The Lord’s prayer a well-known prayer prayed in many churches and by many individuals. Simple but powerful, based on one of the most famous or well-known pieces of scripture but there is a tendency to forget that this is Jesus himself teaching his disciples both how to approach prayer and what to pray or in other words when you pray this is how you should pray.
Jesus is our model, and we believe prayer should be the foundation of our Christian lives, of our relationship with Father God, through Jesus by the Spirit, it’s not an optional extra or add on it’s a natural conversation with God – that’s pretty amazing!
Prayer is a challenging topic both an enormous blessing and a wonderful enabling gift, but it is also a discipline that takes our time, and efforts and seemingly unanswered prayers can leave us confused as our prayers don’t seem to make a difference.
The disciples had been intimately involved in Jesus’ life, seen him perform many miracles, witnessed the power of prayer in action and rather than just learn by copying Jesus it’s recorded in the NT by both Luke & Matthew that they asked Jesus to teach them to pray.
We will look at verses in Matthew chapter 6 which give us insight right into the heartbeat of Jesus’ prayer life. Just think about this, Jesus was passing on and trusting the continuation of his ministry & God’s purpose to these disciples. This is central, practical teaching. Doesn’t that make you feel excited & eager to know more. …. It should!!!! …..it flips the whole idea that prayer is dull or boring or just for a few individuals on its head…in Jesus’ upside down world.
Let’s look at the passage from Matthew and look at what Jesus teaches
Matthew 6:9-15
“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.
And 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 if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
After a day of ministry to the gathered crowds you can imagine Jesus being totally spiritually & physically drained, exhausted, so he retreats into the hills above Galilee to pray & spend time with His father.
The effect on Jesus of days of ministry to the growing crowds must have been enormous!
We read later in Matthew chp 9 that when a woman who had been hemorrhaging for years just touched the hem of His robe Jesus felt power draining from him.
The disciples were aware of Jesus routinely rising early or staying up late to pray. Was he noticeably different after His times of prayer?
I imagine Jesus returning from these times of prayer, conversations with His Father completely reenergized, maybe even something of God’s glory shining out of him, joy from being in His Fathers presence?
Is that what prompted the disciples request.
– whatever it is Jesus that you have we want it too? Teach us to pray like you…..
In the preceding verses Jesus had first taught his disciples about attitude in prayer before going on to teach how to shape the content of prayers.
Prayer isn’t about a show to the world.
It isn’t something that we perform on street corners.
It isn’t something we do to be seen by others.
It isn’t necessary to babble on and on, we don’t need to use complicated theological words or long phrases.
I wonder as we grow older are we growing up too much for our own good and making prayer more complicated and difficult than it really is when we should be growing down into childlikeness….
Jesus’ prayer is effectively wrapped up in what Jesus called the greatest command- when he combined two commandments.
“First love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.
second is love your neighbour as yourself.”
Do you see that Jesus has given us a prayer that reflects those two priorities, this is how He prayed -His heartbeat of prayer.
The first thing to notice is Jesus does not say IF you pray. He says HOW you pray.
Jesus expects us to pray, effectively commands us to pray … and when you pray ‘this then is how you should pray.’
Secondly Jesus says Our father, not My father, or Your Father which are equally correct, but Our father. If you are a Christian here today, have acknowledged Jesus as the son of God, repented of your sins and turned to him then as a Child of God you share the same relationship as Jesus with Father God but is also a relationship to your brothers & sisters in Christ those around you here and all Christians worldwide.
Following the short introduction there are two sections of roughly equal length each marked by 3 requests or petitions.
In the first section the focus is on God’s glory – His name, His will & His kingdom.
God is given his supreme place. Where we express our loyalty, commitment and love for the Father and his priorities in our world.
The second section shifts onto what we need as His disciples.
But all 6 can be expanded from this template using the priorities and focus of instruction that Jesus gives us….
Briefly, looking a little deeper
In the first section:
We pray ‘our father in heaven hallowed be your name’, the word hallowed means to be to be holy.
This isn’t a prayer that God would be more Holy….. he can’t be more holy than he already is!
It’s a prayer that God’s holiness, his glory would be seen,
that those who are followers of Christ, Children of God, us, would revere, honour and make much of his name, that we would glorify Him
‘Your kingdom come’ – that is more people come under the rule of the king.
God is praised as His kingdom advances & if we care for the honour of God’s name we will long for his kingdom to grow
As the Gospel, the good news about Jesus, that through Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection he conquered sin and brings salvation and wholeness to a broken world …. as the gospel goes out individuals repent and are coming under the rule of the king.
As a result Hearts are changed by the influence of the Holy Spirit.
This is ongoing now but also has an end time perspective as it will ultimately be fulfilled when Jesus returns, and every knee will bow before him…we don’t know when but
As more lives come under his rule, each day Jesus’ return draws a day closer.
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven – we are asking God to help us do that which pleases him and fulfils his plans & purposes.
The second section transitions from prayers about God’s glory to prayers about us. But not us individually, these are plural prayers.
First: give us today our daily bread’ not me but us and that’s about God provision for all that we need….our necessities.
Not praying as the Spice girls might – I’ll tell you what I want, what I really, really want. …
or I’ll tell you what I need, what I really really need,
No! Jesus doesn’t tell us to ask for what we want but what we need.
The focus here is praising God for daily provision of basic needs like bread ….for maintenance of life.
Not taking for granted that we can pop into Asda to buy bread but thanking God and asking would He provide our daily needs?
Then we have prayer for forgiveness, bringing the past into the presence of God.
This the only petition that Jesus amplifies by adding extra words at the end * if you forgive other people when they sin against you your heavenly father will also forgive you but if you don’t forgive others their sins your father will not forgive you your Sins.
Perhaps this is because we all find forgiveness difficult at times. When we don’t forgive it’s like having a deep sore that scabs over but festers & never fully heal.
This is a prayer that should direct our thoughts to God the Son, Jesus himself, our saviour
Then thirdly -Deliver us from evil’ ….asking that we would live in the world and not be overwhelmed by temptation but live in holiness just as our heavenly father is holy.
Asking for help, committing the future into God’s hands and directing our thoughts to the Holy Spirit,
our comforter and enabler, the one who is within us all the time empowering & enabling us.
Do you see a connection? how amazing it is that.
these 3 short petitions bring the whole of our life before God the Father,
Jesus the Son
and the Holy Spirit.
Some years ago, I came across a rewrite of the Lord’s Prayer. There are several similar versions on the internet, this one was attributed as anonymous. It really challenged me to think about each line or petition …to think about what I was praying……
See what you think!
I cannot pray Our if my religion has no room for others and their needs.
I cannot pray Father if I do not demonstrate this relationship in my daily living.
I cannot pray Who art in heaven if all my interests and pursuits are in earthly things.
I cannot pray Hallowed be Thy Name if I, who am called to bear His name, make no commitment to be holy.
I cannot pray Thy Kingdom come if I am unwilling to give up my own sovereignty and accept the righteous reign of God.
I cannot pray Thy will be done if I am unwilling or resentful of having it in my own life.
I cannot pray on earth as it is in heaven unless I am truly willing to give myself to His service here and now.
I cannot pray give us this day our daily bread without expending honest effort for it, or by ignoring the genuine needs of others.
I cannot pray forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us if I continue to harbour a grudge against anyone.
I cannot pray lead us not into temptation if I deliberately choose to remain in a situation where I am likely to be tempted.
I cannot pray deliver us from evil if I am not prepared to fight in the spiritual realm with the weapon of prayer.
I cannot pray Thine is the Kingdom if I do not give the King the disciplined obedience of a loyal subject.
I cannot pray Thine is the power if I fear what my neighbours and friends might say or do.
I cannot pray Thine is the glory if I am seeking my own glory first.
I cannot pray forever if I am too anxious about each day’s events.
I cannot pray Amen unless I can honestly say “Cost what it may, this is my prayer.”
Closing thoughts
……Breathe in and pray out…….prayer is as essential and as natural as breathing is to live.
So Some Thoughts to take away
- Be intentional about trusting the simplicity of the Lord’s prayer
- As you grow older are you growing down into into childlikeness in your prayers or growing up too much?
- Use the Lord’s prayer as a framework for your prayers.
- Remember this is Jesus himself teaching His disciples to pray, a prayer grounded in a loving relationship between God and His children, by faith in Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.
