When I first started using the Lord’s Prayer on a daily basis, I was struck by one fact: there was no place for intercession. There was nothing that allowed me to pray for the needs of others.

Then I noticed that throughout the prayer, it’s not “I” or “my,” but “we” and “our.” Yes, I can still pray for my personal concerns. “I” am included in the “we,” and my Father asks me to come to Him. But the point is this: My prayers can be as broad or as narrow as my concerns at the time. My petitions can be personal. They can be universal.

How broad are your prayers? Or to ask it a different way, how low are your eyes? Are they focused entirely on yourself? Are they raised a little higher to take in those few immediately around you? Or have you looked up and realized that you are surrounded by an entire world of need, an entire race that’s lost, desperate, hungry, and dying? God is our Father. Every person is His as well. He is deeply conscious of them. Are you?

There is nothing wrong with praying for personal and family concerns. But each of the petitions of the Lord’s Prayer challenges us to lift our eyes, our hearts, and our prayers toward other people near and far. God is our Father. We all need His will in our lives, His daily provision, His forgiveness, His protection from evil.

Pray to your Father not just as His child but as one of His children.

Listen…and sing if you want:
Hymn: God of All People
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics