
The Lord’s Prayer starts with a declaration of who God is. And that’s no mistake. Any time we launch into prayer, we do well to remember who it is we are addressing. This initial phrase reminds us of what prayer is: approaching the God of heaven. When we pray, we pray to an eternal Father, the first Person of the Trinity who created us, loves us, cares for us, and gives us good gifts. It is God the Father who keeps watch over his creation with tender mercy and profound love. When we teach our children to pray to the Father, we give them a picture of the God on the throne of heaven: not a disappointed dad tapping his foot, wishing we could measure up, but a tender-hearted Father who delights to hear from his children in prayer.
Does your child know that they are talking to a kind Father in heaven? As you teach them this prayer, remind them that God is excited to hear from them. Teach them that God isn’t distant or frightening. In whatever ways are appropriate, use their earthly father as an example of God’s gentleness toward them and his eagerness to hear from them.
The next phrase uses a word unfamiliar to many of us, even though the concept is familiar. To “hallow” a name is to assign to it the highest point of reverence or respect. The word itself is related to the word “holy,” which means to be set apart. This phrase reminds us and our children that we approach an affectionate Father and yet one to whom reverence is due. Our task in prayer is to launch ourselves familiarly into the presence of the God who loves us as his own children and yet not to come glibly. We come with reverence because there is none like him.
This truth leads us to the last phrase of this portion of the prayer. It only follows that, since the Father reigns supreme in the universe, since he is set apart as holy, since there is none like him—it is his will and ways that are best for his creation. Our greatest good, this prayer teaches, is for God’s ways, rather than our own, to invade earth, taking over our homes and lives. Once we are rightly reminded of the Father who sits on the throne and who is set apart as holy, it only follows that we would also give ourselves over to his kingdom ways—not in obligated submission alone, but in joy and delightful surrender.
As your child learns the Lord’s Prayer, take the opportunity to define the word “holy” for them. This is likely a word they will hear throughout their church experience and in Christian literature. Teach them that God alone is flawlessly good, and that when we approach God with respect, we remind ourselves that he alone is perfect. Because of this, his ways are ultimately best, even when we don’t understand them.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
With this grand view of God in place, the prayer rounds the corner to reflect on what it means to be creatures made by this good God. Jesus taught his disciples to pray for God’s provision of three things: daily sustenance, forgiveness of sins, and protection from the enemy. These three categories span two different areas of our lives: the immediate needs of today and our eternal needs.
By teaching us to pray for our daily bread, Jesus is reminding us that we can bring our immediate, felt needs to God. He cares that we need food and sustenance. He knows that we only have five loaves and two fishes, and he has never scorned these needs. He is more poignantly aware than even we are that we cannot produce for ourselves what we need in the moment. Instead, he invites us to come and rely on him.
What a perfect place to start regularly praying with our children—by teaching them that when they have a need, God is ready and waiting to meet it. We can stop and pray to him, whether it is for a lost set of keys, a forgotten lunchbox, or a stuffed animal missing at bedtime. Our immediate needs are known and met by God.
The prayer then moves into the biggest need of our lifetime: forgiveness for our sins. Just as we need God to meet our immediate needs, we need his forgiveness for the ways we have broken his commands and failed to live up to his perfect standard. The juxtaposition of these two is a reminder to us; we may feel the grumbling in our stomachs (our immediate need) before we feel the grumbling in our souls (our eternal need), but one should always lead us to pray for the other. Just as we come to God for physical provision, we can come to him for spiritual provision as well. He freely pays the debts of those who ask, and it is only by his power we can then extend that forgiveness to others. It is his power that enables us to resist temptation, teaching us a better way than the ways of this world. We need both his eternal forgiveness and his life-giving power to do what is right.
The same is true of our children. While they may feel their need for a missing stuffed animal at bedtime, their greatest need is for God to forgive their sins and make them right with him. This is the essence of the gospel message, and we can’t repeat it often enough with our children. Repetition is a gift (which is why Scripture repeats itself so often). Take every opportunity to point your children to their greatest need, and to the One who provided the way for their sin to be forgiven.
Amen.
The word “amen” in the New Testament comes from the Hebrew word in the Old Testament “to believe.” Isn’t that interesting? At the end of teaching in the synagogue or at the conclusion of a corporate prayer, the one praying would ask “do you believe?” And the listeners would answer “we believe,” or “we agree.” This is why we now say “amen” as we listen to sermons or conclude a prayer. It’s our way of saying that we agree with what has been stated—that we believe it.
By simply explaining to our children that “amen” is a way of saying “I believe it” at the end of a prayer, we give them permission to dwell on what’s true. Both in saying “amen” or staying silent at the end of prayer, we issue them a gentle challenge: what is it that you actually believe? As our kids grow in faith and the capacity to understand biblical truths, we invite them to discern for themselves what they agree with. This could be one of the first steps they take toward making their faith their own, as they agree that God is their Father, that his ways are best, that they rely on him for their immediate and eternal needs, and so much more.
The Lord’s Prayer has been recited throughout church history for very good reasons—it gives us a template that serves us well in prayer, no matter what needs we are bringing before God. Using this prayer as a family can be so much more than just bland memorization for the sake of a gold star. It can drastically open up theological conversation with our children, teach them to approach God with their every need, instill the habit of prayer in the moment, and give them permission to explore their own beliefs. This prayer was entrusted to us by Christ in his earthly ministry, and we don’t need to pressure ourselves into reinventing it. God has given us everything we need in Christ. The Lord’s Prayer is just one of many reminders that he will equip us for the journey of disciple-making in our homes and ultimately be the one who leads our children spiritually for their entire lives.
[1] Matthew 6:7-9; Luke 11:2
