9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

                              —Matthew 6:9-13, KJV

      THAT WHICH is commonly called the “Lord’s Prayer” is found in Luke 11:1-4 and Matthew 6:9-13. (But it really would be better to call it the “Model Prayer,” or the “Disciples’ Prayer,” as the sinless Christ would not be praying such a prayer, asking forgiveness). The two references to this prayer in the Scriptures were spoken on two different occasions. In the account in Luke, the disciples of Christ were so impressed by the prayer life of Jesus that one of them besought the Lord, saying, “Lord, teach us to pray.” In Matthew’s account, the prayer is incorporated into the larger context of the Sermon on the Mount. Repetition certainly is a key in effectively getting teachings across, and the Lord used it.

      Too many times today we have passed over the words of this prayer, treating them as well-known, but elementary, platitudes, whereas they are anything but this. In all that is said and implied, their depth and scope are greater and more far reaching than we realize. As the giving of the Ten Commandments started with a pronouncement of the reality of God, then was broken down into two tables, the first having to do with God and the second, man (Exodus 20:1-17), the way that we are to approach God in prayer is accordingly presented (Matthew 6:9-13). After recognizing and personally addressing God, petition for the things of God comes first and the things of man come next, second (last). As in everything else, God comes first (Matthew 6:33), then man. Then the prayer is neatly summed up in its conclusion and doxology.

      The Lord said, “After this manner therefore pray ye.” Although there may be nothing wrong in reciting this prayer as a group, we believe it is not meant that the form of the words be used ritualistically. Rather, the wording seems simply to be suggestive guidelines of how we should approach God, what our petitions should be about, and the priorities in the order of presentation to God. In this study, in a concise manner, we will try to understand the original meaning as intended here, and a more extended and expanded meaning in the light of the rest of the New Testament Scriptures. Like the impressed and inquisitive disciple who approached Jesus, this writer comes humbly as an inadequate student and practitioner who would like to learn more about prayer.

      An outline of the prayer, which seems quite simple, yet basic and inclusive, follows:

      GOD ADDRESSED: “Our Father which art in heaven”

1. GOD’S PART OF THE PRAYER:

(1) “Hallowed be thy name”

(2) “Thy kingdom come”

(3) “Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven”

2. MAN’S PART OF THE PRAYER:

(1) “Give us this day our daily bread”

(2) “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors”

(3) “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”

      CONCLUDING DOXOLOGY AND AMEN: “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.”

      God is to be addressed as “Our Father.” This is most meaningful. This implies that we are His children and that He is accordingly approachable as our Father. And from the New Testament perspective, we are children of God through the new birth (John 3:1-5; Acts 2:38; Galatians 3:26, 27). “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father” (Galatians 4:6). God is a personal God and very approachable, and prayer is uniquely a privilege of a Christian.

      This prayer cannot be prayed selfishly. Notice we are to pray “Our Father.” We cannot approach God, and pray this prayer, without acknowledging and including others. This truth is to be kept before us throughout all of the prayer in the different parts of the petitions.

      The One to whom we pray is not bound by earthly limitations and imperfections. This is implied when we address Him as “our Father which art in heaven.” He is above all and knows all in reference to His earthly creatures.

GOD’S PART OF THE PRAYER:

      Genesis 1:1 reads, “In the beginning God…” He is before all things, and the cause of all things. He is the “Father of spirits” (Hebrews 12:9). “In Him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28). He is the great “I AM” (Exodus 3:14), the “high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity” (Isaiah 57:15)—“from everlasting to everlasting,” He is God (Psalms 90:2). Anyway that you choose to look at it, it is always fitting and proper that God and the things of God be considered and dealt with first. Although we are made in His likeness and image (Genesis 1:26), we are fallen creatures and must always come humbly to the “throne of grace.”

      The three petitions that we see making up God’s part of the prayer seem to be almost parallel and overlapping in their meaning, as they unfold before us, and then they are descending in their application. We see God’s high and holy purpose in reference to Himself and man. His name is to be hallowed, His kingdom is to come, and His will is to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

“Hallowed Be Thy Name”

      The name of God is revealed in His character. His name is hallowed when his character is made known (by word of mouth, and especially as it is seen embodied in our lives). Subsequently, the Lord Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). As creatures of God, or His supposed people, by not displaying God’s attributes in our lives in the way we live, “the name of God is blasphemed” (Romans 2:21-24); we make His name become a curse word. And, we are sorry to say, the sad situation now is that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We are a fallen race of people. So, uppermost, above all things, it is God’s desire that His name again be hallowed as it should be, and in His attributes being made known, He be glorified (which mankind has not been accomplishing). And thus, in Him being glorified, His over-all purpose for man will be accomplished.

“Thy Kingdom Come”

      The Old Testament had repeatedly foretold of a coming kingdom, unique and everlasting in nature (Psalms 89:3, 4; Isaiah 9:6, 7; 11:1-10; Daniel 2:44; etc.). With their appearance upon the scene, John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus preached that this kingdom was at hand (Matthew 3:1, 2; 4:17). Later this is defined as the church (Matthew 16:18, 19), a spiritual kingdom (Matthew 18:3; Colossians 1:13; 1 Peter 2:9). In anticipation of its coming, the disciples were instructed to pray, “Thy kingdom come.” Then it became a reality in its coming and inception on the day of Pentecost in the second chapter of Acts (in connection with this, notice Mark 9:1). But, in an extended and expanded sense, we can still pray this prayer today. We can pray, “Thy kingdom come” in reference to evangelism, extending the boundaries of the kingdom. We also can pray, looking forward to the coming of its eternal phase in heaven, even as John the Revelator noted and prayed, “He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).
 

      We said that these three petitions, making up God’s part of the prayer, seem almost to be parallel and overlapping. God’s name is to be hallowed as He is glorified. Man has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). But with the coming of the kingdom, and man’s spiritual restoration to God through Christ Jesus, man is in a better position to accomplish God’s glory again. Now parallel with this in meaning is His will being done on earth as it is in heaven. His will is accomplished in His attributes being made manifest in redeemed mankind, and thus His name being hallowed and glorified. And, consequently, including all three aspects of God’s part of the model prayer being realized, Paul writes from this panoramic view, “Unto him [God] be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen” (Ephesians 3:21).

      Perhaps more needs to be said in particular about God’s will being done “in earth, as it is in heaven.” How is God’s will done in heaven? Perhaps we are to think in terms of angels rendering obedience, and man’s need of accordingly being in harmony with the heavenly Father. Perhaps we are to think in terms of God’s plan for errant mankind, which was in His mind from eternity, now being unfolded and taking place on earth. Many thoughts can and may be thought, and they all will point back to His glory being accomplished.

MAN’S PART OF THE PRAYER:

      Having summarized the things of God as seen in the first part of the prayer, we now approach man’s part. Specifically in man’s part, the first two petitions are for daily bread and forgiveness. However, these two requests may be representative of all of man’s physical and spiritual needs (since man is body and spirit, 1 Corinthians 6:20). And expressive of this, Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Then as an outcropping of this, a third request enters the picture, “lead us not into temptation…”  The temptations, or trials, come in connection with the categories of the first two petitions, involving the physical and the spiritual.

“Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread”

      The thought behind how God is to be addressed as “our Father” is brought before us again here. We are to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Notice the emphasis on “us” and “our.” We cannot pray this prayer selfishly. We must always have an eye to, and be sensitive of, the needs of others as well as our own. To pray otherwise is unacceptable.

      Explicit trust and reliance on God are implied here. Reference to “daily bread” calls to remembrance the manna supplied by God to the children of Israel on a daily basis in the wilderness. The beautiful and reassuring words spoken further by our Lord in the Sermon on the Mount ring out again (Matthew 6:25-34). Then his summary statement gets our attention, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness: and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). “All these things” refer to the basics, food and clothing. The apostle Paul wrote, “And having food and raiment, let us be therewith content” (1 Timothy 6:8). As we daily trust God for sustaining sustenance, let us not forget our part of the equation (Genesis 3:19; 2 Thessalonians 3:10). Someone has said, “God gives every bird its food, but he doesn’t throw it into its nest.” However, God blesses in many ways (Matthew 5:45; Acts 14:17), even blessing unbelievers. Then from his personal experience, even in the Old Testament, David wrote, “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread” (Psalms 37:25).
 

      Here, yet again, in this petition the collective “us,” “we,” and “our” are held before us. This readily reminds us that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). When “we” pray this part of the prayer in reference to debts and forgiveness, “we” cannot pray it without being reminded that “we” are all in the “same boat.” The need is universal. And that for which we pray, we must be willing to extend to others to receive ourselves. Then, from a more extended view, we cannot pray this prayer without having evangelistic feelings toward a world lost in sin.

      Like in the first part of man’s part of the model prayer, praying for “daily bread,” the word “daily” lingers with us. The possibility of sin is still there. We cannot pray self-righteously like the Pharisee in the parable of the Pharisee and publican praying in the temple (Luke 18:9-14). With the publican, we must pray, “God be merciful to me a sinner” (18:13). The apostle John wrote, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8), but reassuringly he continues, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1:9). In repentance we confess our sins (Acts 8:22), not to go right back to sinning, but to get the victory as we cease and desist committing them.

      Sin is an awful thing in the sight of a sinless God who says, “Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16). And the person who has been forgiven by God, and realizes the magnitude of what has taken place, will have no problem in forgiving others. In fact, this is actually tied in with his own forgiveness
 

      The words “temptation” and “evil” stand out here. Each can have one of two meanings and applications in the Scriptures. The word commonly translated “temptation” in the New Testament means to prove, to try. (1) One may be tried through hardships and tribulations that come his way, or (2) the trials may take the form of outright temptations to sin. Likewise, the word “evil” can refer to (1) non-moral, bad situations (like the coming of old age with its physical infirmities being called “evil days,” Ecclesiastes 12:1-7). And, obviously, (2) “evil” basically refers to sin and that which is morally wrong. Looking back, in an expanded consideration of this, we can think of a direct tie-in of not being led into temptations (or trials) in connection with the physical and the spiritual (the petitions for bread and forgiveness of sin, being representative of these two categories of man’s being and needs). Trials and the overt temptation to sin confront us in these areas. We wish to be spared from this.

      God allowed the devil to put Job to the test involving calamities that came his way, which could have been turned into temptation in the moral sense. His wife suggested that he curse God and die. But he passed both tests. He came out approved. After his baptism, the Lord Jesus was led of the Spirit into the wilderness where he was tempted of the devil to sin (Luke 4:1-13). We know that he did not succumb to sin. James writes, “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man” (James 1:13). However, although God does not directly tempt us, He may allow temptation. But we have these reassuring words spoken by the apostle Paul, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

      Yes, Lord, you know our limitations. Lead us not into temptation, whether it be physical or spiritual, (that which we cannot handle), but give us grace whereby we may come through all of this victoriously. May deliverance be ours.
 

      This doxology and concluding “amen” fittingly brings these guidelines for prayer to a close, the basic concerns of God and man having been dealt with. Everything begins and ends with God. The “amen” puts an affirmative exclamation and agreement on all that has been prayed. Yes, verily, verily; so be it. We should never pray anything that we cannot in confidence and full assurance say “amen” aboutx