Praying "The Lord's Prayer"

I find that many times, especially when perplexed by a difficulty in my life, I do not know how to pray. At those times, the prayer that Jesus taught His disciples is a great source of comfort to me. Praying along the outline that The Lord's Prayer presents gives me a framework to pray and a direction to know how to pray. Here are some thoughts along those lines:



Our Father, which art in Heaven--He is our "Abba", our Daddy, our provider, protector, defender, comforter, helper, keeper and so much more. He is everything we need.



Hallowed be thy name--we respect and revere Him for He is holy and His name is holy. He is the only way we can be holy.



Thy kingdom come--the only way for peace to reign in our hearts is for His kingdom to be supreme in our hearts and the only way that peace will reign on earth is for His kingdom to reign on earth.



Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven--If His will were done in every thing, every situation, every decision here on earth, earth WOULD be heaven. Someday this prayer will be fulfilled.



Give us this day our daily bread--Everything we have comes from Him. As the song says "There's not a single blessing that we receive on earth that does not come from heaven, the source of our new birth". (From the song It Is Truly Wonderful). We depend on our Father to provide for us, physically, spiritually and every other need.



And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors--Could we not be forgiven of our trespasses against our Creator, we would never have any hope of eternal life. He forgives all our sins, heals all our diseases.



And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil--Deliver us from the possibility of evil, the results/consequences of evil. Deliver us from the Evil One, from every subtle force he would use to introduce evil into our lives and the lives of those we love.



For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.--If I could insert a musical score, I would put "The Hallelujah Chorus" here--"And He shall reign forever and ever. Hallelujah!"