In Luke 11:1, the disciples petitioned Jesus to teach them how “to pray just as John also taught his disciples.” Matthew records the more detailed version of what follows, but we know from the good doctor what prompted Jesus to begin guiding them in how to pray (and how not to.) He taught them to not use meaningless repetitions or empty phrases as they pray. This comes out of, as Jesus told them, a false idea that the more wordy the prayer, the greater the chances of it being heard. He reminded them (or told them for the first time in their hearing) that their Father knows what they need before they even ask Him. This is an indicator as to the nature of prayer. It is not primarily a vehicle to get God todowhatwewantHimtodoortogiveus what we desire. But rather it is a means by which can engage with the Father in fellowship and communication, and after all, this is where we find true life in Him.
It is incumbent upon me to point out here that Jesus never intended for this “prayer” to become a rote, repetitive prayer that is prayed many times over verbatim. After all, He told them to not use meaningless repetition in their prayers. It certainly does no harm to repeat the prayer as Jesus instructed it, but I think there is more there than just something to memorize. The issue is not repetitiveness, but rather, repetition that is meaningless…words that we repeat, but mean nothing to us. I believe rather than teaching us a prayer to memorize (again, there is nothing inherently wrong with memorizing this example of prayer), He is instructing us regarding our perspective when we approach the Father in prayer. He said,
“When you pray (when, not if, assuming we will certainly pray), pray then in this way.” What follows is a guide into proper perspective as we approach the throne of grace with our prayers.
He begins with the word “our.” We remember as we pray that all life in Christ is experienced in community. We are not alone in this Christian life. This makes us appreciate the effectiveness of corporate prayer and value the covenant bond with fellow believers. While we will certainly stand before God alone, our path to get there is rich with fellow followers with whom we participate together in the life of Jesus. We as the body of Christ are being built together so that we can build together. (Ephesians 2:22)
Of course, the next word He uses is “Father.” “Our Father” to be exact. First things first, recognizing God as our Father. He is our Supreme Protector, Sustainer, and Architect of our lives. And because He is our Father, we endeavor to live a life in Him of harmony. Now, anyone who has had children knows there are times when siblings escape the grounds of harmony. But that doesn’t change the fact of their sibling relationship. The same is true in the family of God. As God is our Father, we do our utmost to live in such a way as to demonstrate the unity of the Godhead. In beginning this prayer this way, Jesus directs us to focus on God the Father rather than us. After all, isn’t that where most of us go when we approach God – our needs and wants, often in desperation. We must remember that prayer which begins in self-focus will soon be misguided and become “asking amiss.”
We then consider the fact that God is in heaven. He is recognizing that the Father is seated in the realm of power in the universe. It is there the centrality of all goodness and mercy reside. Jesus is causing us to remember that God is not in the earth in a physical sense (certainly after the ascension of our Lord), but rather is sitting on His throne, accessible to His subjects at any and all times. Knowing God is in heaven reminds us that heaven isn’t just a place to go to; it is a place to draw from. The resources for us to do the work of Christ in the earth successfully and victoriously are found “in Him.” It pleased the Father for all the fulness of the Godhead to dwell in Him and that He would have first place in everything.
Next, Jesus proclaims “hallowed” (or holy) be Your Name. God is separate from the world and world system. He is not a man that He would be influenced or affected by the values of the spirit of the age. His name is exalted above all things and people. This is so important that God teaches us in the Decalogue to not be frivolous and careless with His name. A proper reverence towards the name of God will foster a healthy fear of God Himself. Making sure His name is hallowed in our eyes will affect how we make our way to His throne.
After identifying God as our Father who is in heaven, and proclaiming His name as one that is holy and exalted, He then turns our attention to the primary mission of Jesus which is to bring the kingdom to the earth.
“Your kingdom come – Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
It is important to note that the doing of God’s will in the earth helps constitute the kingdom having come. It is also of significance to observe the obvious of the fact it is the Father’s will and not ours Jesus is praying for. William Law wrote,
“Prayer is a mighty instrument not for getting man’s will done in heaven, but for getting God’s will done on earth.”
When we pray in this manner, we are constantly reminded of Christ’s mission in the earth. Mark writes that “Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.” Luke quotes Jesus as saying,
“I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.”
This was His mission, to see the culture of heaven be realized in a tangible way in the earth.
When we embrace that thought, we are reminded of our role as Christ’s ambassadors in the earth, since He left and ascended to the right hand of the Father and in so doing assigned the completion of His mission to His church. So how do we see God’s kingdom and all its characteristics and virtues manifested in the earth? Well, primarily, we pray for the kingdom of God and all its qualities to come to the earth and by coming to earth, I mean coming to people in the earth. Then, we follow the lead of Jesus and pray for the Lord to send laborers into the harvest. I must warn you that when you pray for God to send laborers into the harvest, quite often He will begin with you.
We serve a King whose kingdom is one governed by love, mercy, longsuffering, faithfulness and so forth. It is not a kingdom of belligerence nor one of exacting a toll on all those who deviate from the standard, except God will convict and discipline His kids to bring us back to the straight and narrow when we depart from His path. This is a King who is benevolent, loving, caring, empathetic, and one is not unacquainted with all that we endure. That’s the type of kingdom and King for which we pray to come to the earth.
Note it is somewhere around two-thirds of the way through this lesson on approaching God’s throne before we ever hear anything resembling offering our petitions to God the Father. If we are honest (and I must simply say “Oh me!”), most of our prayers fast forward to the bottom line, “God I need a job,” or “Jesus, I need a healing,” or “Jesus, take the wheel!” It is only after acknowledging God as our Father, whose name is holy and separate from a world system and only after recognizing the virtues that are resident in heaven are needed in the population of the earth, that Jesus now offers a petition.
“Give us this day.”
In Luke’s account, he writes that Jesus prayed,
“Give us each day.”
Which one do I think He prayed? Yes! (both) When we establish first and foremost God as our Father, we can then acknowledge that our daily provision comes from our God and Father. And our request is rooted not simply in our personal desires, but in the God of the kingdom of heaven who is our Supplier. The prayer “Give us this or each day” reminds us there is no grace for tomorrow. His mercies are new every morning and the mercies we enjoy today will expire, but we receive new ones each day (or morning). It’s fine to consider and plan for the future, but our immediate need is not in the sweet by and by, but is in the nasty now and now.
Jesus’ model of prayer teaches us that no approach to God’s throne for whatever reason is complete without some consideration of repentance and confession. We should never come into God’s presence without examining ourselves and asking for His forgiveness for our shortcomings. Two facts present themselves here. One, we need to be forgiven by our Lord for when we miss the mark. The other fact is that He is “faithful and just to forgive us our sins.” That means there won’t come a time when Jesus says to you, “Well I have forgiven you so many times, I think I have reached my limit.” No, He told Peter to forgive “seventy times seven,” really meaning we should forgive ad infinitum (excuse my Latin).
The model prayer then moves to a request to “lead us not into temptation.” Now we all know that the Father would not “lead” us into some temptation, but the word is better translated “bring into.” In other words, we acknowledge it is God who keeps us from inevitable destruction and disaster. A good paraphrase to better understand what Jesus was praying is,
“Do not allow us to be led into temptation that overwhelms and defeats us, but rescue us from the evil one.”
Our God is an awesome God and the wiles of our enemy cannot survive or prosper in the presence of the Lord. Remember, greater is He who is in you, that he who is in the world.
The next statement doesn’t appear in all the manuscripts, but “Yours is the kingdom” is definitely supported by the rest of the Scriptures and this statement actually revisits whose kingdom, whose power, and whose glory it is. Of course, it is God the Father who is the Lord of all and when we pray in the manner that Jesus taught us, we always finish up with the knowledge and reminder of who exactly we are praying to and addressing.
So, by observing this prayer presented by our Lord Jesus, we maintain perspective in the Fatherhood and Supremacy of God. First in our mindset is to honor the Father as premier and holy.
We can’t miss the mission of Christ when we pray “Your kingdom come on the earth.” This mission becomes our mission when we are born again. As Brother Charles Simpson said one time, when we are born again, “we are born into a war between two kingdoms.”
As alluded to earlier, we gain the right perspective on our place and our role in the grand scheme of our Lord. Where do we function and what part do we play in seeing God’s kingdom extended in the world in which we live?
And of course, we are constantly reminded of the ongoing supply of sustenance and restoration (forgive us our sins) that comes down from the Father of lights.
I must confess that I don’t always follow this model when approaching my prayer time, but I must also confess that in the times that I remember what Jesus said and attempt to emulate His model prayer, it is so much better in all respects. So, if your perspective has been clouded or skewed, return to this model prayer presented to His disciples by Jesus, and by proxy, to us as well. You will be glad you did.