Biblical Studies / The Lord's Prayer

  • Bread and Forgiveness

    Luke 11:3–4a

    Sometimes it is easy to forgive others but hard to accept the fact that God has forgiven us. But if we have turned from sin and have trusted Jesus, we have been truly forgiven. Rejoice in your pardon and forgive ...Read More

  • Deliver Us from Evil

    Matthew 6:13

    Satan is called the accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:10) because he likes to make us feel as if God has not forgiven us. But guilt is an objective reality, and if we have turned to Jesus, we have ...Read More

  • Fasting in Secret

    Matthew 6:17-18

    Fasting is extremely beneficial to our spiritual growth and our prayer lives. Going without food helps reminds us how much we depend on God for our sustenance and, indeed, for all things. This helps us seek Him fervently, for we ...Read More

  • Hallowed Be Your Name

    Luke 11:2a

    The prohibition against taking the Lord’s name in vain (Deut. 5:11) includes more than direct blasphemy. Many of the passages for today’s further study show that we blaspheme when we claim to follow God and then flagrantly ...Read More

  • Knowing the Lord

    Jeremiah 9:23–24

    Many people today want to set holiness, love, and mercy in opposition to one another, especially when they speak of the character of God. Yet, it is only because the Lord is holy that we can be confident that He ...Read More

  • Our Shepherding God

    Psalm 23

    Many well-intentioned people promise that coming to Jesus, the Great Shepherd of the sheep, will solve all of life’s problems. While one day this will be true, we will face the enemies of the world, the flesh, and the ...Read More

  • Serving God in the Here and Now

    1 Corinthians 7:17–24

    If our primary concern in life is to change our present situation, then we will have little room to serve God wherever we are. It is not inherently wrong to seek a change in circumstances, and, indeed, a change may ...Read More

  • Teach Us to Pray

    Luke 11:1

    Jesus emphasizes that prayer should reflect a certain private intimacy between the believer and God in Matthew 6:5–6. There is something so intimate about prayer that we should long to pray in private long before we do so ...Read More

  • The Disciples’ Prayer

    Matthew 6:9–15

    Lack of forgiveness, we learn in today’s passage, may prove a lack of faith. No matter how hard it may be to forgive others, we simply cannot call ourselves followers of Christ if we do not forgive those who ...Read More

  • The Fifth Petition

    Psalm 143:1–2

    When we ask the Father to forgive us in Jesus’ name, we are asking Him to do something that He has promised to do. Therefore, we can be confident that He forgives us when we seek His face. This is ...Read More

  • The Fourth Petition

    James 1:16–17

    Paul tells us that the failure to thank God for His blessings is one of the two basic sins of which all fallen people are guilty (Rom. 1:21). This means, among other things, that we tend toward ingratitude and ...Read More

  • The Lord’s Prayer

    Luke 11:1–4

    Using the Lord’s Prayer as a model involves prioritizing our petitions according to the prayer’s structure. The first thing for which Jesus prays is that God’s name would be hallowed and that His kingdom would come. That ...Read More

  • The Mandate to Forgive

    Matthew 18:21–35

    Calvin also comments, “No one may presume to approach God and ask forgiveness, who is not pure and free from all resentment.” If we are withholding forgiveness from those who have truly and humbly sought our pardon, then we are ...Read More

  • The Second Petition

    Romans 14:17

    Today, God’s special kingdom of blessing is manifested primarily in the church. It is through the ministry of Word and sacrament that we learn what it means to bow the knee to Christ as Lord. Furthermore, it is through ...Read More

  • The Sixth Petition

    1 Corinthians 10:13

    Today’s study is based on question and answer 127 of the Heidelberg Catechism, which reminds us that the world, the flesh, and the Devil “never stop attacking us.” Until we are glorified, there is no point at which we ...Read More