The Lord's Prayer, Luke 11:1-4

"And it came to pass, that, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, one of His disciples said unto Him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. And He said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil."

In Matthew 6:9-13 Jesus gives a similar model for prayer:

"After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen."

     In Matthew's gospel, before Jesus gave this model for prayer, He told His disciples, "But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for thier much speaking." In giving us this model for prayer, Jesus was not giving us something which we have to utter over and over again, as some have taken it. This is a model, not what our every prayer should be. It is as an outline. But even this exact prayer, if prayed from the heart, can be meaningful, for God knows what we have need of even before we pray, and it isn't necessary to be creative or poetic or exact in your language for God to hear you.
     Following this prayer as a model for all prayer, we see that we are to praise and adore God in our prayers, acknowledge our submission to His perfect will, and then ask our petitions of Him. We may follow up with more praise and adoration as well.
     This is not to be a rigid, inflexible guide to prayer; were that the case our praise would hardly be meaningful. We would simply be spouting out words in order to get to our true desires, which are usually the petitions. But this model does cause us to stop and think upon God, to reflect upon His goodness and mercy. It causes us to realize that we are subject to His perfect will, and that His perfect will is what is good and best for us. If we were to sit down to pray but only ask petitions of God, we would be missing out on seeing God's glory. It is not for His sake that we ought to praise Him, but for our own. Many times our problems and requests fade and lessen when we stop to ponder the sheer glory of God.

     In this model, we see that Jesus first directs us to realize that God is in heaven, sitting on the throne. "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name." To hallow is to praise. God, who is in heaven, who is on the throne ruling over all the earth, is to be praised and hallowed, reverenced and feared.
     Next Jesus says, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." Our ultimate desire should be to see the kingdom of God realized on earth, just as in heaven God reigns over everything. We aren't to be so much focused on attaining world peace or a comfortable lifestyle, but understand that peace and comfort will only come when Jesus reigns on earth as He does in heaven.
     "Give us this day our daily bread." God's will is not that we try to amass large amounts of wealth for ourselves, nor to try and gain enough so that we don't have to worry (don't have to trust in Him or walk by faith!) about how our next needs will be met. He wants us to depend on Him for every thing, every day, in every way. And when we ask Him for our daily bread, He will give it to us. Bread was the staple food in that day. "Bread" can refer to anything that you need to survive, whether it be money for rent, food, clothes, etc. God has promised if we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, that all these things shall be added unto us.
     "And forgive our debts, as we forgive our debtors." "Debts" here refers to incurred obligations due to sins of omission and/or sins of commission. Thus forgiveness refers to a cancellation of these debts and obligations. It is assumed here that we forgive others; this fact is not questioned. It is not by our own power that we are forgiving and loving, but by the Spirit dwelling in us. Jesus said that if anyone forgives another, his sin will be forgiven by God, but if they refuse to forgive another, that God will not forgive their sin. God is not into hypocrisy. Anyone who does not forgive may not truly have a repentant heart. Repentance is required for forgiveness.
     "Lead us not into temptation..." James said that God does not tempt anyone, nor is God Himself tempted with evil. The word "temptation" in the Greek, peirasmos (pi-ras-mos'), means an experiment, attempt, trial, proving; the trial of man's fidelity, integrity, virtue, constancy; an internal temptation to sin; or a temptation (i.e. trial) of God by men (meaning a rebellion against God, by which his power and justice are, as it were, put to the proof and challenged to show themselves). Asking God not to lead us into temptation can refer to asking God to keep us from trials, to keep us from the difficulties resulting in testing of our character, or to keep us from falling into sin. It can also refer to keeping us from causing God to prove His justice and power by sinning and rebelling. The second half of His statement, "but deliver us from evil," would imply that we are asking God not to spare us from trials or character-shaping difficulties, but from falling into sin. And God does not cause us to fall into sin, but we fall when we are dragged away by our own lustful desires. Thus we would be asking God to shield us from anything that might tempt us to lust, anything that could breed evil desires in our hearts.
     "For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen." What gain do we have in being led away by our own lusts and desires? What do we profit if we gain the whole world-- yet in rejecting God, lose our own souls? God is in heaven, God is on the throne, God is in control. His kingdom is coming, Jesus will rule and reign. He is the provider of all our needs, the forgiver of all our evil deeds. We ought to do the former things for it is His kingdom, He has all power, and He is glorious! Amen: So be it.

     When you pray, remember: God is on the throne. He is glorious, wonderful, forgiving, and the provider of all your needs. Remember too, that you ought to forgive others, as Christ also forgave you. Be not foolish in thinking you can withstand temptation to sin, but pray for God to keep you from temptation. Do not stand in the power of your own flesh; you will fail, guaranteed. And always, always remember: It is His kingdom, He has all power, and He possesses all glory. This is the God to whom you pray. Stand amazed!