Secrets of the Lord's Prayer and Our World Today

By Jennifer Safoah Awuah and Joseph K. Awuah

This book centers on the Lord's Prayer. It expounds the deeper meanings of the Lord's Prayer and how it impacts our lives and connects to our world today. In reading this book, believers will learn how to build a relationship with God and with one another; they will learn to live according to God's Will, know their purpose on earth, and help do

• Language: English
• Publisher: Purpose Reminders
• Release date: Apr 22, 2024
• ISBN: 9798989673728

Jennifer Safoah Awuah

Jennifer S. Awuah, PhD, is a Christian counselor, writer, and missionary.

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Chapter 1 – What Is the Lord’s Prayer About?

Matthew 6:5–15 & Luke 11:1–13

Matthew 26:40 – And He came unto the disciples and found them asleep, and said unto Peter, "What, could ye not watch with Me one hour? The Lord’s Prayer was Jesus’ answer to His disciples when they asked Him to teach them how to pray. Jesus responded to His disciples, When you pray, say ‘Our Father’… ( Matthew 6:9–13; Luke 11:1–4 ). Jesus gave the disciples the foundation for prayer. This contains all forms of prayer. Today, we, Christians call it the Lord’s Prayer because it was directly taught by the Lord Jesus Christ, who knew everything about Heaven, the concept of prayer, and how prayer works.In His prayer, Jesus taught His disciples, the personality of the Father and everything they needed to know about Him. Since He knew the importance of communicating with the Father through prayer, He willingly taught His disciples how to pray in such a way that their prayers will not be hindered. The Lord’s Prayer is simple yet profound and powerful, with divine insights. It is known as the favorite prayer among many Christians who recite it daily. But the Lord’s Prayer is not just a recitation. It is a way of life. It teaches us how we should live our lives. It covers all areas of life. This is because it contains everything we need to know about the Father in Heaven. Not only that, but it teaches us about His Holiness, His Kingdom, His Power, His Love, His Will, His Forgiveness, His Goodness, His Protection, and His Reign. It acts as a glue that holds our Christian life together and connects us to our Heavenly Father.This simple yet powerful prayer of Jesus is what the Lord has instructed me to write about in this book. The impact of His prayer is properly felt when it is said phrase by phrase, with a deliberate attempt to understand the words. To grasp the objective behind the prayer, you must understand the true meaning of each phrase in a much deeper way beyond a mere recitation.

The Lord’s Prayer is a mystery that needs to be unraveled, and I am humbled to be part of those chosen to unveil it. The hidden truth has never been revealed clearly for a better understanding. I have heard complaints about how people spend too much or too little time in prayer, but there is no right or wrong duration of prayer when the Spirit Himself is in control (Romans 8:26). With the Holy Spirit, no prayer is too short, too long, or useless. Every prayer is powerful when it is led by the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit is in the lead, we pray according to the Father’s Will, and that is the key. Once you get to know the true depths of the Lord’s Prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit concerning prayer, you will see why the Lord wants us to pray as such. This is what I have been instructed to write, and I am determined to explain it in the same way it was revealed to me for everyone to see that His Prayer is simple, yet powerful!

The Prayer is a guide to answering the following:

What do you know about God?

What do you know about His Love?

Do you have a personal relationship with our Father in Heaven?

What do you know about God’s Holiness? Are you living a Holy life? How?

What do you know about God’s Kingdom, His Will, and His Purpose for you?

How do you explain God’s Kingdom? (with money, power, fame, or His Will)

Do you know God’s gift of forgiveness? How does He teach you to forgive someone?

How do you resist temptation and evil that comes your way? Do you know how?

Do you know the importance of thanksgiving, praise, and worship to the Lord?

How do you know these things?

Your answer to these questions will determine your need for a Savior, Jesus Christ, and your appreciation of the Father. Confess your sins and accept Jesus as your Lord if you don’t have answers or if your answers were mostly unfavorable. You can change your lifestyle to reflect God's plan for your life if you are a Christian and not living by His standard. But if you were able to answer these questions mostly in an agreeing manner, that’s great! If you want the Lord to use you, then follow these steps just as I did. I hope that you will not take these as repetitions but as ways to remind you of how important the Lord’s Prayer is and the need to use it daily. This book will further enhance your understanding of God and draw you closer to Him because that is its purpose.

What is our earthly purpose? What makes the Lord’s Prayer remarkable is that it helps us understand that our lives here on earth do not revolve around us or what we can do for ourselves only. Life on earth is more about what we are here for, which includes serving God until the end.In Galatians 2:20, Paul says, I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me... Understanding the Lord’s Prayer helps us to know our purpose in this life. Jesus was sent from Heaven to give His life, to reveal to us our purpose in life, and show us the way to God to fulfill that purpose. That is His purpose. Similarly, each of us should be able to identify our purpose and work towards fulfilling that purpose. The understanding of the Lord’s Prayer led me to write this book; it is part of my purpose on earth, and I take great delight in fulfilling that purpose. I am glad to have found my purpose and so can you. I want to live a life worthy of my calling, to imitate Christ, and abide by His commands. I pray for everyone to be able to tap into their earthly purpose.

When we receive salvation, we are cleansed of sin and enabled to know the Father personally and share in His goodness. However, this cannot happen without taking the time to read, pray, and meditate on God’s Word. Although each one of us has a different assignment and purpose, we have the same goal, which is, the Kingdom’s Work, where prayer, God’s Word and salvation are intertwined. In His own words, Jesus gives us guidelines for praying because He knows that the most intimate way to know the Father, His Kingdom, and our purpose is through prayer. Jesus knew that prayer is the work of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, He promised us a helper, the Holy Spirit, who intercedes on our behalf and strengthens our foundations in Christ (John 16:7 and Romans 8:26).

The Lord’s Prayer is God’s Word. It takes someone who understands everything about Heaven and what prayer does to reveal these simple words of mystery for us to follow. The Lord’s Prayer is not only for His disciples. It is the Word of God which applies to us as well. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, All Scripture is given by the inspiration of God, and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. For example, when He says in Matthew 28:20, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations... it applies to us all. Christ revealed the Father and connected us to Him by saying Our Father in His Prayer, and because His Word applies to us in the same way as it applied to the disciples, we must use His Prayer.

The Lord’s Prayer helps us know that we all can become children of God. In His Prayer, Jesus says, Our Father. John 3:16 makes it clear that salvation is offered to the whole world so that we can all call God our Father. This gives us the assurance that we are God’s children through salvation, which grants us equal access to say His prayer and communicate with our Heavenly Father through Christ Jesus! This is because the contents of the prayer reveal the kind of Father we have and the relationship He desires to have with us. It requires constant effort to establish a bond with Him and get to know Him better. Once we set our path to the road of salvation, build our relationship with God, pray, and communicate with the Father through Christ, our relationship starts to grow. Therefore, our salvation’s foundation depends on constant prayer in His Word. I am fascinated by the idea of communicating with God, with the help of the Holy Spirit in His Will. The Holy Spirit helps us to pray in God’s Will.

Pray Without Ceasing. The Lord’s Prayer helps us to know that prayer is an important aspect of the Christian life, and so we ought to pray ceaselessly because we cannot survive without prayer. In Gethsemane, Jesus noticed that His disciples were weak in prayer. On His return to them and seeing that they were sleeping, He asked them, Could you not pray with me for one hour? (Matthew 26:40–45). In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, we are encouraged to pray without ceasing. When people say it is not necessary to pray for long, I always say, ‘let the Holy Spirit have His way. If you do not understand the purpose of the Lord’s Prayer, you will think praying for 1–2 minutes is okay. Yes, it can be okay, but not always. We can pray for a short time whilst in public, but not in our closet. In our world today, there are too many things to pray for and about, and we cannot do so in 2 minutes.

People who do not seek God through His Word, seek answers elsewhere. Some seek answers from family, friends, or academics. Others go to the extreme of becoming polytheistic, because they think many gods can produce practical results for them – both good and bad. Others involve themselves in witchcraft and divination, hoping that their hunger for answers will be gratified. As for us Christians, we have no doubt that Jesus Christ is the only answer. He has given us the answer we need. This is because each phrase of His Prayer helps us find supporting Scriptures for more insight into what we are searching for or troubled about. The phrases in the Prayer of the Lord help us to pray and cover a wide range of things, and referring to Scripture for added clarity helps us to pray and meditate affectively. As we search through the Bible, we obtain the answers we need for our questions, without the need for sorcerers, enchanters, or anyone/thing else, because the word of God has it all! He says, …ask, knock, and seek…and you shall find (Luke 11:10). This gives us the confidence that we are praying in God’s Will, and that our question will be answered in due time when we enter our closet to pray diligently.

The Lord’s Prayer makes it more practical because it acts as our guide to effective prayer. It is easy to access. Its effectiveness comes from the fact that it covers every area of life. You can use it to pray for yourself, your family, and the world, to counteract the works of the evil doings that affect