When Jesus Taught His Disciples How to Pray
Photo by David Beale on Unsplash
“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.’” (Matthew 6:9-10 NIV84) [see full text in button/link 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. It’s different for those of us who grew up in families where prayer was not common at home.
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 is brief, uncomplicated, and focused.
This model prayer, commonly known as the Lord’s Prayer, is an example that Jesus gave in contrast to the showy and wordy prayers typical of the Jewish leaders.
The Jewish religion has many prayers of blessing, confession, and petition. Some prayers are to be said as a community of believers. Others at specific times of the 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
The Lord gave this familiar prayer as an example to the Lord’s disciples who asked Jesus to teach them how 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. They saw His example of private prayer in contrast to the public showiness of the Pharisee’s prayer. This prompts Jesus to give them these instructions on prayer. 1
By now, the disciples had heard Jesus teach many times. They saw Him heal 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 realised 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 while 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.
This model prayer has a simplicity and beauty that make it memorable and powerful. But it’s easy to overlook the depth in this simple prayer.
True Religion
True religion and prayer. One simple thing to note is the sense of community inherent in this prayer. It’s intended to be prayed with others as an expression of unity and to be prayed with others in mind. Many of Israel’s prayers were community-based to remind them they were God’s chosen people.
We can pray this prayer as an 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 it reveals the nature of genuine prayer. Jesus shows that prayer is to be personal and intimate.
When Jesus addressed God as His Father, it irritated the Jewish leaders because they saw it as presumptuous. But it was not. God was the Father of Israel, as expressed in many places in the OT Scriptures. 2
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,” 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 things.
“Your kingdom come…”
The second part of the prayer focuses on the Kingdom of God—“Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” 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 through some act of social justice. But is that what Jesus meant? It’s not a mandate to cause God’s will to be done on earth, but for us to align our will with God’s. We see this in the poignant way Jesus prayed in Gethsemane before going to the cross. 3
We are not called to establish God’s will on earth, but to align our will with God’s.
Priorities for our Petitions
The remaining verses are a model for petitionary prayer. Jesus outlines what He sees as primary requests for each day. He gives three general ones—provision, forgiveness, and spiritual strength for each day. 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. (Proverbs 30:8 NIV 84)
What does Jesus mean by “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 in the Book of Acts. 4
The second petition emphasizes that our relationship with God is linked to our relationships with people. Jesus expands on this further after teaching on prayer. As much as we need the Lord’s forgiveness daily, 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 a 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 saw as important. When we pray for one another, we should remember His great mercy and grace extended to us.
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 weaknesses and temptations instead of relying on His strength.
Unforgiveness and envy set us up for temptation. We know God tempts no one. Temptation is the work of the one known as the tempter. The Lord was tempted even as we are, and He knows how to deliver us from evil and the evil one. 5
In many Bible versions, a note is given about the familiar closing of this model prayer. If you’ve heard the Lord’s Prayer sung, it will include this last stanza— 6
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. (Matthew 6:9 NKJV)
The textual note says that 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. 7
It’s a perfect and lovely way to end the prayer, even if it wasn’t in the original, and it’s validated in heaven.
“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” (Revelation 4:11)
Based on Jesus’ model prayer, what have you learned about prayer for yourself?
Reflections for Prayer
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.
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 intimacy and personal simplicity and depth, and pray it or use it as an example to pray from your heart.
Footnotes–
See Luke 5:16; 6:12; 9:18, 28.
See Psalm 68:5; 103:13; Isaiah 9:6; 63:16; Jeremiah 3:4; 31:9; Malachi 1:6; 2:10.
See Matthew 26:36-44; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46.
See Acts 2:44-46; 4:32-35.
See these cross references– James 1:12-15; Matthew 4:1-3; Hebrews 2:18; 4:15.
For the singing of the “Lord’s Prayer,” click on this link — Giulia Zarantonello. (2014, February 15). The Lord’s Prayer - Susan Boyle - lyrics [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HaEoCqH47Y
David Guzik. (2022, April 19). The Way to Pray - Matthew 6:5-13 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0dapckvf1o
Also see the full written commentary on this here — https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/matthew-6/
This is an excerpt from a soon-to-be-published book called The Heart and Soul of God’s Kingdom. Look for it on Amazon with my other books— Trip Kimball on Amazon
