Jesus gave His disciples a model prayer known commonly as "The Lord"s Prayer." Obviously it was not His prayer in the sense that He prayed it, but it was His prayer in the sense that He taught it. He introduced the model as such. Here is a way to pray that is neither too long, ostentatious, nor unnecessarily repetitious. [source][source][source]
One of Jesus" unique emphases, as I have already mentioned, was that His disciples should think of God as their heavenly Father. It was not characteristic of believers to address God as their Father until Jesus taught them to do so. [1][source]
"Only fifteen times was God referred to as the Father in the Old Testament. Where it does occur, it is used of the nation Israel or to the king of Israel. Never was God called the Father of an individual or of human beings in general (though isolated instances occur in second temple Judaism, Sirach 51:10). In the New Testament numerous references to God as Father can be found." [2][source]
"The overwhelming tendency in Jewish circles was to multiply titles ascribing sovereignty, lordship, glory, grace, and the like to God ..." [3][source]
"Our" Father indicates that Jesus expected His disciples to pray this prayer aware of their group context, as part of His disciples. Private use of this prayer is all right, but the context in which Jesus taught it was corporate, so He gave a corporate address. The "our" does not include Himself since it is part of Jesus" teaching concerning how to pray. [source][source][source]
The way we think of God as we pray to Him is very important. In prayer we should remember that He is a loving Father who will respond as such to His children. Some modern individuals advocate thinking of God as our Mother. However this runs contrary to what Jesus taught and to the thousands of references to God that God has given us in the masculine gender in both Testaments. God is not a sexual being. Nevertheless He is more like a father to us than a mother. Thinking of Him primarily as a mother will result in some distortion in our concept of God. It will also result in some confusion in our thinking about how God relates to us and how we should relate to Him. [4] Thinking of God as our Father will also remind us of our privileged access into His presence and of our need to treat Him respectfully. [source][source][source]
"In heaven" reminds us of His transcendence and sovereignty. Our address to God in prayer does more to prepare us for proper praying than it does to secure the desired response from Him. [5][source]
The first three petitions deal with God and the last three with us. This pattern indicates that disciples should have more concern for God than we do for ourselves. We should put His interests first in our praying as in all our living. All the petitions have some connection with the kingdom. The first three deal with the coming of the kingdom, and the last three are appeals in view of the coming kingdom. [6][source]
The first petition ( Matthew 6:9 c) is that everyone would hold God"s name (His reputation, everything about Him) in reverence. He is already holy. We do not need to pray that He will become more holy. What is necessary is that His creatures everywhere recognize and acknowledge His holiness. This petition focuses on God"s reputation. People need to hallow it, to treat it as special. By praying these words we affirm God"s holiness. [source][source][source]
God"s reputation and the kingdom had close connections in the Old Testament ( Isaiah 29:23; Ezekiel 36:23). [source][source][source]
"In one respect His name is profaned when His people are ill-treated. The sin of the nation which brought about the captivity had caused a profanation of the Name, Isaiah 43:25; 49:11; Ezekiel 36:20-23. By their restoration His name was to be sanctified. But this sanctification was only a foreshadowing of a still future consummation. Only when the "kingdom" came would God"s name be wholly sanctified in the final redemption of His people from reproach." [7][source]
The second petition ( Matthew 6:10 a) is that the messianic kingdom will indeed come quickly (cf. Mark 15:43; 1 Corinthians 16:22; Revelation 11:17). It was appropriate for Jesus" first disciples to pray this petition since the establishment of the kingdom was imminent. It is also appropriate for modern disciples to pray it since the inauguration of that kingdom will begin the righteous rule of Messiah on the earth, which every believer should anticipate eagerly. This kingdom has not yet begun. If it had, Jesus" disciples would not need to pray for it to come. Christ will rule over His kingdom, the Davidic kingdom, from the earth, and He is now in heaven. This petition focuses on God"s kingdom. People need to prepare for it. [source][source][source]
"Those who maintain that for Jesus himself the kingdom of God had already come in his own person and ministry inevitably treat this second petition of the Lord"s prayer in a rather cavalier fashion. It must be interpreted, they say, in line with other sayings of Jesus. Why? And what other sayings? When all the evidence in the sayings of Jesus for "realized eschatology" is thoroughly tested, it boils down to the ephthasen eph humas [8] of Matthew 12:28 and Luke 11:20. Why should that determine the interpretation of Matthew 6:10 and Luke 11:2? Why should a difficult, obscure saying establish the meaning of one that is clear and unambiguous? Why not interpret the ephthasen [9] by the elthato [10]; or rather, since neither can be eliminated on valid critical grounds, why not seek an interpretation that does equal justice to both?" [11][source]
"Jesus" conception of God"s kingdom is not simply that of the universal sovereignty of God, which may or may not be accepted by men but is always there. That is the basis of his conception, but he combines with it the eschatological idea of the kingdom which is still to come. In other words, what Jesus means by the kingdom of God includes what the rabbinic literature calls the coming age." [12][source]
These are accurate and interesting conclusions coming from a non-dispensationalist. [source][source][source]
The third petition ( Matthew 6:10 b-c) is a request that what God wants to happen on earth will indeed transpire on earth as it now does in heaven. That condition will take place most fully when Christ sets up His kingdom on the earth. However this should be the desire of every disciple in the inter-advent age while Jesus is still in heaven. Nothing better can happen than whatever God"s will involves ( Romans 12:1). God"s "will" (Gr. thelema) includes His righteous demands ( Matthew 7:21; Matthew 12:50; cf. Psalm 40:8) as well as His determination to cause and permit certain events in history ( Matthew 18:14; Matthew 26:42; cf. Acts 21:14). This petition focuses on God"s will. People need to do it. [source][source][source]
"This difference [13] arises out of the fact that rebellion and sin exist upon the earth, sin which is to be dealt with in a way not known in any other spot in the universe, not even among the angels which sinned. It is here that the great purpose of what I have named the Mediatorial Kingdom appears: On the basis of mediatorial redemption it must "come" to put down at last all rebellion with its evil results, thus finally bringing the Kingdom and will of God on earth as it is in heaven." [14][source]
The remaining petitions ( Matthew 6:11-13) focus on the disciples" needs. Notice the "Thy," "Thy," "Thy," in Matthew 6:9-10 and the "us," "us," "us," in Matthew 6:11-13. Some believers have concluded that prayer should not include anything selfish, so they do not make personal petitions. However, Jesus commanded His disciples to bring their personal needs to God in prayer. The first three petitions stand alone, but the last three have connecting "ands" that bind them together. We need all three of these things equally; we cannot get along without any of them. [source][source][source]
The bread in view ( Matthew 6:11) probably refers to all our food and even all our physical needs. [15] Bread has this larger significance in the Bible (cf. Proverbs 30:8; Mark 3:20; Acts 6:1; 2 Thessalonians 3:12; James 2:15). Even today we speak of bread as "the staff of life." Daily bread refers to the necessities of life, not its luxuries. This is a prayer for our needs, not our greeds. The request is for God to supply our needs day by day (cf. Exodus 16:4-5; Psalm 104:14-15; Psalm 104:27-28; Proverbs 30:8). The expression "this day [16] our daily bread" reflects first century life in which workers received their pay daily. It also reminds disciples that we only live one day at a time, and each day we are dependent on God to sustain us. Asking God to provide our needs does not free us from the responsibility of working, however (cf. Matthew 6:25-34; 2 Thessalonians 3:10). God satisfies our needs partially by giving us the ability and the opportunity to earn a living. Ultimately everything comes from Him. Having to live from hand to mouth one day at a time can be a blessing if it reminds us of our total dependence on God. This is especially true since we live in a world that glorifies self-sufficiency. [source][source][source]
The fifth petition requests forgiveness from debts ( Matthew 6:12). "Debts" (Gr. opheilemata) probably translates the Aramaic word hoba that was a common synonym for sins. [8] Viewing sins as debts was thoroughly Jewish (cf. Psalm 51:4). [18] The second clause in the sentence does not mean that we must earn God"s forgiveness with our own. Our forgiveness of others demonstrates our felt need of forgiveness. The person who does not forgive a brother"s offenses does not appreciate how much he himself needs forgiveness. [source][source][source]
"Once our eyes have been opened to see the enormity of our offense against God, the injuries which others have done to us appear by comparison extremely trifling. If, on the other hand, we have an exaggerated view of the offenses of others, it proves that we have minimized our own." [19][source]
Some Christians have wondered why we should ask for God"s forgiveness since the New Testament clearly reveals that God forgives all sins-past, present, and future-when He justifies us ( Acts 10:43; Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14). That is judicial or forensic forgiveness. However as forgiven believers we need to ask for forgiveness to restore fellowship with God (cf. 1 John 1:9). Forensic forgiveness brings us into God"s family. Family forgiveness keeps our fellowship with God intimate within God"s family. [source][source][source]
"Personal fellowship with God is in view in these verses (not salvation from sin). One cannot walk in fellowship with God if he refuses to forgive others." [20][source]
Some interpreters view Matthew 6:13 as containing one petition while others believe Jesus intended two. Probably one is correct in view of the close connection of the ideas. They are really two sides of one coin. [source][source][source]
"Temptation" is the Greek peirasmos and means "testing." It refers not so much to solicitation to evil as to trials that test the character. God does not test (peirasmos) anyone ( James 1:13-14). Why then do we need to pray that He will not lead us into testing? Even though God is not the instrumental cause of our testing He does permit us to experience temptation from the world, the flesh, and the devil (cf. Matthew 4:1; Genesis 22:1; Deuteronomy 8:2). Therefore this petition is a request that He minimize the occasions of our testing that may result in our sinning. It articulates the repentant disciple"s felt weakness to stand up under severe trials in view of our sinfulness (cf. Proverbs 30:7-9). [19]5 [source]
"But" introduces the alternative. "Deliver us" could mean "spare us from" or "deliver us out of." The meaning depends on what "evil" means. Is this a reference to evil generally or to the evil one, Satan? When the Greek preposition apo ("from") follows "deliver," it usually refers to deliverance from people. When ek ("from") follows it, it always refers to deliverance from things. [22] Here apo occurs. Also, the adjective "evil" has an article modifying it in the Greek text, which indicates that it is to be taken as a substantive: "the evil one." God does not always deliver us from evil, but He does deliver us from the evil one. [23][source]
However the Old Testament predicted that a time of great evil would precede the establishment of the kingdom ( Jeremiah 30). Some commentators, including non-premillenarians, have understood the evil in this petition as a reference to Satanic opposition that will come to its full force before the kingdom begins. [24] God later revealed through Paul that Christians will not go through this Tribulation ( 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; et al.). Consequently we do not need to pray for deliverance from it but from other occasions of testing. [source][source][source]
Some have seen a veiled reference to the Trinity in these last three petitions. The Father provides our bread through His creation and providence, the Son"s atonement secures our forgiveness, and the Spirit"s enablement assures our spiritual victory. [source][source][source]
The final doxology appears in many ancient manuscripts, but there is so much variation in it that it was probably not originally a part of Matthew"s Gospel. Evidently pious scribes added it later to make the prayer complete liturgically. They apparently adapted the wording of David"s prayer in 1 Chronicles 29:11. [25][source]
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