The Beatitudes and the Lord's Prayer

Christ’s first sermon seems to have been summarized in a short but crucial sentence, as was John the Baptist’s before Him: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2; 4:17). It is not appropriate to elaborate on such an interesting topic, the Kingdom of Heaven, in such a brief study, but these Beatitudes teach us much about those who belong to that Kingdom, and upon whom Christ pronounced the most sublime forms of blessing.

After all that has been said and written by men of God on prayer, we need something better than that which is of merely human origin to guide us, if we are to correctly fulfill this essential duty. How ignorant and sinful creatures are to attempt to present themselves before the Most High God, how they are to pray in a manner acceptable to Him, and how they are to obtain from Him what they need, can only be discovered as the great hearer of prayers is pleased to reveal His will to us. From the earliest times it has been called "the Lord's Prayer," not because it is a prayer that Christ Himself directed to the Father, but because it was graciously provided by Him to teach us both the manner and method of prayer and the matters for which to pray.