“Teach us to pray.” Luke 11:1
The Lord’s Prayer is a template for our praying. It gives us a plan for prayer, an outline, and a framework. It teaches us how to pray.
Take a page in a notebook and divide it into six sections. Call them, “God’s name,” “God’s kingdom,” “God’s will,” “God’s provision,” “God’s forgiveness,” and “God’s deliverance”—and there you will have a perfect outline for prayer.
You can use this in two ways. One is to start with the headings and fill in things to pray that belong under each of them. The other is to start with what is on your mind and your heart and ask yourself, “Under which of these six headings does this prayer belong?”
Think of the Lord’s Prayer being like six pegs on which you can hang your prayers. Suppose, for example, you are praying for a friend or family member who needs help or support in some way. What you ask for this person belongs under “God’s provision.”
But then consider what you should pray for this person under the other petitions of the Lord’s prayer. For example, what temptation will this person need to overcome in the challenge they are facing? Where will it be hardest for them to do God’s will? Apply these to your template.
The Lord’s Prayer was given to shape our prayers, and using this prayer as a framework for our personal prayers is not something new. The 16th-century reformer Martin Luther used the Lord’s Prayer as a template for his own prayers throughout his life, and you can too!
Consider writing down the six headings and filling in some things to pray for your friends and/or family. Or consider some things on your heart to pray for friends and/or family, and under what headings they might belong.
