The Lords Prayer

Most if not all Christians know the Lords Prayer probably by heart. I'm sure many non-Christians know it as well. However when we say we know it what does that mean? Does it mean like a child whose been forced to rehearse their line in the school play? Sure they know the words, and maybe the right inflection, but do they really know they meaning or why they are even saying it? About how many Christians could you say the same sort of thing when it comes to the Lord's Prayer? Are you one of them? I know I was, I knew the Lord's Prayer even before I was a Christian, a result of friends and girlfriends who had been forced to rehearse their lines, but I never knew what it meant. Much like when my Catholic friends would cross themselves I thought it was just some odd ritual.
 I have learned that it is not just some odd ritual, it is the Word of God and should be treated as such and by no means just another ritual. So if we step back and put this prayer graciously given to us what do we learn.
  Approximately halfway through the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus is teaching to "great crowds" (Matt 4:25) about a great multitude of things from lust to divorce to anger and fasting and many other things, in the center of all this is how to pray.(Matt 6:9-13) Which is also known as the Lord's Prayer.
Matthew 6:9-13
New International Version (NIV)

⁹ “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
¹⁰ your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us today our daily bread.
¹² And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ And lead us not into temptation,
   but deliver us from the evil one.

Now if we break it down line by line:

"Our Father in heaven..."
God is our Father. This means we can and should come to him with our problems and requests. And being a merciful Father we should not be afraid to ask for anything, He knows what we need.
"..hallowed be your name..."
Holy, sacred, venerated is your name! We pay respect due to God when we pray. He is God Almighty.  Like our earthly father while we can come and ask anything of Him.
"...your kingdom come,..."
All is His!Everything in Heaven and on Earth.  Everything we have, have had and will have comes from and belongs to God. It is His to give or not give as He sees fit.
"...you will be done..."
It is all because of God's will. It is his will that all the stars in the sky shine at night, and the sun shines in the morning. Amen!
"...on earth as it is in heaven."
He rules this world and all the heaven. Forever and everlasting.
""Give us today our daily bread."
He cares for our every need. From putting bread on the table to shifting world events to controlling heavenly bodies. There for nothing is too big or too little when we pray to Him.
"And forgive us our debts,..."
We are sinners, we need to ask Him for forgiveness when we pray.  Recognize, repent and ask Him to forgive your sins which Jesus died for. Ask God to send the Holy Spirit to expose your sins to you.
"...as we also have forgiven our debtors."
We need to forgive those who have sinned against us. Since Jesus is the propitiation for our sins which are forgiven,  should we not forgive others who sin against us?
"And lead us not into temptation,..."
Ask Father God to keep us away from temptation to sin.
"...but deliver us from the evil one."
Ask to keep Satan and all his devils away from us, to not enter our lives.
 
"And when Jesus finished these saying, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority and not as scribes." (Matt 6:28-29) Meaning he was not quoting other teachers, he wasn't stumbling or confused in his teaching, he was confident and interesting. Imagine sitting on that hillside listening to the Word of God, every word feeding you and enlightening you. Imagine God telling you how to pray, and then be thankful that He has.
 Glorify God in your prayer, ask for anything, just ask that it be Gods will! Pray for forgiveness, and be thankful for the One who gave it to you!