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“This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matt 6:9-10 NIV84) [see these verses in their context below]
How do we learn to pray?
Children learn how to pray by following the example of older family members and in Sunday School classes. For those of us who grew up in families where prayer was not commonly heard at home, it’s different.
Some of us learn from the prayers we heard in church. These prayers may be liturgical in form and prayed in unison as led by church leaders. Perhaps we have friends who’ve prayed for us or the only prayer we heard is when someone prays for a meal.
This is where intentional, personal discipleship is important. What a person learns in a church service or Bible study needs to be put into practice. But hearing and doing are two different things.
In the previous segment of verses, Jesus distinguishes between genuine and hypocritical ways to pray. Here, Jesus outlines a guide for prayer. It’s short and simple yet specific.
This model prayer—commonly known as the Lord’s Prayer—is an example of prayer Jesus gave as a contrast to prayer that is showy or wordy.
The Jewish religion has many prayers of blessing, confession, and petition. Some prayers are to be said as a community of believers and some said at specific times in a day. The Psalms are a treasure trove of prayers and many are emotional and powerful.
If prayer was such a common element of the Jewish faith, why did Jesus need to provide this instructive model for prayer?
Insights to consider
This familiar prayer was given as an example to the Lord’s disciples who asked Jesus to teach them to pray. We know this from the gospel account of Luke—
One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: “ ‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. (Luke 11:1-2 NIV 84)
The disciples saw Jesus go off on His own to pray several times before this (Luke 5:16; 6:12; 9:18, 28). They saw His example of private prayer in contrast to the public shows of the Pharisee’s prayer. This is what prompts Jesus to give them this instruction on prayer.
By now, the disciples heard Jesus teach many times, saw healing people, and were sent out with His authority to do similar things
It seems they began to see a connection with Jesus praying before significant events took place. They saw the power of God at work through Him and perhaps started to realize how it was linked to His time of prayer.
Jesus knew His disciples needed to learn by His example and from what He taught but they also needed to process all of it for themselves. They needed to consider and think through all they heard and saw in following Jesus.
Jesus doesn’t give them a formula for prayer or a form to mimic but a model to learn from. Many people are familiar with this prayer. They’ve either said it themselves or heard it on various occasions.
It has a simplicity and beauty that makes it memorable and powerful. But it’s easy to overlook the depth in this simple prayer.
True Religion expressed in prayer
One simple thing to note is the sense of community inherent within this prayer. It’s intended to be prayed with others as an expression of unity and prayed with others in mind. Many of Israel’s prayers were community-based to remind them they were God’s chosen people.
This prayer can also be prayed in acknowledgment of our partnership in prayer with God and His people as part of God’s Kingdom.
Our Father
The immediate unifying element of this prayer is how it begins—Our Father in heaven…. It was uncommon for Jews to use such a personal reference to God but reveals the nature of genuine prayer. Jesus shows prayer is to be personal and intimate.
When Jesus addressed God as His Father, the Jewish leaders were often irritated by this because they saw it as presumptuous. But it was not for God was the Father of Israel as expressed in many places in the OT Scriptures.
Jesus reminds us of our inclusion in the family of God through our relationship with Him. And the Father’s name is to be “hallowed” or held holy and sacred. It is our privilege and honor to be included in God’s family. So we recognize this by honoring His name above ourselves and above all.
God’s Kingdom
The second part of the prayer focuses on the Kingdom of God. Jesus instructs us to look forward by faith to God’s Kingdom coming to earth with this key element—Your will be done.
People often interpret this as something we bring about, often through social justice, which is good in and of itself. But Jesus intends for us to align our will to God’s. This is seen in the poignant way Jesus prayed in Gethsemane before going to the cross (Matt 26:39).
The remaining verses are a model for petitional prayer. Jesus outlines what He sees as primary requests for each day—provision, forgiveness, and spiritual strength for each day.
Priorities for our Petitions
These requests seem to reach back to a prayer found in Proverbs—
Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. (Prov 30:8 NIV 84)
What constitutes “our daily bread?” It’s like asking “how much is enough?” This is a request to be content with the Lord’s provision whatever it may be. Countless testimonies affirm God’s faithfulness in filling this need, as seen with the church’s earliest years (Acts 2:44-46; 4:32-35).
The second petition reminds us how our relationship with God is entwined with our relationship with others. Jesus expands on this further after teaching on prayer. As much as we need the Lord’s forgiveness on a daily basis, we likewise need to release others with our forgiveness of them.
This is the nature of redemption—forgiveness and restoration. As citizens of God’s Kingdom, we are called into relationship with God and all other citizens in His Kingdom.
This may be the most overlooked element of the prayer and perhaps the most neglected petition of the three Jesus sees as important. When we pray for one another we should remember His great mercies and grace extended to us. And this leads us to the third petition.
“And lead us not into temptation…” is a request for spiritual strength and stamina to endure times of testing. God tests us to strengthen us, much as in physical strength training. But if we’re not careful and on guard, we can give in to our selfish weakness and temptations instead of relying on His strength.
Unforgiveness and envy set us up for temptation. We know God tempts no one (James 1:12-15). Temptation is the work of the one known as the tempter (Matt 4:1-3). The Lord was tempted even as we are (Heb 4:15) and He knows how to deliver us from evil and the evil one (Heb 2:18).
In many Bible versions, a note is given about the familiar closing of this model prayer (see * below text). If you’ve heard the Lord’s Prayer sung, it will include this last stanza—
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. (Matt 6:9 NKJV)
The textual note says only later manuscripts include this line. Most modern Biblical scholars believe it was added later as a doxology and conclusion to the prayer. It was a common and familiar doxology among the Jews, so it is appropriate.
Whether or not it was in the original prayer model Jesus gave, it is a fitting and beautiful closing for this prayer and reinforced in heaven (Rev 4:11).
What have you learned about prayer for yourself from this model prayer of Jesus?
Reflection—
The disciples saw the example of Jesus’ private prayer times and saw the power of God work through Him. His model of prayer gives us insight into what Jesus saw as a priority for all our prayers—honoring the Father as fellow citizens of God’s Kingdom, aligning our will with God’s, and seeking His guidance for our needs.
Prayer Focus—
When you find yourself uncertain how to pray, review this simple model of prayer to be reminded of what Jesus sees as a priority in praying. Consider its intimate and personal simplicity and depth and pray it or use it as an example to pray from your heart.
Devo Scripture Text
“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
“This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’”[for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. ’]*
“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
(Matthew 6:1-18 NIV84)
*some late manuscripts– for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. ’ [note from NIV 2011 Biblica]
