The Lord's Prayer is found in two places in the Bible: Luke 11 and Matthew 6. The Matthew 6 version is the one we know and love, to take nothing away from the Luke 11 version.
The Lord's Prayer is also found in the Small Catechism. It is the third part, following the Ten Commandments and the Creed. In the Ten Commandments, God gives us a mirror in which to see our sin. In the Creed, God gives us His Son in whom to see our righteousness. And in the Lord's Prayer, God gives us His ear.
The Lord's Prayer contains seven petitions (the perfect number) together with an introduction ("Our Father who art in heaven") and conclusion ("For Thine is the kingdom...").
What if there could be a near-perfect sermon on the Lord's Prayer? A sermon that wasn't too long, wasn't too short, and made you want to pray the Lord's Prayer from all your heart.
I think that maybe that sermon exists. Found in the Small Catechism, it covers each of the nine parts in a way that is both simple and rich. For example, it says about "But deliver us from evil":
"We pray in this petition, in summary, that our Father in heaven would rescue us from every evil of body and soul, possessions and reputation, and finally, when our last hour comes, give us a blessed end, and graciously take us from this valley of sorrow to Himself in heaven" (emphasis mine).
How much that means to me!
Pray the Lord's Prayer. And for the near-perfect sermon on it, turn to the Small Catechism.
