The Model Prayer - Pt 7

 

[Jesus said] Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day 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 evil.” (Matthew 6:9–13 ESV).

 

Today’s portion of the model prayer is perhaps the most interesting portion of the prayer. It details both the petition for forgiveness and the practical application of the mechanism of that action. Jesus says, “… forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (v. 12). The Greek word used here is ὀφείλημα (pronounced “o-fay'-lay-mah”). It is only used twice in the entire New Testament. Both of those occurrences are in this verse. The word denotes that which is owed, or an outstanding liability that must be satisfied. While its basic sense is financial, the term readily broadened to include moral and spiritual obligations, allowing Scripture to speak of sin as a payable debt before God.

 

Jesus teaches His disciples to approach the Father aware of moral indebtedness and to pray for release with the active release of others. The plural form highlights communal responsibility: the people of God pray not only for personal absolution but for corporate cleansing that sustains fellowship. The Apostle Paul understood this concept and instructs the Roman church with the statement: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23 ESV). This is within the context of a contrast between what we have “earned” by our sin and what God has mercifully given us through His grace. If righteousness could be merited, God would merely be settling accounts. Instead, justification comes as an unmerited gift, underscoring the gospel’s foundation in grace rather than human earning.

 

Other great reformers and patriarchs of the church have indicated the same interpretation. John Chrysostom highlighted the inseparability of receiving and extending forgiveness. Augustine saw in the term a reminder that even after baptism believers daily need cleansing grace. Martin Luther read this passage (Romans 4-6) as the heart of the doctrine of justification by faith alone, opposing any notion of merited salvation. John Calvin underscored that good works, though necessary as fruit, can never place God in a debtor position.

 

So, what does that mean for us today? Certainly we can see the importance of cultivating daily confession, trusting the Father who “is faithful and just to forgive” (1 John 1:9). It ought to motivate us to extend tangible and relational forgiveness promptly; and, to serve God not to earn favor but out of gratitude for debts already canceled.

 

Remember, these are simple things, not easy things that Jesus desires from His followers.

 

The Model Prayer - Pt 6

 

[Jesus said] Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day 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 evil.” (Matthew 6:9–13 ESV).

 

Bread is the essence of life, it’s what sustains us every day. As we ask God to give us our daily bread, we not only acknowledge our dependency on Him for life’s necessities, but we also declare that He is everything we need.

 

While wandering through the wilderness, the Israelites were fed daily by a bread that fell from Heaven. They called it “Manna.” On a desert journey, where they had no source of sustenance except God alone, they looked for their daily portion of manna to meet their needs. Today we have a new manna from Heaven. Jesus explained to his disciples, “This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever” (cf. John 6:58). Jesus is our daily bread. Just a few verses earlier, He declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (cf. John 6:35).

 

As we go through our daily lives, we must ask ourselves: What is the source of our sustenance and contentment? Are we looking to Jesus or are we looking to our own efforts to provide for us, fulfill us, and sustain us?

 

The good news is that Jesus freely provides Himself as the bread of life and He invites us to partake in His feast. Our prayer this month reminds us to trust in Jesus every day at every moment. May He be our heart’s deepest desire and all that we need.

 

 

The Model Prayer - Pt 5

 

[Jesus said] Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day 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 evil.” (Matthew 6:9–13 ESV).

 

Today we see the next of Jesus’ instructions in our prayers: “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…” (v. 10). You may remember this was a part of the final recorded prayer of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane just before His arrest and crucifixion (cf. Luke 22). They are difficult words to pray. We may let them roll off our tongues when we recite the Lord’s Prayer but to actually think about and mean what we say as we repeat those words can be next to impossible. When we pray “Thy will be done” we are telling God that we put our whole trust in Him; that we will put aside our wants, desires, hopes, and dreams aside and instead trust that what He brings to us will be exactly what we need at that moment.

 

This is not a “surrender of defeat.” I have often heard people during a difficult time simply say, “Well, that’s just God’s will.” There is a great difference between that and desiring the will of God each moment of our life. This is an active request for God to do what He knows is best in our life.

 

God knows our every need. He knows our every desire. He knows what is best for us. Today I pray that we each will trust in His wisdom and in His love for us and know that when we give Him our whole selves and when we proclaim “Thy will be done!” that He will take care of us in ways we could never imagine. Trusting can be difficult; it can be scary. But God loves us in a way that we can’t even comprehend and He is faithful even when we doubt Him.

 

Thy will be done, Lord.

 

The Model Prayer - Pt 4

 

[Jesus said] Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day 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 evil.” (Matthew 6:9–13 ESV).

 

Today we look at the fourth statement Jesus makes in His model prayer, “Thy kingdom come” (v. 10). This is a petition asking for God's sovereign rule and perfect will to be established across the earth, just as it is in heaven. Augustine made an interesting comment concerning this petition. It bears repeating and our meditation. He wrote:

 

“Come it surely will, whether we ask or no. Indeed, God has an eternal kingdom. For when did He not reign? When did He begin to reign? For His kingdom has no beginning, neither shall it have any end. But that we may know that in this prayer also we pray for ourselves, and not for God (for we do not say, Your kingdom come, as though we were asking that God may reign); we shall be ourselves His kingdom, if believing in Him we make progress in this faith. All the faithful, redeemed by the Blood of His Only Son, will be His kingdom.”

 

This petition carries three main layers of meaning. First, it is a declaration of personal surrender. It means yielding our will and desires to God's authority. It is a daily choice to let God's principles—such as love, peace, and righteousness—reign in your own heart and actions.

 

Second, it is a desire for Earthly transformation. Even the most cynical non-believers cannot argue the need for our world’s transformation. This is Jesus instructing His followers to be diligent in prayer for the world to reflect God's goodness. It asks for an end to sin, injustice, and suffering, and for the advancement of values like compassion, mercy, and truth throughout society.

 

Third, it is an act of faith and hope in the final fulfillment of the promises of God. The intention of God has always been the redemption of His entire creation and a perfect rule over it by His Son, Jesus. When the Kingdom of God comes, as it will, this will begin our eternal joy and peace as His children! Oh, what a day that shall be! This is a prayer to be said often!

 

The Model Prayer - Pt 3

 

[Jesus said] Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day 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 evil.” (Matthew 6:9–13 ESV).

 

As I wrote in yesterday’s devotional, the final establishment of God’s kingdom has not fully been implemented yet. It simply has not been fulfilled. “Thy kingdom come” is not just an expectant yearning for the coming of Christ in the future, even though this longing is contained in the plea. Thy kingdom come also expresses the prayerful desire of Christ’s servants to see God’s Kingdom broaden and become increasingly established throughout the world in the here and now.

 

Within our prayers ought to be a mindset that recognizes God’s kingdom purposes and concerns itself with furthering those purposes. First and foremost, the Lord’s dominion must be evident in the lives of His followers. Praying, “Thy Kingdom come,” means asking the heavenly Father to help us in our own lives to be faithful, obedient, authentic, and effective Christians. We spread God’s kingdom not only with words but also through our actions and the observable qualities of our character (cf. Matthew 7:16, 20; John 13:35; 1 John 3:10).

 

We also know from Scripture that God wants all sinners to be saved (Ezekiel 18:23; Matthew 23:37; 1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9). So in Christ’s model for prayer, we have confirmation that intercessory prayer for the salvation of souls is a worthwhile endeavor. Praying, “Thy Kingdom come,” is the same as saying, “Dear Lord, please open the hearts of my loved ones, friends, co-workers, and neighbors to receive Your gift of salvation in Jesus Christ.” God’s kingdom will expand as more people turn to Christ for salvation. They enter the kingdom when they come to know the crucified King of that kingdom. People need the gospel.

 

Another way we seek the establishment of God’s kingdom in the here and now is to pray for aspects of God’s nature to be revealed and known in the world. We can ask God to show His holiness to us and others so that all might see and understand it, and be changed by it.

 

When we pray, “Thy kingdom come,” we ask God to shine His light into the world so that others may respond to Him with awe and reverence (John 1:1–15). Jesus is the light of the world who breaks through the darkness of sin by His work on the cross (John 8:12). Through Christ’s sacrifice, believers become lights to the world as well (Matthew 5:14–16). God’s Word is also a light to the world, revealing His kingdom so it can be seen on earth (Psalm 119:105, 130; Proverbs 6:23; 2 Peter 1:19).

 

As believers in Jesus, we acknowledge God as our King. Praying, “Thy Kingdom come,” means we desire for His sovereign rule over our lives here on earth, as we submit to His authority and yield to His control in every aspect of our existence. Likewise, praying, “Thy Kingdom come,” means we earnestly yearn for God’s reign to be established throughout the whole earth and over every human being. We pray, “Thy Kingdom come,” so that God’s sovereign rule will come now and in the future in its fullness and permanence.

 

Join me in praying “Thy Kingdom come”!

 

 

The Model Prayer - Pt 2

 

[Jesus said] Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day 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 evil.” (Matthew 6:9–13 ESV).

 

Sometimes we can go for years thinking that we understand a passage in the Bible and then discover that we were mistaken. For me, one of those verses was the opening of the well-known Lord’s Prayer. I knew that I had questions about some sections of this prayer, but one part that seemed obvious to me was “hallowed be Thy name.” Christians recite this prayer together often, sometimes weekly, and I would bet that many of us share the same mistaken idea that I had, namely, that the meaning of “hallowed be Thy name” was so obvious it needed no explanation. Well, that would be belief that robs us of the richness of the declaration.

 

Part of the reason we might miss this is our unfamiliarity with the language, especially the older King James English. We should read it more like “let your name be sanctified.” It is a positional statement more than a request or statement of need. It is a declaration of Who rules the world. Today we have no contextual understanding of that. Our world is ruled by the rich and powerful for their needs to be met. This is not our God. The prophets of Israel, however, knew that this was only a temporary condition. The day was coming when God, the rightful ruler of all creation, would assert His rule. He would throw down all the rulers of this world. He would rule over the world through His own appointed King, the Messiah. That King would rule in righteousness and justice. Under that rule the world would no longer be a place of rebellion and evil; the King would conquer every trace of rebellion; every square inch of creation would be under the rule of God, reflecting His goodness and love. This is what the prophets meant by “the kingdom of God” or “the kingdom of Heaven”—God’s rule, through His Messiah, over all the earth, bringing in eternal righteousness.

 

In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus speaks of the same concept that Ezekiel does (cf. Ezekiel 37), the sanctification of the name of God. What God says He is going to do in Ezekiel is what we are praying will happen when we pray the Lord’s Prayer. God has made many promises to His people, but the world around us feels quite safe in either ignoring or ridiculing Him. Until He comes and keeps all those promises, establishing His rule over all creation, the nations laugh at His name: “God is no big deal. Look around. He doesn’t protect His people. The world goes on the same day after day.” Well, a day is coming when no one will be able to ignore God anymore. God is going to step into history and destroy all the kingdoms of this world and rule over His people and bless them. When He does that, He will “sanctify His name.” God is already holy, but in this world His name, his reputation, is seen as ordinary and insignificant. When Jesus returns to rule over all, God’s name, God’s reputation, will be restored to its rightful place.

 

Now, that’s a world I want… and the sooner the better. Therefore, I pray “… hallowed by they Name!”

 

The Model Prayer - Pt 1

 

[Jesus said] Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day 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 evil.” (Matthew 6:9–13 ESV).

 

Growing up as a practicing Roman Catholic it was not unusual for me to recite what many people have called “The Lord’s Prayer.” Our reading today is that prayer, though it was more of a teaching tool than an actual prayer of Jesus. Thus, many people today refer to this passage as “the Model Prayer.” Of course, it is appropriate to recite the Lord’s Prayer. Yet, what many people miss is that the Lord’s Prayer is not merely something for us to say aloud but is a model structure for prayer. Jesus indicated that, where in introducing the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus says, “Pray then like this” (v. 9). First and foremost, the Lord’s Prayer is an example of the kind of prayer that honors God, and its various elements show us what we should include in our prayers.

 

We’re going to take each element for the next few days separately. Moving through the prayer line by line, we note several things. Today, we see the privilege of the relationship that allows us to pray in this manner. We can, and should, call God “our Father” (v. 9), and this promise of a familial, intimate relationship with God is no small thing. Not everyone is a child of God, but only those who believe in Christ alone for salvation (cf. John 1:11–12). We have God as our loving Father only if we are in Christ, chosen through faith.

 

The Greek word translated “father” is important. It is Πάτερ (Pater). It describes one who imparts life and is committed to it; a progenitor, bringing into being to pass on the potential for likeness. Here it is used of “our heavenly Father.” He imparts life, from physical birth to the gift of eternal life through the second birth (regeneration, being born again). Through ongoing sanctification, the believer increasingly resembles their heavenly Father.

 

We do not seek to communicate with some unknown, unapproachable eternal being, rather we come to our heavenly Father. The One who loves us and has provided all we need for our relationship to be one of joy and peace. We need have no hesitation in approaching our Father, He delights in our relationship! It is like the hug I give to my sons and grandchildren when I greet them. There is no aloofness or separation, only acceptance and love. That’s how we can go to God with our desires!