“To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.” 
- Karl Barth

Prayer is a struggle because creation is at war with God but the Lord's Prayer helps align our lives around His kingdom. We suggest praying through the six sections of the Lord’s Prayer.

The Father’s Name | Our Father, hallowed be your name
Many people pray to a distant god, but here we have God calling us back into relationship. Take some time to reflect on the Father’s love and to worship the Father’s glory. The Kingdom of God advances as our hearts find their true home with the Father.

The Father’s Will | Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven
When we pray for his Kingdom to come we are aligning our hearts and lives around his just and righteous rule and reign in the universe and his authority in our lives. Take some time to pray for the rule and the reign of God to break out into the world around you. Imagine his kingdom coming into your neighborhood, workplace, marriage, kids, church, etc.

The Father’s Provision | Give us today our daily bread
In our world, with all of our stuff, it is difficult to be dependent on God. We look to therapists or medication or money or vacations. But God says, “Would you rely on me for your daily rations? Would you remain dependent upon me for the very sustenance of your life? For your daily piece of bread… and would you remember to pray and give to those who do not even have that?”

The Father’s Forgiveness | Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us
This part of the prayer is about acknowledging our sin and confession. If we get on our knees, before God and every day come to grips with the pain and the tension and the angst of our fallen world and the sinful nature of our hearts – and then clasp our hands before our heavenly Father and ask Him to bring it all back into alignment – that is truly the beginning of an uprising!

The Father’s Protection | Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil
Jesus tells us to pray for deliverance and protection from not just evil in general, but from the evil one. Namely Satan. If we begin to take this prayer seriously, we will face opposition. But there is no need to fear. This prayer is about implementing the victory of God that Christ has already won on the cross.

The Father’s Kingdom | For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever
This final portion of the prayer is once again about aligning our hearts with the Father’s reign. So when we see poverty and disease, the lack of justice, the lack of healing, the hostility and hatred – we bring these things to God – and we ask that all of these situations that are like this in our lives are transformed! That the rule and reign of God would break in.