As kingdom people praying for the kingdom of God on earth and releasing His will, we pray protective prayers, asking the Father to give us today our daily bread, forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, and not bring us into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.
Amen, Father, we depend on You and we need You! We need Your daily supply. Give us today our daily bread. We look to You concerning our supply. Forgive us, Father, from all our sins, and forgive us our debts. We want to forgive our debtors also. Amen, Father, don’t bring us into temptation but deliver us from the evil one with his temptations today! Amen!
We believers in Christ are kingdom people, the people of the kingdom of God, and we learn not only to live by the divine life and nature of our Father but even more, to pray one with the Lord to release the will of God on earth and bring in the kingdom of God.
The way we cooperate with God for the furtherance of His kingdom and the establishing of His kingdom on earth is through prayer. First, we come to God in spirit and take Him as our everything; He is our heavenly supply for us to live a heavenly life on earth.
The only way we can meet the highest requirement of the kingdom of the heavens is by the highest life, the divine life of our Father.
The demand of the new law of the kingdom of the heavens, seen in Matthew five through seven, is the expression of the new life, the divine life of God, which is within us as regenerated kingdom people.
This demand exposes the natural man of its inability to keep it and opens up the inner being of the regenerated people, showing them that they are able to attain to such a high level and to have such a high living.
We can live such a life by the divine life, for only the divine life can express God. The secret to living such a life is Galatians 2:20, no longer I but Christ who lives in me.
This is the secret we all must learn. The entire constitution of the kingdom, the content of the new law of the kingdom of the heavens, if we are to attain to this highest standard, is, No longer I but Christ who lives in me.
The kingdom of the heavens has the highest demand, but we have the highest supply to meet this demand, for we have Christ living in us.
We need to live one spirit with the Lord, even allow Him to live in us, so that we may live in the kingdom of the heavens in reality today.
In this portion, we want to see how we need to pray protective prayers; as we pray for the kingdom of God, even prayers of the kingdom, we first sanctify the Father’s name, bring in the Lord’s kingdom, and seek the will of the Spirit to be done, and then we pray protective prayers.
Father, Give us Today our Daily Bread! We live by Faith, depending on the Father’s Supply
Matthew 6:9-13 is the Lord’s instruction for us to pray to our Father who is in the heavens. This prayer can be divided into three sections: three basic prayers concerning God, three requests concerning our needs, and three reverent praises.
First, we have prayers related to the Divine Trinity, then we have protective prayers, and finally, we have extolling prayers. This is the principle of prayer, a particular kind of prayer that the Lord taught us to pray.
We don’t merely recite or repeat this prayer, but we learn to pray in this way. The first of the protective prayers is a request concerning our need, Give us today our daily bread (Matt. 6:11). Amen, Father, give us today our daily bread!
Daily bread here indicates a living that is by faith. Our prayer is first focused on the Triune God – His name, His kingdom, and His will.
Then, we turn to our need, for we know that God cares for us. God cares for our needs and He wants to meet our need.
We need to ask God concerning our bread; in particular, we ask Him concerning our daily bread, even the bread we need today.
God doesn’t want us to pray for the future; rather, we should not worry about tomorrow (Matt. 6:34) but only pray for our supply today.
As kingdom people, we live by faith, and we need the Father’s supply today.
In this world, it seems that people worry more about tomorrow than care for today; they set aside money for rainy days, they invest their money, and they want to have more money set aside for the future.
However, we believers in Christ are not like people in the world; we do not seek to have more money in the future, we do not worry about tomorrow, but we ask the Lord to supply us today with the daily bread.
So we pray to our Father God to supply us with the daily bread. We live by faith, depending on the Father’s supply.
We have heard many testimonies of saints who did not know what they would eat tomorrow, for they barely had something to eat for that day; however, they trusted in the Lord, and He was faithful to provide.
The Lord is faithful to take care of the supply of our daily necessities. We should not trust in ourselves regarding our supply; we should not rely on what we can do to provide for ourselves.
We do our best to work, have the best job we can have for the Lord’s testimony and for His kingdom, and be faithful to our work diligently.
However, our supply comes from the Lord, and we depend on Him in our daily life, for our daily bread comes from Him, not from what we can do.
Lord Jesus, we love You and we seek Your kingdom first! We turn our heart to You, Lord, and we depend on You. Give us today our daily bread. Father, we need the daily bread from You! Thank You for caring for us. Thank You for knowing our needs and for meeting our needs. We do not rely on ourselves or on what we can do; we trust in You for our daily supply. Oh Lord, we want to live a life by faith today. We have faith in the Father’s daily supply. We want to live by faith in all that we do. Thank You for providing for us. Thank You for supplying us with what we need today. We do not worry about tomorrow. We cast all our anxieties on You and we depend on You for the supply we need today. Amen, Father, we need the daily bread! Supply us with what You know we need today so that we may live for the kingdom of God!
Father, Forgive us our Debts, as we also have Forgiven our Debtors! We clear any Separating Factors between us and God and between us and Others
Matthew 6:12 says, Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. This touches our failures before God and before others. We commit sins before the Lord, and we offend others.
We believers in Christ are kingdom people, and we should ask the Father to forgive us our debts, our failures, our trespasses, even as we forgive our debtors in order to maintain peace.
We allow the arbitrating peace of Christ to operate in us and among us, so that we forgive others their debts and we may be forgiven by our Father (vv. 14-15; Col. 3:15).
We realise that we sin, we commit iniquities, and we trespass; we have many failures, and we need the Lord’s forgiveness.
We need the Father to forgive our debts. Even as we fight for the kingdom of God, praying prayers for the kingdom in order to fight the enemy and bring in the kingdom of God, we admit and confess that we have shortcomings, mistakes, and wrongdoings.
We are in debt to God and we are in debt to others. So we ask the Father to forgive us and we also forgive others for the Father’s sake. In this way, we clear up any separating factors between us and God and between us and others.
When we sin and fail, we are in debt to God; so we come before Him and ask Him to forgive us and cleanse us.
As we live our Christian life and church life, we also fail toward others, for we offend others and sin against them.
The more we are involved in the church life, with the church service, and with the saints, the more we can be offended and we can offend others.
The more contact we have, mutual offending takes place.
On the one hand, we claim the Lord’s forgiveness, we apply His precious blood, and we confess our sins before the Lord. On the other hand, we need to learn to forgive one another; we need to forgive one another until we lose count how many times we have forgiven.
The Lord said that we shouldn’t forgive others only seven times but seventy times seven; this is unlimited forgiveness, which is possible only by us enjoying the Lord’s forgiveness and allowing Him to forgive others in us.
We may not offend others that much, or we may not be that much offended, but it may be possible for us to have some kind of feeling toward someone or an opinion concerning him.
When we live apart from Christ, we are a tree-of-knowledge-man, and we develop feelings or opinions toward others.
We spontaneously classify others based on good and evil, and it is easy for us to be unhappy with others. So we need to come to the Lord and learn to forgive others, even ask Him to forgive us and grant us His forgiveness toward others.
We may not be able to forgive others in ourselves, and we’re not even qualified to forgive them, for we are sinners.
But we need to ask the Lord to fill us with a forgiving spirit so that we can forgive and forget others’ shortcomings.
We need a lot of prayer for this, and we need to open to the Lord from deep within, for offenses and failures touch our inner being and remain within us so many times.
If we exercise the Lord’s forgiveness toward others, we have peace with those around us. Then, we ask the Lord for His forgiveness, and He forgives us of our sins.
Lord Jesus, forgive us of our sins and trespasses. We come to You as we are and we ask You to forgive us our debts, our failures, our trespasses, even as we forgive our debtors! Amen, Lord, we open to You! You know our debts and sins. Forgive us, Father! We repent before You. Grant us Your forgiveness, and grant us Your forgiving heart so that we may forgive others also. Amen, Lord, You see how much we offend others and how much others offend us. You see how much we inwardly criticise others, dislike others, or categorise them based on good and evil. We come to You. We take You as our forgiveness. We want to forgive others with Your forgiveness. May You forgive others in us. Fill us with a spirit of forgiveness and grant us to also forget others’ debts! Have mercy on us, Lord! We want to appropriate the Lord’s forgiveness so that we can have peace with everyone around us and with God! Amen, Father, forgive us as we forgive others also for the Father’s sake!
Father, do Not Bring us into Temptation but deliver us from the Evil one!
Matthew 6:13 says, Do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Because we know our weakness, we should ask the Father not to bring us into temptation but to deliver us from the evil one, the devil, and from the evil that is out of him (John 17:15; Eph. 5:16-18; 6:13).
We need to pray this prayer very often. We should not be like Peter, thinking that we will prevail and overcome no matter what happens to us, relying on our natural strength and love for the Lord.
Rather, we should humble ourselves, realising that we are weak, and we should ask the Father not to bring us into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.
We need to tell the Lord again and again that we cannot do it, we are impotent, we cannot make it, and we need Him to deliver us.
Unconsciously, we are still proud; so the Lord allows many failures and weaknesses to show us how weak we are.
We need to ask the Father not to bring us into temptation but deliver us from the evil one and from the evil that is out of him.
Sometimes God the Father brings us into a situation where we are tried and tempted.
We think we can make it, we think we can do it, but we realise how weak we are. We fail again and again.
So it is good for us, as we pray prayers of the kingdom to release the will of God on earth, to realise that we are weak and acknowledge this.
It is good to ask the Father not to lead us into temptation, for we will fail. We recognise our weakness, we do not trust in ourselves, and we ask the Father to deliver us from the evil one.
Sometimes we may have some victories or we may enjoy the Lord for some time, and we may be confident that we can stand. Oh Lord!
If this is our attitude, the Lord may lead us into the wilderness to confront temptation, and failure is our portion.
Instead of having such an attitude, may we pray that the Father would not bring us into temptation but would deliver us from the evil one.
Because we know our own weaknesses, we should ask the Father this. We can be delivered from the evil one with the evil that comes out of him by being filled with the Spirit.
When we walk according to the Spirit, we will not fulfil the lusts of the flesh and we do not fail.
We depend on the Lord. We need His deliverance. We need Him not to lead us into temptation. It is good to open to the Lord and ask Him regarding this,
Father, do not bring us into temptation but deliver us from the evil one! Amen, Lord, we trust in You and we do not rely on ourselves. We fully realise that we are weak. You know our weakness. Please do not bring us into temptation. We recognise our weakness, and we look to You concerning this. Deliver us from the evil one and all the evil that comes from him. Oh Lord, we love You! We depend on You. We cannot live without You. Deal with the enemy in us and with all his ground in our being. Show us how much we can’t do it and we can’t be it without You! Oh, Father, we recognise our weakness and we are not confident in ourselves. Without You we are nothing. Without You we fail. Fill us with Your Spirit. Keep us in our spirit. May we live in the mingled spirit today so that we do not fulfil the lusts of the flesh and we do not fail.
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by the brothers on this topic, and portions from, Life-study of Matthew, pp. 251-252, by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crucial Aspects of Matthew 5 through 7 (2025 September ITERO), week 3, The Prayer That Is Critical to the Kingdom Life, and of Those Who Are the Peacemakers, Called the Sons of God – day 3.
- Hymns on this topic:
– “Be not anxious for the morrow, / Jesus said; / Why should we its trials borrow? / Trust instead! / For each hour of need or sorrow, / Grace He gives, and daily bread. (Hymns #700 stanza 1)
– God has forgiven all my sins; / Behind His back they all are cast. / He’ll never call to mind again / The sins He vanquished in the past. / God has forgiven all my sins, / And as a gloomy cloud is blown, / My sins are vanished all away! / No more will they be seen or known. (Hymns #1355 stanza 1 and chorus)
– I must tell Jesus all of my troubles; / He is a kind, compassionate Friend; / If I but ask Him, He will deliver, / And in my griefs with me He will blend. (Hymns #787 stanza 2)
About aGodMan
Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994-1997, vol. 3, “The God-man Living,” p. 539
Dear brother, in our prayer for the kingdom of God, we need to pray protective prayers: Lord, give us today our daily bread, forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, and don’t bring us into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.
We need the Lord’s daily supply. We need His forgiveness, and we exercise to forgive others. We need Him to protect us from the evil one and not bring us into temptation.
Lord, cause me to daily walk in faith,
In dependence, ever trusting in Thy faithful supply.
Free me from the preoccupation and anxieties of tomorrow.
That in Thee i may find, my peace,
As the antidote to all my axieties!
To the cross, I’ll daily look – where my Saviour went for me!
Meeting all the righteous claims of God – To redeem me back to Himself!
Oh, the depth and height of mercy;
Work in me for this plead!
That I may, in turn, replicate forgiveness in peace, To those who against me daily trespass!
Thus, to clear up the separating line,
Between myself and God,
And, between myself and others!
False and full of weakness I am!
Father, lead me day by day!
Do not bring me into the schemes of the adversary, I pray!
Keep me ever watchful in prayer!
Keep me to my spirit turn!
That I, from the hands of the evil one, be delivered!
That Thy name be wholly sanctified;
That Thy kingdom come on earth;
That Thy will be done on earth;
Do this Lord in us – Thy saints and Thy church!
That the power and glory,
Thine shall ever be ascribed!
Amen, Lord!
Lead us not into the enemy’s evil temptations!
Without Thy protection, we cannot stand!
Beneath Thy mighty hands, we dwell secured!
Oh God, our help in ages past!
Faithful to supply our daily needs!
The kingdom prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 cares first for God’s name, God’s kingdom and God’s will, then for our need.
Yes, we need to recognise that we have weaknesses and look to the Lord to protect us.
Before we pray for our needs, we should care first for God’s name, kingdom & will.
We must confess that we have shortcomings, mistakes & wrongdoings.
If we fail to admit our failures, we may find ourselves being handed to the enemy for a time. Also, we need to take care of our relationship with others.
Just as we require forgiveness, we too need to forgive.
Finally, we must look to the Lord to deal with Satan.
Yes, apart from Him we are nothing. As the people of His Kingdom, we are dependent on Him and prayer is, therefore, the main critical thing to live the Kingdom life.
It is all about our relationship with the Triune-God and other people as well as on how to deal with our main enemy, Satan, and daily needs:
Much grace
The kingdom people should live in faith of what the Father daily supplies.
The kingdom people should maintain peace, asking for forgiveness as we forgive others.
And the kingdom people should fully recognise their weakness and ask to be delivered from temptation and the evil one.
Your name be sanctified; Your kingdom come; Your will be done” (Matt. 6:9-10) – here we see that the name of the Father needs to be sanctified (the Father is the source), the kingdom of the Son needs to come on the earth, and the will of the Spirit needs to be done. To pray in this way actually means to pray that the Triune God would be as prevailing on the earth as He is in the heavens.
There’s no problem in the heavens: the Triune God is reigning there, His name is sanctified, His kingdom is there, and His will is being done. But on the earth the Lord needs some who pray for His kingdom to come, for His name to be sanctified, and for His will to be done!
After we pray for the Triune God to be prevailing on the earth as He is prevailing in the heavens, we pray for our daily needs. The Lord Jesus as our King and God as our Father do not want us to worry about tomorrow (see Matt. 6:34), but we would pray for our daily needs, our daily bread.
We don’t pray for bread for tomorrow or next week – we don’t need to worry about tomorrow. God wants us to pray for today’s needs so that He would take care of us today. The Lord is faithful to take care of the supply of our daily necessities. We don’t rely on what we have stored for the future, but we live by faith on the Father’s daily supply. Our Father takes good care of us!
Footnotes from the Holy Bible, Recovery Version.