Devotional Series on the Lord’s Prayer

Make sure you click on the Title above to see the full content of the page.

To listen to the devotional, click on the audio file below:

Download Devotional

LSB #766 “Our Father, Who from Heaven Above“

Martin Luther, 1483–1546; tr. The Lutheran Hymnal , 1941, sts. 1, 6, 8–9, alt.; tr. F. Samuel Janzow, 1913–2001, sts. 2–5, 7, alt. Sts. 1, 6, 8–9: Public domain; sts. 2–5, 7: © 1980 Concordia Publishing House VATER UNSER

1 Our Father, who from heav’n above
Bids all of us to live in love
As members of one family
And pray to You in unity,
Teach us no thoughtless words to say
But from our inmost hearts to pray.

“Give us this day our daily bread.” Matthew 6:11

Though the LORD God provides for the needs of both believer and unbeliever, God desires that we look to Him and trust in Him to provide us with food, clothing, and all we need day by day. As the Gospel of Luke says, “Give us day by day our daily bread” (11:3).

God taught His children that very thing when He led them out of Egypt and into the wilderness. When they needed food, He provided them with manna from heaven, sufficient for all to eat. But He also commanded them to gather only enough for each day.

When some disobeyed His commandment and gathered more than needed for a single day, the leftover manna bred worms and stunk on the next morning. On the day preceding the Sabbath, God commanded that they gather enough for two days; and it did not spoil as on other days. Again, when some did not listen and went out on the Sabbath to gather manna, there was none. Cf. Exodus 16.

Thus, God taught His people, who had grumbled and complained because they needed food in the wilderness, to trust Him each day for their daily bread.

Moses told the people: “So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD” (Deut. 8:3).

God even let His people suffer hunger that He might teach them to look to Him for their daily bread, and to His Word for their very life!

The Bible teaches us that we should be satisfied if we have the food and clothing needed for each day. Paul wrote to Timothy: “And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content” (1 Tim. 6:8).

Yet we are often fearful if we do not have our needs supplied for months, or even years, in advance. Jesus would have us trust our heavenly Father and look to Him to meet all our needs each and every day of our lives. He would not have us worry about what we will eat, what we will drink, or what we will wear. Rather, He would have us, in faith, turn to Him who knows our every need and so graciously provides (cf. Matt. 6:25-34).

Indeed, He may even let the cupboards be bare and the closets be empty to teach us to trust Him day by day. God would have us cast all our care upon Him, for He cares for us (cf. 1 Pet. 5:7).

And thus, Jesus teaches us to pray: “Give us this day our daily bread.”

Dear Father in heaven, we look to You to provide each day our daily bread. Keep us from worry or complaint and teach us to trust You to care for our every need, day by day. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Luther’s Morning Prayer

I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.

OR

Luther’s Evening Prayer

I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously kept me this day; and I pray that You would forgive me all my sins where I have done wrong, and graciously keep me this night. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.

Lord’s Prayer

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

LSB #766 “Our Father, Who from Heaven Above“

Martin Luther, 1483–1546; tr. The Lutheran Hymnal , 1941, sts. 1, 6, 8–9, alt.; tr. F. Samuel Janzow, 1913–2001, sts. 2–5, 7, alt. Sts. 1, 6, 8–9: Public domain; sts. 2–5, 7: © 1980 Concordia Publishing House VATER UNSER

5 Give us this day our daily bread,
And let us all be clothed and fed.
Save us from hardship, war, and strife;
In plague and famine, spare our life,
That we in honest peace may live,
To care and greed no entrance give.

[Hymn Text and Prayers from Concordia Publishing House. Lutheran Service Book: Text Edition. Kindle Edition. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

Make sure you click on the Title above to see the full content of the page.

Download Bulletin and Sermon

“Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.’” Acts 1:9-11

“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” Mark 16:15-16

This Word of God, which was spoken by angels to the disciples who had just witnessed Jesus’ ascension into heaven, teaches us that Jesus Christ will return visibly in the clouds of glory on the Last Day.

The Bible says: “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen” (Rev. 1:7).

As Jesus ascended into heaven, so He shall also return on the Last Day, the Day of Judgment. He will come again in clouds of glory. Every eye will see Him! His return will be no secret rapture — both the believer and the unbeliever will see Him coming in glory! Cf. 2 Thess. 1:7-10; Matt. 24:29-31.

And now, at the right hand of God the Father, Jesus is establishing and building His Church by sending men to preach the Gospel to all people. Jesus commanded His apostles (Mark 16:15-16): “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” And He still sends out His ministers today, as the Bible teaches in Ephesians 4:11: “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers….” He commands that “repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations” (Luke 24:47).
He gives us His Holy Spirit that we might believe the Gospel and be assured of the forgiveness of sins and eternal life through faith in Jesus’ name.

In Ephesians 1:13-14, we read: “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” And in 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14: “But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Jesus is our Advocate with the Father and He intercedes on our behalf with His holy and precious blood, shed for us upon the cross. We read in 1 John 2:1-2: “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” Cf. Romans 8:34.

He prepares a place for us that He might come again and take us to be with Him where He is. Jesus said in John 14:1-3: “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

But, are you ready for His return and judgment? Are you prepared to meet Him?

Those who do not trust in Him for salvation will wail in sorrow at His return because they stand condemned for not trusting in the only begotten Son of God (John 3:18). But those who do trust in Him as their Savior — believing that they have pardon for their sins and peace with God for the sake of Christ’s innocent sufferings and death in their stead — will rejoice at His return because He comes to take them to be with Him forever in the mansions of heaven (cf. Luke 21:27-28; Heb. 9:27-28; John 14:1-3; 1 Thess. 4:13-18).

Do you acknowledge your sins and look to Christ and His cross for mercy and forgiveness? If not, the day of His return will be a day of sorrow and mourning as you face His eternal judgment and condemnation!

If you agree with God about your sins and trust in Christ and the atonement He made for the sins of the world when He died on the cross, that day will be a day of joy and gladness as you receive His mercy, pardon and life eternal in His glorious kingdom! Cf. 1 John 1:7—2:2.

It is as the Bible teaches in Mark 16:16, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”

Dear Lord Jesus Christ, as You have ascended up into heaven to the right hand of God the Father, so come again and take us to be with You forever. By the Holy Spirit’s working through Your Word and Sacraments, graciously keep us in the true faith so that, on that day, we may greet You with joy and not with sorrow. Grant this unto us for the sake of Your holy life and bitter sufferings and death upon the cross in our stead. Amen.

[Scripture is taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

“Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10b

In heaven, all live in accord with God’s perfect and holy will. The psalmist writes: “Bless the LORD, you His angels, who excel in strength, who do His word, heeding the voice of His word. Bless the LORD, all you His hosts, you ministers of His, who do His pleasure” (Psalm 103:20-21).

On earth, since the fall of mankind into sin which is recorded in Genesis 3, it is not so; but man, as he is by nature, rebels against God’s perfect will and seeks to go his own way. Again, the Bible tells us: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way” (Isa. 53:6).

Jesus, in the prayer which He has taught us to pray, directs us to pray that God’s will be done on earth — in our own lives — as it is in heaven! And what is God’s will? We find His perfect will recorded for us in the Holy Scriptures; God would have us faithfully believe and teach God’s Word and live according to it, submitting our will to His perfect will for us.

Jesus, God’s Son, faithfully carried out the will of His Father in heaven, even praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42), and being “obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:8). We, on the other hand, so often say with our words and actions, “Not Your will, but mine be done!”

But God the Father laid all our sin and guilt upon His Son, Christ Jesus; and Jesus paid the just penalty for our sins (Isa. 53:6). Jesus died on the cross, making full atonement for our sins and the sins of all, and rose again on the third day (1 Cor. 15:3-4).

God’s will for us is that we repent of our rebellion and sin against Him and trust in Christ’s shed blood for forgiveness and life. And, as a fruit of our faith in Christ, God desires that we conform our lives to that of His Son.

This is His will for all mankind (cf. 1 Tim. 2:3-6). And thus we pray: “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Dear Father in heaven, I am by nature sinful and rebellious. I have not lived in accord with Your holy and perfect will. Forgive my sins for Jesus’ sake. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit and grant me both the desire and the strength to live in accord with Your perfect will. “Not my will, but Yours, be done”! “Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” Amen.

[Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

“Your kingdom come.” Matthew 6:10a

Even though God is patient and long-suffering with the people of this world, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 3:9), He already rules over all things and the day is coming when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father (Eph. 1:19-23; Phil. 2:10-11).

And so, we might wonder, why does Jesus direct us to pray to the Father: “Your kingdom come”?

Jesus here directs us to pray that His kingdom of mercy and grace would come to each of us and to people all over the world. Messiah Jesus was lifted up on the cross and crucified to pay the full penalty for our sins against God the Father — He died for the sins of the whole world and rose again from the dead on the third day. But, in spite of that fact, we would go on our merry way in ignorance of the import and meaning of what took place on that Roman cross outside of Jerusalem.

Of ourselves, we cannot enter God’s kingdom or be a part of it. As Jesus says, we must be born again of water and the Spirit (John 3:3ff.). And so Jesus directs His followers to pray for God’s kingdom to come — for God the Holy Spirit to graciously regenerate us through water and the Word and keep us trusting in Jesus and His shed blood for forgiveness and life everlasting. In this way, with childlike faith in Jesus and His atoning sacrifice, we are God’s children and a part of His eternal kingdom. The Bible tells us: “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:26,27).

Not only do we pray that God’s gracious kingdom would come to us, but that it would come to others also. We pray that people, both near and far, would hear the good news of salvation through faith in God’s Son and that they would turn from their sinful and rebellious ways and trust in Jesus and His shed blood for forgiveness and life.

Jesus Himself was moved with compassion on the multitudes of people around Him because they were weary and scattered abroad as sheep without a shepherd. He tells us: “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Matt. 9:37-38).

Finally, we are directed to pray for Jesus’ coming and the establishment of God’s everlasting kingdom.

As the Scriptures teach us, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself” (Phil. 3:20-21).

We look forward to the day of Jesus’ return in hope and longing for the blessings of His eternal kingdom (cf. Rom. 8:22-23), and so we pray: “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 22:20).

Dear Father in heaven, graciously grant that Your kingdom would come to us — that we might have a place in Your kingdom through faith in the Son, Jesus Christ, and His sacrifice upon the cross for our sins. Grant that others too, both near and far, may learn of Your mercy and forgiveness in Christ Jesus and trust in Him. And, dear Father, as You have promised, come and reign over us forever through Your only-begotten Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ. In His name, we pray. Amen.

[Scripture is taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]