COURSE LEARNING PACKETS Document Code FM-STL-014

Saint Louis University Revision No. 01

School of Teacher Education and Liberal Arts Effectivity June 07, 2021
Page 1 of 2

INSPIRED WORD OF GOD

Read the following text guided by these questions:
1. How does Jesus address God?
2. What kind of relationship between Jesus and God is implied or suggested
by the prayer?
3. Are there ideas in the text about obedience, trust, reliance? In which verses
are they found?

The Lord’s Prayer (Mt. 6:7-14)

“And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words.
Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this: Our Father who art in
heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily
bread; And forgive us our debts, As we also have forgiven our debtors; And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from
evil. For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their
trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Christ felt it was necessary to demonstrate to his disciples what the subject and
method of their prayer should be. Although we are not obligated to use this exclusively
or always, it is undeniably beneficial to do so. It packs a lot of punch in a small package,
and it's acceptable as long as it's used thoughtfully and without being overused. The
petitions are six in number; the first three are more specifically about God and his honor,
while the last three are about our own temporal and spiritual concerns.
This prayer teaches us to seek first God's kingdom and righteousness, and then
everything else will fall into place. We pray for the necessary supports and comforts of
this life after we have prayed for God's glory, kingdom, and will. Every word in this book
contains a lesson. We only ask for bread; this teaches us sobriety and temperance; and
we only ask for bread; we do not ask for anything else. We ask for our bread; this teaches
us honesty and industry: we do not ask for other people's bread, nor do we ask for
deceitful bread, Proverbs 20:17; nor do we ask for idle bread, Proverbs 31:27, but only for
bread that has been earned honestly.
We pray for our daily bread, which teaches us to rely on Divine Providence all of
the time. We beg God to give it to us, not to sell it, not to lend it, but to give it to us. For
their daily bread, even the greatest of men must depend on God's mercy. Give it to us,
we beseech. This instills in us a sense of empathy for those who are less fortunate. We
should also pray as a family. We pray that God will grant it to us today, as it teaches us
to renew our souls' desires for God in the same way that our bodies' desires are renewed.
 COURSE LEARNING PACKETS Document Code FM-STL-014
Saint Louis University Revision No. 01
School of Teacher Education and Liberal Arts Effectivity June 07, 2021
Page 2 of 2

As the day progresses, we must pray to our heavenly Father, and we must consider that
we could go a day without food just as easily as we could go a day without prayer.
We are taught to hate and dread sin while hoping for mercy, to distrust ourselves
and rely on God's providence and grace to keep us from it, to be ready to resist the
tempter and not become tempters of others, to distrust ourselves and rely on God's
providence and grace to keep us from it. Here's a guarantee: If you forgive, your
heavenly Father will forgive as well. As we hope to be forgiven, we must forgive. Those
who seek God's mercy must first show mercy to their brothers and sisters. Not only did
Christ come into the world to reconcile us to God, but also to reconcile us to one another
(Matthew 6 Bible commentary, n.d.).