Philip Van Heusen

A Quick Look at...The Lord's Prayer Philip Van Heusen

Have you wondered about why our Lord gave us what is commonly known as the Lord's Prayer? Philip looks at both Matthew's and Luke's version of this prayer. This should be called the model prayer since Jesus' high priestly prayer in John is a prayer that Jesus prayed. Why did Jesus teach those listening to Him at the Sermon and the Mount and later to His disciples in private this prayer? What was the question His disciples asked? Did they ask for a formula to insert their needs into so God would hear and answer them? Did they need some magical incantation that if they followed it closely, they would receive what they wanted? Or did they ask to be taught the importance of prayer so they would pray more?It is the author's belief that the question was that the Lord teach His disciples to pray. Jesus did not answer like Nike and say, "Just do it!" No, Jesus gave the example to teach His followers to understand the importance of prayer so they would enter prayer more often. Come explore the various parts of this wonderful prayer and learn why it is so imperative to pray without ceasing.