Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be your name (Matt. 6:9 NASB). We were once enemies of God, but now through the Lord Jesus Christ we have been reconciled to God and are made friends, even children of God. When we pray, we pray to him as beloved children. When we pray to him, we are talking to our dad.

You might not realize it because of its brevity, but the Lord’s Prayer has a lot to teach us about the Christian faith. One of the disciples asked Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray” and in response to this question Jesus taught them this prayer: 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 also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil (Luke 11:1-4; Matt. 6:9-13). There are seven things we learn from this short prayer that Jesus gave to us:

1. God is our Father and is no longer our judge.

Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be your name (Matt. 6:9 NASB). We were once enemies of God, but now through the Lord Jesus Christ we have been reconciled to God and are made friends, even children of God. When we pray, we pray to him as beloved children. When we pray to him, we are talking to our dad.

2. This world is not what it is supposed to be, and so God is making us a new world.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven (Matt. 6:10). In the midst of suffering it might not feel like it, but God has a purpose for suffering and a plan to overcome it. He cares about justice and will right every wrong, making all things right.

3. God gives us everything that we need in both body and soul.

Give us this day our daily bread (Matt. 6:11). He feeds us with the preaching of his Word and the administering of the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper each Sunday as we gather together for public worship. He also cares for us by giving us work, using the church, family, friends, and even governments to provide for our immediate needs. God is to be thanked and praised as the ultimate source for our daily bread.

[Editor’s note: This article is incomplete. The link (URL) to the original article is unavailable and has been removed.]