“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.” (Luke 11:2)

What is commonly called the LORD’s Prayer, is in actuality, the disciples’ prayer. Our LORD gave this prayer as a pattern of how His disciples should pray. It was never intended to be a prayer to be memorized and repeated but serves as a pattern of how the Spirit of God directs God’s children to pray. Notice:

1.) When ye pray: There is no prescribed time to pray but as the Spirit of God directs one of Christ’s redeemed ones to pray. The ‘when’ is determined by the LORD causing one of His own to cry unto Him and seek Him. The word ‘pray’ here means ‘to wish’ or ‘desire’ of God. True prayer is not seeking God for what the flesh desires but the Spiritual, as the Spirit directs. “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” (Romans 8:26) Where there is true Spirit given prayer, there are desires only after Christ and His blood and righteousness, John 16:13.

2.) Our Father which art in heaven: Only those can address God as Father, whose Father He is indeed! To address Him as Father, it takes the same Spirit of God revealing Christ in them first, ”And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” (Gal. 4:6) In this context, the Spirit reveals Christ in the hearts of those for whom He paid the debt only, Gal. 4:4. True prayer is to the sanctity and glory of the Father alone. His name is hallowed only by the work of the LORD Jesus; therefore, none can come to God but by HIM, John 14:6.

3.) Thy Kingdom Come: We are not to pray for some earthly, natural kingdom. That would be to pray contrary to the LORD’S own teaching, Luke 11:2. His kingdom was established at His resurrection, upon satisfactory completion of His death at the cross, Acts 2:30-36. His kingdom is advanced now in the world when the Spirit of God reveals Christ in the hearts of those for whom He paid the debt and draws them to Himself, John 12:32.