The Prayer of the Lord

by R.C. Sproul

What is the Lord’s Prayer? In The Prayer of the Lord, Dr. R.C. Sproul writes, “Jesus’ intent was to give His disciples a model prayer, an example to follow, one that would teach them transferrable principles for conversation with God.” In short, Christ gave the Lord’s Prayer to teach His disciples about prayer, and Dr. Sproul, in his trademark fashion, brings out many of the truths Christ intended for His followers to learn.

Genres: Prayer, Christian, Theology, Christianity, Nonfiction, Ebooks, Faith

130 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 30, 2009

About the author

Dr. R.C. Sproul (1939–2017) was founder of Ligonier Ministries, an international Christian discipleship organization located near Orlando, Fla. He was founding pastor of Saint Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford, Fla., first president of Reformation Bible College, and executive editor of Tabletalk magazine.

Ligonier Ministries began in 1971 as the Ligonier Valley Study Center in Ligonier, Pa. In an effort to respond more effectively to the growing demand for Dr. Sproul’s teachings and the ministry’s other educational resources, the general offices were moved to Orlando in 1984, and the ministry was renamed.

Dr. Sproul’s radio program, Renewing Your Mind, is still broadcast daily on hundreds of radio stations around the world and can also be heard online. Dr. Sproul produced hundreds of lecture series and recorded numerous video series on subjects such as the history of philosophy, theology, Bible study, apologetics, and Christian living.

He contributed dozens of articles to national evangelical publications, spoke at conferences, churches, and academic institutions around the world, and wrote more than one hundred books, including The Holiness of God, Chosen by God, and Everyone’s a Theologian. He signed the 1978 Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy and wrote a commentary on that document. He also served as general editor of the Reformation Study Bible, previously known as the New Geneva Study Bible.

Dr. Sproul had a distinguished academic teaching career at various colleges and seminaries, including Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando and Jackson, Miss. He was ordained as a teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America.

Reviews

[Bambi Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exposition of the Lord’s Prayer. Great.

[Tony Huy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I love about RC Sproul is his ability to take a complex idea and bring it's understanding in a simple manner. This is Sprouls strength. This is where he shines - as a teacher. This is what he does in "The Prayer of the Lord." Not every nuanced question will be answered in this book (though this Q&A section at the end was helpful to resolve the issue of prayer's efficacy and God's sovereignty). If you want a good overview of the Lord's prayer, with enough meat to keep you wrestling with the wonderful principles laid out by Jesus in this prayer, without getting lost in minute details, this is a wonderful book. It's a book I would recommend to all who are studying the Lord's prayer as it gives a great foundational framework to understand longer, deeper, more detailed commentaries. Above all that though, this book, as is Sproul's style, finds a way of bringing a view of God's sovereign majesty down to practicality. Here's an example:

"We have to remember that this One we're talking to is omniscient. He doesn't learn anything new. So if you're going to change His mind by your prayers, it won't be because you give Him new information." (Kindle Locations 153-154).

Great book. Read this. Start with this book if you are studying The Lord's prayer.

[Shaun Marksbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

R.C. Sproul’s The Prayer of the Lord explains each element of said prayer in concise but illustrated terms. No reader can walk away from this book without being enriched in his knowledge of the Christian prayer-life. The only areas I would dispute would be Sproul’s take on the kingdom (which comes from a covenantal perspective) and his underdeveloped statement on the suitableness of the “longer ending” of the prayer in liturgical settings. Even so, he also devotes a chapter to common questions and answers, and another to the question of God’s sovereignty in relation to efficacious prayer. In all, this would be a good book to enlighten individual Christians or to form the basis of a sustained study on the Lord’s Prayer.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice little book about what is commonly known as "The Lord's Prayer." I prefer to call it "The Model Prayer." It's a short book, only 130-ish pages. Basically, R.C. Sproul breaks down the prayer, line by line. It's not something that's never been done before, but he offers his own, fresh perspective on the prayer.

I enjoyed the book, and feel that it gave me some inspiration to add to my own prayer life. It's a quick read, too.

[Dave Risler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great review of how *not* to pray with practical examples of how we should pray to our Father God.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

• In short, no prayer of any human being ever uttered in history ever changed the mind of God in the slightest, because His mind doesn't ever need to be changed.159
• prayer does change things, all kinds of things. But the most important thing it changes is us. As we engage in this communion with God more deeply and come to know the One with whom we are speaking more intimately, that growing knowledge of God reveals to us all the more brilliantly who we are and our need to change in conformity to Him. Prayer changes us profoundly. 161
• In the initial phrases of the Lord's Prayer, Jesus fixes our gaze not on ourselves but on God. 171
• nothing will condition your prayer life more deeply than remembering that you're in conversation with God, the sovereign Creator and Ruler of the universe.175
• prayer is not a conversation between peers; it is not a fireside chat among equals. This is the creature speaking to his sovereign Creator.176
• every prayer of Jesus recorded in the New Testament except one, He addresses God as Father. 195
• in calling God His Father, He was making Himself equal with God (John 5:18). By addressing God in this familiar form, Jesus was indicating a profound sense of intimacy between Himself and God, showing that He was the unique Son of God. 198
• not only does the Son give us the right to address God as Father, but the Holy Spirit, as He assists us in our prayer lives, prompts us to cry, "Abba, Father!" (Gal. 4:6). 203
• Begetter of the human race. However, when the Bible speaks of the fatherhood of God, it doesn't characteristically do so with regard simply to creation, but specifically to redemption. Since that is the case, the fatherhood of God is not inclusive, but exclusive and restricted.237
• way-Christ is the "only begotten of the Father" (John 1:14). Then the fatherhood of God is extended to those who are adopted into His family by virtue of their union with Christ.239
• among many brethren" (Rom. 8:29b). I am in the brotherhood when I am linked to Christ by adoption. I am His adopted brother. Likewise, every other Christian who is in that special fellowship of the church participates in this special brotherhood. We are not born into it naturally; we must be reborn in order to be in this brotherhood. Therefore, when we speak about the universal brotherhood of man, we weaken or cheapen this crucial point248
• While it is not true that there is a universal brotherhood of man, it is quite biblical to say that there is a universal neighborhood.264
• we must always remember that God is our Father. He is the Patriarch of the brotherhood. He is the One who adopts the brothers and the sisters. As the brothers and the sisters are born of God and are reborn by the Spirit of God, they become the adopted children of God, which is a status and a privilege that is paramount to the New Testament concept of redemption. This status should be brought to the front of our minds every time we say the Lord's Prayer. 274
• The next words of Jesus' model prayer are these: "Hallowed be Your name" (Matt. 6:9b). We have a tendency to read these words and to conclude that they are part of the address, that they are simply an acknowledgment of an existing truth. That is, we believe we are saying: "Our Father in heaven, Your name is holy." But that's not the format of the prayer. This line of the Lord's Prayer is not simply an assertion that God's name is holy. Rather, it's a petition. 289
• He is teaching us to ask that God's name would be regarded as sacred, that it would be treated with reverence, and that it would be seen as holy. We must see this if we are to pray according to the pattern Jesus set for us. 300
• First He listed "Hallowed be Your name," second was "Your kingdom come," and third was "Your will be done." Those petitions may be distinguished one from another, but they're so interconnected that we dare not divorce them from one another. I'm convinced that although we pray for the manifestation and the victory of the kingdom of God, it is futile to hope for the victory of God's kingdom on this planet until or unless the name of God is regarded as sacred, because God's kingdom does not come to people who have no respect for Him. Likewise, we pray that the will of God will be done in this world, but God's will is not done by people who do not regard Him with reverence and with adoration. So the very beginning of godliness, the very beginning of transformation in our lives and in our society, begins with our posture before the character of God.312
• I don't think that anything reveals the state of a person's soul more clearly than the words that come out of his mouth.318
• We will not allow explicit erotic language on television, but we will allow blasphemy with regard to the name of God. I once watched a half-hour program and counted fifty-eight instances on that program when the name of God was treated with anything but reverence. This commonplace practice terrifies me, but most people today don't see it as a concern. 332
• This petition, "Hallowed be Your name," should be on our lips every day, indeed every time we hear the name of God or Jesus casually blasphemed.345
• when Jesus says we should pray that God's name be regarded as holy, He is saying that we should regard Him as holy, and that such a posture of reverence, awe, and respect for God should define everything in our lives. 352
• If we would honor Him here on earth, we must begin by regarding His name as holy and treating it that way. 356
• John Calvin said it is the task of the church to make the invisible kingdom visible. We do that by living in such a way that we bear witness to the reality of the kingship of Christ in our jobs, our families, our schools, and even our checkbooks, because God in Christ is King over every one of these spheres of life. The only way the kingdom of God is going to be manifest in this world before Christ comes is if we manifest it by the way we live as citizens of heaven and subjects of the King. 476
• there are at least two different Greek words in the New Testament that are translated by the English word "will." These words, thelema and boulema,489
• there are three ways in which this concept is most commonly understood. 491
• the sovereign, efficacious will of God.491
• His preceptive will.495
• The preceptive will has to do with His law and commandments, the precepts He issues to regulate the behavior of His creation. It is the will of God that you have no other gods before Him, that you honor your father496
• His basic disposition or inclination.498
• We are told today that in the boldness of faith we are to "name it and claim it." I suppose I should be more measured in my response to this trend, but I can't think of anything more foreign to the teaching of Christ. We come to the presence of God in boldness, but never in arrogance. Yes, we can name and claim those things God has clearly promised in Scripture. For instance, we can claim the certainty of forgiveness if we confess our sins before Him, because He promises that. But when it comes to getting a raise, purchasing a home, or finding healing from a disease, God hasn't made those kind of specific promises anywhere in Scripture, so we are not free to name and claim those things. 537
• God, Jesus taught, gives perfect gifts, and He is willing and able to meet our daily needs, which we are to bring before Him on a daily basis. We have a tendency in this modern age not to live from day to day in terms of the things we need to eat. We stock up on food. We have refrigerators and freezers that extend the life of our food and keep it fresh. So it's not our custom to face each new day with the fresh need to find food for our sustenance. Given this custom, we have a powerful need to pray this petition of the Lord's Prayer and to grasp our constant dependence on the provision of God to sustain our very lives. 632
• When the Bible speaks of God forgetting our sins, it means that He remembers them against us no more. Though He's fully aware of our transgressions, He doesn't remind us, He doesn't call them to mind, He doesn't hold them against us. That's the essence of forgiveness, and we need to imitate that in this world.741


• We are to keep short accounts not just in our vertical relationship with God, but in our horizontal relationships with others.773
• "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him" (13:15a).836
• in the second century, Polycarp, the aged bishop of Smyrna, was taken into Roman custody and told he must renounce Christ or be killed. Polycarp replied, "Eighty-six years I have served Him, and He never once wronged me. How can I blaspheme my King, who saved me?" He was martyred a few moments later. Likewise, Bishops Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley were burned at the stake during the persecutions of "Bloody" Queen Mary for teaching justification by faith alone. As the fire was being lit, Latimer called: "Be of good cheer, Master Ridley, and play the man. We shall this day light such a candle in England by God's grace as, I trust, shall never be put out." So it has been through the centuries, as Christians have gone through deep testing. 848
• It was the habit of Johann Sebastian Bach to write, at the bottom of each of his musical compositions, the initials "S.D.G." to remind himself and everyone who played his compositions that the glory was God's alone. "S.D.G.," of course, stands for the Latin phrase Soli Deo gloria, which means "Glory to God alone." Bach didn't write simply "D.G."-"Glory to God." It always had to be "S.D.G."-"Glory to God alone." That's what we affirm at the end of the Lord's Prayer.917
• We are called to plow our fields. We are called to plant and to water. And this calling applies to our prayers. 1061
• God calls us to work, to plow, to plant, to read, to study, to prepare. We do all of these things, but He brings the growth.1063
• There's a sense in which intercessory prayer, prayer of supplication, is a work. It's certainly a pleasure, but it requires energy and time. God knows what we need before we ask Him, but He requires the work. He knows that we need bread before we ask Him for it, but He requires us to put forth the work of producing the materials by which our bread is given to us. If we lack the benefits of God's hands in our life, it may very well be because we have not asked; we have not put forth the work of entreating Him in prayer. 1064

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

First sentence: A FEW YEARS AGO, when I happened to be in San Diego for a conference, I unexpectedly ran into an old friend of mine, George Miladin. George is a pianist and a master teacher—he used to host a televised teaching program for the piano called the “See and Hear Piano Series.”

R.C. Sproul provides commentary on the Lord's Prayer in his book The Prayer of the Lord. He walks with his readers through each phrase of the prayer. But he also provides context and commentary on the whole passage from which 'the Lord's Prayer' is taken. Context, after all, is important.

For example, consider the fact that before he gives disciples a model prayer, he tells them how NOT to pray.

Sproul writes, "The first type of prayer Jesus condemned is hypocritical prayer... Hypocrisy has a devastating impact on the life of the church and on the representation of Christianity to a dying world. And so our Lord warns us here not to parade our piety before the world... We need to be careful here, because we Christians are enjoined to bear witness to our faith, which means making the invisible visible. But sometimes we think that one of the primary ways of bearing witness to people is by demonstrating our Christian spirituality with public prayer... That’s dangerous, because the motivation for prayer is not to display our spirituality before the watching world. Prayer is to be intensely private."

He continues, "The second kind of prayer Jesus condemned is pagan prayer. He said: “And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.” Worship services often include the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer. The use of the Lord’s Prayer has a rich history in the church, and whenever we pray it or hear it, we are reminded of those priorities that Jesus sets before us as objects for prayer. Don’t get me wrong—I’m not opposed to the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer. However, there is a danger that this use of the prayer may be nothing more than a recitation. The praying of the Lord’s Prayer can become as mindless and as vain a repetition as the magical incantations and mantras that pagans use. Jesus did not give the Lord’s Prayer with the intention that it would be repeated mindlessly. When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we need to pray it thoughtfully, giving attention in our minds to its content. It is not a mantra to be repeated without the engagement of the mind or heart. It is an example of godly prayer."

But the book is more than just a commentary on one prayer from the Bible. It is also a primer, of sorts, on the subject of PRAYER. Most of the book focuses on HOW to pray.

"The first thing you are to remember in prayer is who it is you’re talking to, because nothing will condition your prayer life more deeply than remembering that you’re in conversation with God, the sovereign Creator and Ruler of the universe. Second, you are to remember who you are. You are not God. You are a creature. So prayer is not a conversation between peers; it is not a fireside chat among equals. This is the creature speaking to his sovereign Creator."

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prayer is one of those topics that Christians simply cannot ignore. We need to pray. We need to know how to pray in such a way that God will be honored. We need a model for prayer that will help us to cover important categories well. Jesus knows this, which is why he gave his disciples a model prayer to pray. R. C. Sproul also sees the importance of the model prayer, and chose to write a nice little book on the topic.

Positives

The Prayer of the Lord is short, helpful, and readable. Unlike some works out there, this book is not so scholarly as to be indecipherable. Nor does Sproul dive off into the mystical. He does not flood the reader with tons of “I prayed this and God did that” stories. There is no hyped-up emotionalism in this book. Sproul has given us a simple and solid look at Jesus’ model for our prayer lives, and readers should be grateful.

Sproul’s work looks at the model prayer, rightfully, as a model. He demonstrates for the reader that repeated use of this model will make thorough prayer second-nature for the believer. Sproul writes, “That’s the benefit of praying a prayer like the Lord’s Prayer over and over again. It becomes part of the fabric of our thinking. It begins to become a part of our souls, so that we fall back on it when we’re at a loss as to how we ought to pray. We can always pray the Lord’s Prayer” (12).

In Sproul’s addressing of the petition, “Hallowed be your name,” he points out the absolute necessity that God’s name be seen as holy. For many, the concept that this phrase of the prayer is a petition instead of a praise will be fascinating enough. However, Sproul’s grasping of the centrality of this request is what is so beautiful. Sproul tells us, “I’m convinced that although we pray for the manifestation and the victory of the kingdom of God, it is futile to hope for the victory of God’s kingdom on this planet until or unless the name of God is regarded as sacred, because God’s kingdom does not come to people who have no respect for Him” (33). He adds, “A lack of regard for His name reveals more clearly than anything else a lack of regard for Him” (36).

At risk of belaboring too many of Sproul’s specific points, his expression of gratitude for God’s forgiveness from the “forgive us our debts” petition is lovely to read. The author tells his readers that forgiveness is something for which we should all be overwhelmingly grateful. He writes, “There is no greater state than to get up from your knees knowing that in God’s sight you are clean, that He has forgiven every sin you’ve ever committed. Without that grace, without that forgiveness, I don’t think I could live in this world for another sixty seconds. This is something we all desperately need, and we have but to ask for it” (85).


Perhaps praying this petition will help us to see exactly how wonderful is the grace of our God.

Negatives

While Sproul’s work is very helpful, a few negatives may catch one’s attention. In his discussion of the petition “deliver us from the evil one,” the author uses Job as an example. In this example, Sproul speaks of Job as having “aced” his test. Yet, in this description of Job, Sproul does not point out the grumbling of Job or Job’s need for repentance. Later in the Q and A chapter, Sproul does say, referring to Job, “He was severely rebuked for the attitude that he expressed to God” (108). This does not sound like a man who aced his test. While this point is not major, and certainly is not germane to the topic of prayer in general, it comes off a little sloppy.

It also might have been more helpful for Sproul to do a little more thorough handling of the final line of the prayer from a text-critical standpoint. Sproul criticized commentators for basically ignoring this line. He even pointed out that there is a text-critical problem. However, Sproul did not make a very thorough argument as to why he believes this text to be original to the prayer. Obviously, this book is short and not intended to address such deep issues, but the slight treatment that this line gets is unsatisfactory. Perhaps putting the text-critical work in a second appendix would have been helpful.

Conclusion and Recommendation

My problems with this work are tiny, and the helpful points of this book are many. Christians need to know how to use the model prayer in their daily lives. Too many evangelicals have ignored the Lord’s prayer as a source of great guidance for daily prayer. Sproul's book is a very helpful call for Christians to use this model for their own growth. I happily recommend it.

The brevity and ease of reading that one finds in this book would make it very useful for a small group or one-on-one discipleship study. People will be able to read this work. The short chapters will appeal to those who do not want to spend too much time reading. The learning of the model will help any believer to further his or her prayer life.

[Lauren Stredny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple, helpful exposition of the Lord’s Prayer and how to pray in general

[My Little Happy Nook · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ⭐️

This was a wonderful read. I love listening to books by RC Sproul. Each time I read or listen to one- I feel like I learn so much, and this book was no exception. He brought up great points about how Jesus modeled prayer for us that I had never considered even after reading the exact same passage. I am so thankful to have access to books like these that push me to learn more and pray more like Jesus

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, but powerful nonetheless. As familiar as the Lord's Prayer is, Sproul still manages to draw principles out of it that I had not considered and that I believe will be profitable in growing in the discipline of prayer. I recommend this book to anyone who (like me) struggles with knowing how to pray and wants to improve.

[Andy Dollahite · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best kind of short length analysis and practical application of the Lord’s prayer. Classic RCS.

[Bo Cogbill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this together with Praying the Lord's Prayer by J.I. Packer, Lord, Teach Us by William Willimon and Stanley Hauerwas, and The The Lord and His Prayer by N.T. Wright, and I would rank them as follows:

1a. Sproul
1b. Packer
2. Wright
3. Willimon and Hauerwas

Sproul's ability to weave good, solid theological meat in such efficient ways never ceases to amaze me. In 126 pages, Sproul does his thing. He covers different view on prayer, the atonement, evil, and so much more, all while staying faithful to the text.

I appreciated his emphasis on how prayer is sometimes just as much, if not more, about changing our perspective and growing us in holiness as it is about praying to get what we want. Time and time again, Sproul confronts the reader with the glory of God and forces them to recognize who he/she is in light of Him. At the same time, the reader is assured that same, weighty God is a loving Father that wants to use prayer to show His love for us.

Every once in a while, Sproul gets ornery and the reader senses his "Sproulness," but that's part of what makes Sproul endearing. He's your wise, old grandpa, putting you on his knee, telling you wonderful stories, and shaking his finger at "kids these days."

If you're trying to decide which book to read on the Lord's Prayer, I would say that Sproul's will give you the most bang for your buck. I'll definitely revisit this time and again.

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A small book packed full of punch.

Jesus gave us the example for prayer by way of the Lord's Prayer in Luke and Matthew. RC Sproul provides a powerful insight into each of the verses of this very short prayer. This insight has helped refine my prayer life.

Too often our prayer life can become very self-focused, however, Jesus demonstrates that it should be centred on the glory of God. Praise and adoration can sometimes be difficult. But I find when I start thanking and praising God my heart softens as I turn my attention to Him and off myself.

Then true relationship can commence.

Each verse has its own short chapter that is easy to read.

This is beautifully written and I'll be encouraging friends to read it.

[C.H.E. Sadaphal · Rating 4 out of 5]

The bottom line: A concrete investigation into the model of prayer given by Jesus.

Prayer is one of the bedrocks of the Christian faith because it is the transformative medium through which believers communicate and fellowship with God. Yet, prayer cannot be done “any old way” because it is a dialogue with a Holy and Omnipotent Creator. The question then becomes: Is there a map one can follow on how to pray? The answer is yes and it is found in the blueprint Jesus gave to His disciples, The Lord’s Prayer. The Prayer of the Lord explains the “prayer map” and guides the reader on how to navigate that map.

The book proceeds through ... http://www.chesadaphal.com/the-prayer...

[Ricardo Daglio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sproul no me decepcionó, sino que una vez más mantuvo mi atención a través de su habitual característica de decir las cosas complejas de manera sencilla y sin perder la objetividad. Yo diría que esta es su marca registrada. Pero en un libro como este, sobre la Oración, se hace mucho más necesario estar atentos a cada enseñanza explicada magistralmente por este siervo conque Dios bendijo a esta generación. Termino el 2017 agradecido al Señor por enseñarme profundamente sobre la importancia de valorar el Padre Nuestro con toda la seriedad que me sea posible tener considerando que aquí tenemos lo que necesitamos para establecer una base sólida para crecer en comunión con nuestro Salvador y orar de manera bíblica pero a su vez, familiar. Espero que puedas leer este libro. Dios te bendiga.

[Bryan Neuschwander · Rating 2 out of 5]

I kept wanting to like this more than I did--I found myself arguing more than appreciating.

[Jerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author provides an engaging exposition of each of the clauses in the Lord's prayer and uses them as a point of departure for discussing prayer life in general. He writes smoothly, and the entire book can be read in one sitting. However, I found it useful to meditate on the ideas raised in each of the short chapters. So, I read one chapter at a time on the subway on the way to work.

The idea that the Lord's prayer can serve as a sort of template for the way the individual Christian communicates with God is developed nicely. The author also discusses how each clause suggests various theological points. It is a worthy addition to books on prayer at the introductory level.

[Bill Pence · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this new edition of his 2009 book, Dr. Sproul writes that the disciples were looking to Jesus for instructions on how to pray. Jesus gave them what we now refer to as the “Lord’s Prayer”, not because it was a prayer He Himself prayed, but because it was the prayer He provided for His followers. Each chapter of the book looks at a single line from what we know as “The Lord’s Prayer.
Jesus warned the disciples against praying publicly in a hypocritical fashion and also encouraged private prayer. He also condemned is pagan prayer.
The author tells us that Jesus did not give the Lord’s Prayer with the intention that it would be repeated mindlessly. When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we need to pray it thoughtfully, giving attention in our minds to its content. It is not a mantra to be repeated without the engagement of the mind or heart. It is an example of godly prayer.
He addresses the question does prayer change things and how we are to come into God’s presence. He tells us that in the initial phrases of the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus fixes our gaze not on ourselves but on God.
Below are a few passages I highlighted from each petition:
Our Father in Heaven
• When Jesus referred to God as His Father, His contemporaries—the Pharisees, for example—would become enraged. They understood that, in calling God His Father, He was making Himself equal with God (John 5:18).
• When Jesus gave the Lord’s Prayer, with its use of “Our Father” as the form of address, He gave us the unspeakable privilege of addressing God in the same terms of filial familiarity that Jesus Himself used.
Hallowed Be Your Name
• This line of the Lord’s Prayer is not simply an assertion that God’s name is holy. Rather, it’s a petition.
• He is teaching us to ask that God’s name would be regarded as sacred, that it would be treated with reverence, and that it would be seen as holy.
• I don’t think that anything reveals the state of a person’s soul more clearly than the words that come out of his mouth.
• However, I’ve noticed that even though some words and phrases are still forbidden on television, when it comes to the name of God, anything goes. We will not allow explicit erotic language on television, but we will allow blasphemy with regard to the name of God.
• By placing this as the first petition of the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus was giving it a place of priority.
Your Kingdom Come
• When Jesus told His followers to pray, “Your kingdom come,” He was making them participants in His own mission to spread the reign of God on this planet so that it might reflect the way God’s reign is established in heaven to this day.
• At the heart of this theme is the idea of God’s messianic kingdom. It is a kingdom that will be ruled by God’s appointed Messiah, who will be not just the Redeemer of His people, but their King.
• The only way the kingdom of God is going to be manifest in this world before Christ comes is if we manifest it by the way we live as citizens of heaven and subjects of the King.
Your Will Be Done
• If there’s any concept about which there’s confusion among believers today, it is the will of God.
• The sovereign, efficacious will of God is the will that brings to pass whatsoever He decrees.
• The preceptive will of God can be violated and is violated every day.
• The Bible speaks of the will of God in terms of His basic disposition or inclination. In this sense, God’s will has to do with what is pleasing or displeasing to Him.
• The real prayer of faith is the prayer that trusts God no matter whether the answer is yes or no.
Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread
• This petition of the Lord’s Prayer, then, teaches us to come to God in a spirit of humble dependence, asking Him to provide what we need and to sustain us from day to day.
Forgive Us Our Debts
• Jesus attaches a condition to this petition. He doesn’t simply tell us to pray, “Forgive us our debts.” Rather, we are to ask God to forgive us “as we forgive our debtors.” In my opinion, that’s one of the most frightening lines in the Lord’s Prayer.
• The point is that I should be as gracious toward others as God has been to me, so that if someone does sin against me and then he acknowledges his guilt, repents, and apologizes, I am duty bound to forgive.
• This petition, then, reminds us of the depth of our sinfulness, our need for daily confession, and our need for forgiveness, but also of our Christian duty in our interpersonal relationships on the human level.
Do Not Lead Us into Temptation
• Jesus is saying that we should pray that the Father will never cause us to undergo a severe test of our faith or of our obedience.
• When Jesus teaches us to pray, “Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one,” He not only is teaching us to pray for deliverance from testing but is teaching us to seek divine protection from the wiles of Satan.
Yours Is the Kingdom
• There is a widespread belief among scholars that this ending was not in the original prayer but was added very soon afterward because it was customary among the Jews to conclude their prayers with a doxology.
• One of the most beautiful aspects of this concluding line of the Lord’s Prayer, in my opinion, is that it returns the focus to God.
• We acknowledge that we have no glory in us, that God is glorious beyond our ability to express, and that He is never required to share His glory with men.
The book concludes with a chapter in which the author touches briefly on various issues surrounding the practice of prayer, and the Lord’s Prayer specifically. In addition, a helpful appendix “If God Is Sovereign, Why Pray?” is included.

[Betty Garnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of facts and scripture with warning to be careful when considering the sovereignty of God.

Brother R C's book a beautiful explanation of our prayer life being intertwined with God's ultimate sovereignty. His books are always totally inclusive of all the Bible's teachings on a topic with consideration of all other scriptural concepts that may border on the topic and lend to the most complete and accurate teaching of scripture. My thanks to you for a wonderfully comprehensive, well-written, thought-provoking, and encouraging book.

[Paul Wichert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a small-profile book on the Lord's prayer which addresses the introduction, closing, and each of the petitions in the prayer. As expected Sproul describes the words of this prayer in their biblical context along with historical and theological comments to explain the meaning. The book is short but rich in pastoral instruction to help in understanding both the prayer itself at a deeper level and also as a model of praying in general. A very good introduction.

[Wesley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sproul's unrivaled ability to communicate high and lofty theology to the average reader is in display here in this brief exposition of the Lord's modeled prayer. Rich in truth and immediate applied to the prayer life of the believer, RC again, gives the church another gift by the grace of God. The book is very short for the amount that Sproul packs in (130ish pages about 3 hours by audio book) and is worth the short investment!

[Nathan Moelker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent exposition of the Lord's Prayer. R. C. Sproul carefully enunciates and explains Christ's teaching on prayer with practical encouragement for our daily lives, helping to deal with the struggle some face between God's providence and prayer and encouraging us to adore the Lord in all the splendor of his glory. Highly recommend this short but helpful read.

[Shaun Dewitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Profoundly helpful

Simple yet yet effective book teaching far beyond the mechanics of prayer. This book teaches us the depth and width of prayer and challenges our vulnerability, infusing us with rich times of intimacy with our Lord. Best of all, it's not RC's mere opinion of a prayer method but simply an exposition of what the Lord Jesus has already taught.

[bonnie finley]

Understanding the Lord's prayer

I liked the way he took each section of sentences and broke them down to find the meaning. when you recite a prayer over and over the words just become words. now when I pray this prayer I try to mean the words I'm saying

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This should be a helpful book for new or old Christians alike. It is short without being pithy, and concise without being trite. R.C, as always, does an excellent job of negotiating the line between the purely theological and the purely practical.

[K.M. Weiland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sproul reminds me a lot of C.S. Lewis: articulate, to the point, and always ready with some fresh insights. The Lord's Prayer has been sermoned to death, but Sproul doesn't disappoint in bringing out some fresh points. I particularly found his section on forgiveness interesting.

[Laramie Gildon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. God did a lot of stirring in my heart through this exposition of the prayer of the Lord. I highly recommend anyone to read it. Whether you think you have a great or terrible prayer life, this book will definitely bless you.

[mike choate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on the Lord's Prayer!

Dr. Sproul presents fresh insight on the ancient and theologically rich prayer that Jesus taught his disciples. I feel I will pray more confidently and more meaningfully after applying the insights provided.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick but helpful read on the Lord's prayer. As always, Sproul is a master teacher and an expert at simplifying concepts. I would be interested in reading more on Sproul's opinion of "thy kingdom come."