Lent Series & Hymn based on Lord’s Prayer and Words from the Cross: Prayer is Crucial

Our Lent series this year was based on the petitions of the Lord’s Prayer and how they match up with Jesus’s words from the cross.

Here’s the worksheet/order we used (PDF).

We also had a theme hymn, “Father God, Who Art in Heaven,” that uses the same first and last stanza each week with a different 2nd stanza each week based on the corresponding petition/words. It can be used as a general Lord’s Prayer hymn apart from the series. (Lyrics based on series order) See below for lyrics based on Lord’s Prayer order.

The Lutheran Service Builder file is in the order of the petitions.

Father God, Who Art in Heaven

Tune: Das grosse Cantional (Christ, the Life of All the Living)

1 Father God, Who art in heaven,
Your name ever hallow’d be
Let Your kingdom come among us
Earth, like heaven, Your will see
As we pardon, so release us,
From our sins and evil free us.
Kingdom, power, glory be Thine unto eternity.

2 Let Your name be ever holy
Ever kept in purity
Since by Word and water solely
You have named us family
Help us show in daily living
All the mercy You are giving
Kingdom, power, glory be Thine unto eternity.

3 Let Your kingdom come among us
May your Spirit help us know:
Since You’ve taken our sin from us
We to Paradise may go
As a citizen of heaven,
Let my life be loving leaven
Kingdom, power, glory be Thine unto eternity.

4 As Your will is done in heaven,
Here among us so be done
Keep us firm, conviction strengthen,
Ever turn us to Your Son
Let our trust be ne’er diminished
Give us faith that “It is finished!”
Kingdom, power, glory be Thine unto eternity.

5 Give us each our daily manna
Help us see Your providence
For Your mercy, loud hosanna
Always let our thanks commence
Though You suffered dehydration,
Let us trust complete salvation
Kingdom, power, glory be Thine unto eternity.

6 Father God, Who art in heaven,
Turn Your eyes from all our sin
We know not the depths we’ve fallen
Purify our hearts within
Let the mercy from Your Word flow,
And our lives your saving grace show
Kingdom, power, glory be Thine unto eternity.

7 O my God, do not forsake me
Hold me close in every hour
Let no evil overtake me
Keep me from the tempter’s power
Though this world and flesh may charm me,
May they not prevail to harm me
Kingdom, power, glory be Thine unto eternity.

8 Let us all commend our spirits
To our Father’s loving hands
So that we may all inherit
Joyously a blessed end
Save us, Lord, from all our sorrows
Give us joy for all tomorrows
Kingdom, power, glory be Thine unto eternity.

9 Father God, Who art in heaven,
Hear the prayers Your children cry
To the cross may our lives beckon
And display Christ crucified
Let us always know Your favor
For through Christ, our only Savior,
Kingdom, power, glory be Thine unto eternity!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License by Strength & Song Publishing

Image: The Name of Forgiveness

For a sermon based on the 1st Petition of the Lord’s Prayer, Hallowed Be Thy Name, from the Prayer is Crucial series, an image of Jesus on the cross with the INRI replaced with YHWY.

How should I pray?

Originally written for Shepherd of the Ridge Lutheran Church, apply these ideas to your local context.

Image via Wikipedia

When Jesus taught His disciples to pray (Luke 11:1-13), He gave a great list to begin with, and in the Lord’s Prayer, we find in many ways a summary of all those things we pray about, but as you set time aside to be with God in prayer, do you ever find yourself at a loss what to pray about?

Here at Shepherd of the Ridge, we have a list each week of specific people seeking others’ prayers for them. That’s a great place to start. Even if you don’t know the details of that person’s need, God does, and He will provide as that person needs.

But consider praying for those you might not normally pray for:

Those who annoy you: (Matthew 5:44) But I tell you this: Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you. Sometimes, “enemy” means that person who took 15 items into the 12 item checkout, or that person at work who just irritates you, or telemarketers. Pray that God would bless them with love and faith, and that He would give you opportunities to love those people.
Terrorists: Speaking of loving our enemies, pray for those who’ve been fooled into thinking they’re doing God’s will by murder. Pray that God show them His love, that they may know His love, that His love would save them, and that they in turn would reach out to the world in love.
Those farthest away from you & toughest to love: Think of those with whom you simply have nothing in common, those with tremendous needs that leave you feeling like you could never help them, and ask God for opportunities to help those you don’t think you could help.
And if you’re brave, pray for faith. God often allows suffering to strengthen our faith, because it’s through those difficult times that we struggle the most and find ourselves running to God, whereas in times of abundance, we think we can do it ourselves.

Whom else can you pray for that you wouldn’t normally think of? God has given us love beyond our ability to comprehend, and we can share that love without fear of running out of love. Pray for opportunities to love. the wisdom to recognize those opportunities, and the courage to act on them.