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The next two phrases in the Lord’s Prayer fit together: “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13). The word temptation can mean to entice to do wrong, but it can also mean to put to the test. The same experience can be both a temptation to do wrong and a

The fifth request in the Lord’s Prayer is for forgiveness. Jesus knew that we would stand in need of forgiveness every day. And so we pray, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12).

The first three requests in the Lord’s Prayer focus on the Father— his name, his reign, his will. Most of our prayers start in the middle of this prayer—with our own needs. Jesus doesn’t ignore our needs. He just puts them in the right priority. So we turn to the request, “Give us today our

We think of earthly kingdoms in terms of territory—an empire. In the New Testament the kingdom of God is not territory. The term is used to describe the reign of God. God’s kingdom today extends over the hearts of all who will acknowledge him as king and who will submit to his rule. They are

What we have come to call the Lord’s Prayer was spoken in the middle of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount—a long talk Jesus gave about how to live distinctively as a Christian in an evil world. Jesus gave the prayer to his followers in the context of some very practical words on when and where and how