The Blueprint for Prayer (Part 1)

Throughout Jesus' earthly ministry, his disciples saw him perform miracles, help the poor, the sick and misfortuned. They heard him teach about Scripture and the principles we need to live by. They also noticed that he often went off by himself to pray and must have wondered among themselves, "How does Jesus pray to the Father? What does He say? What does He ask for?"
In Luke 11:1, the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. The prayer that Jesus taught his disciples---the one commonly known as the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13)---is a blueprint as to how we should pray as well.

Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name: The first thing to acknowledge in prayer is the position, the power and the preeminence of God. To hallow His name is to make it holy and set it apart from any other name. As the Almighty, Everlasting Creator of Heaven and Earth, there is none greater than He. This points our prayers in the right direction; toward the One who alone can answer.

Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven: This acknowledges that God's Kingdom is everlasting and His purpose and plan is perfect, holy and just. This allows us to focus on accomplishing things that are in alignment with God's will instead of our own. This also recognizes that we need to do our part to carry out His plan here on earth in anticipation of His glory in Heaven.