Teach Us To Pray
Prayer is central to the life of a person of faith. The Jewish people regularly participated in the prayer services of the synagogue and at the Temple when it was standing. Still today as children, many Jewish families learn different blessings and prayers that are used every single day, and those prayers are foundational to their lives. It is understandable why Jesus’ disciples would Him ask how to pray, especially when it is something God requires of us. In Luke 11:1 it says, “Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples“. John taught his disciples to pray, today many Rabbi’s teach their disciples to pray, and it was normal for Rabbi Jesus to teach His disciples to pray. The Lord’s Prayer is the prayer that Jesus taught His disciples and has been used by millions of believers all over the world.
When Jesus returns to reign as King over the world, and there is a Temple again, prayer will be a part of worship for every person participating in the 1000 years of the Messianic Era. In Ezekiel 44:16-27 it states that, “the Levitical Priests will keep God’s laws and my statutes in all my appointed feasts, and they shall keep my Sabbaths holy”. All of the Appointed Feasts, and the Sabbath have special prayers, and there will be daily prayers in the Temple and many people will participate in them. It will be just like the time when the Apostle’s went to pray there also as it says in Acts 3:1, “Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour”.
When Jesus returns, it will be clearly understood that the Lord’s prayer was instrumental in bringing the Kingdom of God to pass, and that God has finally answered everyones prayer. We will say, thy Kingdom has finally come! As it states in Psalm 126, “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed.”
Understanding the Importance of Prayer
1 Thessalonians 5:17 says to “pray continually”, and the Bible explains Jesus prayed all the time. It says in Matthew 14:23, “After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray”. If you have never attended a Jewish synagogue, it may seem strange to think of prayers as a part of worship and service to God, but it is our service to pray to God. Prayer is not always about what we want, many of the prayers that are prayed in a Jewish service are based from the Bible, and many of them involves us praying God’s commandments are done. Just like in the Lord’s prayer when it says, “let thy will be done”. Prayer is a regular part of worship to God, and He wants to hear from us every day. Devout Jews and Non Jewish people all around the world pray three times a day. David in the Psalms mentions the three prayers as it states in Psalm 55:17, “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.” In Acts 2:42 it says, “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers”.
When we understand how important it is for us to pray, and how important it will be during the Messianic Kingdom, the Lord’s prayer becomes a foundational prayer in our life. The Apostles’ teaching to the Gentiles is called the Didache, and it is a first-century document that captured and preserved the central teachings of the Apostles. It says “As the Lord commanded in His Gospel so pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done as in heaven so on earth. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debt, as we also forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil: for Yours is the power, and the glory, forever.’ Three times a day pray in this fashion.”
The Apostles taught that the Lord’s Prayer should be prayed three times a day.
A Deeper Understanding of the Lord’s Prayer
Understanding the Lord’s Prayer from a deeper perspective can be very eye opening. Jesus said we should be praying about these six topics when praying as He taught:
- “Hallowed (Sanctified) be Your name” – We ask God to let His name be sanctified in our life. God’s name is sanctified when His commandments are kept, when His people live sanctified lives, and His name will be ultimately sanctified when God dwells here with us.
- “Your kingdom come” Let Jesus come back to reign as King. The Messianic Kingdom – the 1000 year reign of Messiah.
- “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” – Let God’s commandments be done on this earth. Leviticus 26:1-2 states God’s will is, “… Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the Lord. If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands … I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you … I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.”
- “Give us this day our daily bread” – Give us our portion of God’s Instructions for each day. Our daily bread is God’s word, and as it says in Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart”.
- “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” – Forgive us and help us to walk out a life of repentance. It is so important to live a life of forgiveness. Matthew 6:15 says, “But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
- “Deliver us from the evil one” – Deliver us from our evil inclination that is in us, and to help us overcome the challenges in order to grow in our faith. Genesis 6:5 says, “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time”. Also in James 1:14 it says, “but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed”. With this understanding, this is one of the most important parts of the prayer.
Below is a wonderful teaching from a Pastor in Jerusalem, Lars Enarson, from the Watchman International, on the Lord’s Prayer. He discusses more about the Lord’s prayer and explains how we can use it in all of our prayers that we pray. May it bless you.
In addition to praying the Lord’s prayer, here is another excellent prayer for the Restoration of Israel, along with some other great resources from FFOZ (First Fruits of Zion) for prayer.
To prepare for the Kingdom, it is very important to understand what prayer is, and how it is a part of a true worshiper of God. Jesus made a very important statement when He said to the Samaritan woman in John 4:22-23, “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him”. Aaron Eby wrote a couple of books on prayer that are excellent resources called Rabbi Teach Us To Pray, and First Steps in Messianic Jewish Prayer. Both of these are very good if you want to learn more about how to pray.
Another Really Good Perspective and the Origins of the Lords Prayer
Rabbi Matt Rosenberg: http://shalomseattle.com/