How To Pray - The Lord's Prayer (6:9-15).
The Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-15).
We should note in using the description ‘The Lord's Prayer' that this is not to be seen as how the Lord Himself actually prayed, although He no doubt followed much of this pattern in as far as it applied to Him. This was a prayer give by Him to His disciples telling them how they should pray. For instance Jesus would always pray ‘My Father', for His relationship with His Father was unique. The disciples were always to pray ‘our Father' for they came as one body together.
This provision of a new prayer stresses that Jesus sees them as a new community. Israel had its united common prayers, repeated constantly in the synagogues, which were mainly based on the Scriptures. John the Baptist had also taught his disciples to pray (Luke 11:1). So Jesus could have pointed to either of those had He simply wished to guide their praying. But He chose not to do so. He instituted a new prayer. And necessarily so for it is a prayer that sees life from a totally new angle. It is based on the new factor that the Messiah was here among them. It was in recognition of the fact that the old prayers would not do for the current occasion. They needed a prayer to be prayed in the light of the fact that the Kingly Rule of Heaven was here. Thus as we look at the Lord's prayer we should not ask ‘how is it the same as the prayer of others?' We should ask, ‘in what way does it differ?'
As we consider the prayer we should note how much it is based on Old Testament ideas, including especially those of the Pentateuch. In many ways it could have been prayed by Israel as they were on the verge of deliverance. And some significance might be seen in the fact that Matthew has been implying that in Jesus the original purposes of the Exodus were now being fulfilled. As we saw in Matthew 2:15 Jesus as representing the new Israel has come out of Egypt as God's Son, just as Israel should have done of old. In chapter 3 the new Israel have passed through the waters of John's baptism as Israel had passed through the waters of old (compare 1 Corinthians 10:1-2), preparatory to the coming Kingly Rule of Heaven (Matthew 4:17). In chapter 4 Jesus has faced up to temptations in the wilderness and had succeeded where Israel of old had failed. We would therefore now expect an emphasis on the coming of the Kingly Rule of Heaven. For when Moses was originally sent to call Israel out of Egypt (which Jesus in symbolism was now also doing (Matthew 2:15)) it was in order to lead them into the land promised to Abraham (Exodus 3:7-10; Psalms 105:8-11) so that God might there establish His Kingly Rule among them, the Kingly Rule which He had already made real in the wilderness (Exodus 19:6; Exodus 20:1-18; Numbers 23:21; Deuteronomy 33:5; 1 Samuel 8:7, and see Exodus 4:22-23 where Israel as the Lord's son are compared with Pharaoh's son; compare also Psalms 22:28; Psalms 93:1; Psalms 95:3; Psalms 96:10; Psalms 97:1; Psalms 99:1-5; Psalms 102:12). Note the threefold aspects of His Kingly Rule in relation to Moses,
Firstly YHWH depicted Himself as in contrast to Pharaoh, (who was also a father), with Israel as YHWH's firstborn son in contrast with Pharaoh's (Exodus 4:22).
Secondly as Israel went through the wilderness, with YHWH as their Delieerer and Overlord (Exodus 20:2). YHWH entered into an Overlordship covenant with them establishing them as His people, preparatory to taking over the land.
Thirdly His Kingly Rule was intended to be established in the land promised to their forefathers. This was intended to be a continuing Kingly Rule, until they surrendered His Kingly Rule in favour of an earthly king (1 Samuel 8:7). The result was that it became a future Kingly Rule regularly promised by the prophets, which latter was put in such terms that while the description was earthly (they would at the time have understood no other) in substance it was clearly heavenly. It was to be an everlasting Kingly Rule (Ezekiel 37:25-28; Isaiah 9:7; Isaiah 11:1-9; Daniel 7:14), connected with the destruction of death and with the resurrection of bodies (Isaiah 25:6-8; Isaiah 26:19; Daniel 12:2-3).
It is worth at this point considering some of the parallels between the Lord's Prayer and the Pentateuch:
‘Our Father Who is in Heaven.' The Exodus hope initially began with YHWH declaring Himself to be the people's Father. For this Fatherhood compare Exodus 4:22-23 where His Fatherhood is compared to that of Pharaoh with respect to his own son, who was seen as divine; Deuteronomy 14:1 where Israel are stated to be His sons; Deuteronomy 32:5-6 where He is their Father Who created them, made them and established them. For ‘is in Heaven' compare Genesis 14:19; Genesis 14:22; Genesis 19:24; Genesis 21:17; Genesis 22:11; Genesis 22:15; Genesis 24:3; Genesis 24:7; Exodus 20:22; Deuteronomy 4:36; Deuteronomy 4:39; Deuteronomy 10:14; Deuteronomy 26:15; Isaiah 63:8; Isaiah 63:19
‘Made holy be Your name.' See Leviticus 22:32 where they are to hallow His Name by keeping His commandments. See also Exodus 33:19; Deuteronomy 32:3; Leviticus 10:3; Leviticus 22:2; Leviticus 22:32; Numbers 20:12; Numbers 27:14; Deuteronomy 32:51.
‘Your Kingly Rule come.' Consider Exodus 19:6; Exodus 20:1-18; Numbers 23:21; Deuteronomy 33:5; 1 Samuel 8:7, and see Exodus 4:22-23 where Israel as the Lord's son are compared with Pharaoh's son; compare also Psalms 22:28; Psalms 93:1; Psalms 95:3; Psalms 96:10; Psalms 97:1; Psalms 99:1-5; Psalms 102:12).
‘Your will be done.' See Exodus 19:8; Exodus 23:22; Exodus 24:3; Exodus 24:7; Leviticus 26:14-15; Deuteronomy 5:27; Deuteronomy 5:31; Deuteronomy 28:1; and for the Lord doing His will, see Deuteronomy 28:63; Deuteronomy 30:5.
‘Give us today tomorrow's (or our daily) bread.' See Exodus 16:4; Exodus 16:22-24; Exodus 16:29; Nehemiah 9:15; Psalms 78:23-25, as the Most High; Psalms 105:40; Joshua 5:12.
‘Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.' See Exodus 34:7; Leviticus 4:20; Leviticus 4:26; Leviticus 4:31; Leviticus 4:35; Leviticus 5:10; Leviticus 5:13; Leviticus 5:16; Leviticus 5:18; Leviticus 6:7; Leviticus 19:22; Numbers 14:19; Numbers 15:25-28; Nehemiah 9:17; 1 Kings 8:30; 1 Kings 8:34; 1 Kings 8:36; 1 Kings 8:39; Psalms 32:1; Psalms 85:2; Psalms 86:5; Psalms 103:3; Psalms 130:4; Isaiah 33:24; Jeremiah 31:34; Jeremiah 36:3.
‘Do not bring us into testing.' See Exodus 15:25; Exodus 17:3; Numbers 14:22; Numbers 20:13; Numbers 21:5-6; Deuteronomy 6:16; Deuteronomy 8:2; Deuteronomy 8:16; Deuteronomy 28:32; Psalms 95:7-11; compare 1 Corinthians 10:9; Hebrews 3:7-11.
‘Deliver us from evil.' See Exodus 3:8; Exodus 14:30; Deuteronomy 23:14; Psalms 18:2; Psalms 18:17; Psalms 18:19; Psalms 18:43; Psalms 18:48; Psalms 34:17; Psalms 37:40; Psalms 50:15; Psalms 54:7 and often; Isaiah 49:24-25.
The aspects of God being ‘in Heaven' and of forgiveness being available to men are also prominent in Solomon's prayer in 1 Kings 8:27; 1 Kings 8:30; 1 Kings 8:32; 1 Kings 8:34; 1 Kings 8:36; 1 Kings 8:39; 1 Kings 8:50. So Jesus is making clear that He has come so that through His disciples He might fulfil all the hopes of the Old Testament, that is, that He might ‘fulfil the Law and the Prophets' (Matthew 5:17).
And the prayer also indicates the way of salvation for each one of them. It is by recognising Who He is that they will come under the Kingly Rule of Heaven, and will then begin to do His will, recognising Him as the One in Heaven. This is summarised in Matthew 7:22, ‘not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord” will enter under the Kingly Rule of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father Who is in Heaven'. Thus by praying this prayer they are praying for God's salvation to reach out to the world.
The prayer given here is to some extent paralleled in Luke 11:1-4. But in Luke it was given in response to an off the cuff request to be taught how to pray. Jesus therefore there gave them a briefer answer covering a number of essentials. He gave them pointers. Here in Matthew the prayer has to some extent been smoothed out and slightly extended, even though its simplicity, brevity and overall pattern have all been retained. The obvious conclusion from this is that the difference in form here is due to the fact that Jesus had by this time had plenty of time to put it together in a more patterned and rounded form. Even practically speaking it is hardly likely that Jesus would have been satisfied with leaving them with an incomplete pattern.
Both forms betray their Aramaic background, but given the smallness of the scope there are sufficient differences between them to demonstrate that they are not simply different renderings of the same source, in spite of the attempts to demonstrate otherwise. Had both been citing the same source there is simply no reason why some of the changes in question should have been made. Such attempts are, of course, always highly speculative anyway, in spite sometimes of the credentials of those who suggest them, and they are rarely compelling (providing plenty of scope for scholars to exercise their talents and disagree with each other). However, one good thing about them is that they do help us to think more carefully about what we read. But they should on the whole never be taken too seriously. They are largely speculation.
(They are not quite as speculative, however, as those who invent out of nothing a whole community and thus unnecessarily deny to Jesus the credit for the completed prayer. For in fact this prayer is clearly Jesus' work. Its simplicity and genius bear His hallmark. Once men got to work on it, it would have been expanded until it became unrecognisable. That was the tendency of the age. It remained simple precisely because they were acknowledged to be His unchangeable words).
The length of time over which Jesus' ministry lasted is against the constant suggestions that the sources for Jesus words were as few as is often suggested, so that any coincidence between sayings is to be seen as indicating only one source. Those who had memorised much of what He said, or had even taken notes, would have a number of varieties of similar teaching given by Him at various times and in different contexts, as Jesus repeated the same truths in slightly different ways, in order to ram them home to the memory, while inducing those who heard them to think. Different Apostles, for example, would have remembered different things, and it must be seen as certain that some who came as disciples in order to learn, no doubt with instructions from others to keep a record of His words so as to take them back to others, would indeed keep some kind of record of them, as Luke seems to confirm. And Matthew and Luke probably spoke with many such people, and then confirmed their words with the others who would then call them back to memory. We are probably therefore to see Matthew and Luke as presenting two different forms of what Jesus established as a pattern for prayer, two forms given by Jesus on two different occasions. As with the beatitudes, Luke's source is more craggy, Matthew's is more rounded, the latter probably bringing out how Jesus' ministry had to some extent mellowed and developed.
We must first attempt to see the prayer as a whole. There is a beautiful balance to the Lord's prayer in Matthew which contrasts vividly with the cragginess of it in Luke. The one is the rough outline giving indicators, the other the polished final result, and in the latter each final phrase has its antecedent. Possibly we may make this clear by presenting it in this way:
Our Father the One Who is in Heaven, Be hallowed Your Name, Come Your Kingly Rule, Be done Your will as in Heaven so on earth. Our bread for tomorrow give to us today, And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, And do not lead us into testing but deliver us from evil (or the Evil One). Note how, having begun with the idea of God as Father over the new community, it continues with Him in Heaven where their Father reigns (Psalms 29:10; Psalms 103:19; Isaiah 6:1). Then by means of a trilogy it emphasises the coming of their Father in Heaven down to earth, as they call on God to bring about His plan of taking over in the world (Psalms 2:8-9; Psalms 22:27-31; Psalms 110:1-6); He is called on to act to hallow His Name on earth (Ezekiel 36:23-28), to bring about His Kingly Rule on earth (Psalms 22:28; Psalms 47:2-3; Psalms 103:19; Isaiah 43:15; Isaiah 45:22-23; Zechariah 14:9; see also Jeremiah 23:5-6; Jeremiah 30:7-11; Ezekiel 34:24; Ezekiel 37:22-28; Hosea 3:4-5), and to bring about the doing of His will on earth (Isaiah 48:17; Isaiah 54:13; Jeremiah 30:11; Jeremiah 31:33; Ezekiel 37:23-24), in precisely the same way as is true in Heaven where He is Lord of all.
He is to come in the same way as a great Conqueror goes out to regain territory of his, that has been usurped (Isaiah 59:16-20), in order to restore the honour of his name, to establish his rule and to ensure that his will is put into effect. And all these three aims are then also seen as following the pattern of what is true in Heaven where He reigns as their Father. For in Heaven His Name is hallowed, He rules in complete unanimity, and His will is done. And that is what must also be the aim on earth in the establishing of His Kingly Rule.
Thus ‘the One in Heaven' is not just to be seen as indicating a Jewish way of protecting the Name of the Father from presumption, it is very much a reminder of the contrast between Heaven and earth, and of the need for the new community to be involved in heavenly things, ‘as in Heaven, so on earth'. The words are there because their Father in Heaven wants them to introduce Heaven to earth.
Then follow the disciples' prayers with this in mind. They are to pray for heavenly (Messianic) food to sustain them on the way, they are to pray for the forgiveness of the load of debt that they continually owe to God because of their daily sins, so that it will be constantly removed, and this against a background of themselves revealing to others the forgiveness that has come from Heaven (Matthew 5:45; Matthew 5:48), and they are to pray that they may not be involved in the judgments that are coming on the world, but may be delivered from all evil (and from the Evil One) as they go about their mission. All these are things are seen to be very necessary when God begins to act on earth. They need to be fed by Him with the Messianic food (Isaiah 25:6; Isaiah 40:11; Isaiah 49:10; Jeremiah 3:15; Jeremiah 23:4; Jeremiah 50:19; Ezekiel 34:13-15; Ezekiel 34:23; Micah 5:4; John 6:27-63), they need to be forgiven by Him with the Messianic forgiveness (1 Kings 8:30; 1 Kings 8:34, etc.; Isaiah 43:25; Isaiah 44:22; Isaiah 55:7; Jeremiah 31:34; Ezekiel 37:23), and they need to be preserved by Him from the Messianic judgments (e.g. Isaiah 2:10-21; Isaiah 4:4; Isaiah 24:13; and often) so that they can be involved in His work of establishing His Kingly Rule. In each case what follows is then particularly pertinent. They not only need Tomorrow's food, they need it ‘today' (see below), they are in a position to receive forgiveness because they have shown themselves to be Messiah's people by the demonstration that they have a new heart, something revealed by their being willing to forgive others. And in avoiding divine testing on a rebellious world, they especially need deliverance from all the evils coming on the world, including what will come on them from the Evil One, who will run rampant in Messiah's day, and whose kingly rule Jesus, and they with Him, have decisively rejected (Matthew 4:10).
The prayer may also be seen as naturally falling into two threefold divisions following an opening appeal to their Father in Heaven. The concentration of the first part is then on God being glorified by what happens on earth through the activity of His true people. Through them His Name will be held in awe (for His Name compare Matthew 21:9; Matthew 23:39; Matthew 28:19 and see Matthew 7:22; Matthew 10:22; Matthew 18:5; Matthew 18:20; Matthew 19:29; Matthew 24:5; Matthew 24:9), His royal power will be revealed, and a light will shine in the world (Matthew 5:16). The concentration of the second part is on their being made fit to have their part in that work, revealing how His people will be established. Jesus' assumption in the prayer is that what is prayed for here will be the thing that is of most concern to His disciples and His people. It indicates the mindset that should be theirs.
In view of this we do not have to choose between whether it is to be seen as considering on the one hand the contemporary situation, or on the other the eschatological. It is to be seen as both contemporary and eschatological, for that is how the disciples would undoubtedly have seen it. They would have seen it as referring both very much to day by day life, and at the same time to the eschatological future that was breaking in on them. For to them the two were combined. John had made that clear. The time of the Coming One and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit and fire was here. The Kingly Rule of Heaven was upon them, and they were very much aware that they were now in the days of the Coming One, ‘the last days', because the King had come and ‘the end of the ages' had come upon them (1 Corinthians 10:11; Hebrews 9:26; 1 Peter 4:7). As far as the disciples were concerned they were in ‘the last days' (Acts 2:17; compare Hebrews 1:2). To them therefore the prayer was both eschatological and contemporary. (Scripturally we too are in ‘the last days' and the ‘last day' prophecies are even now in process of fulfilment. It is simply that God's time scale is a little different from ours, as Peter will later point out (2 Peter 3:8-9)).
However, while the prayer must clearly be seen as a part of the call to action contained in the Sermon, and as encouraging the programme that they are to follow, it does not, of course, forbid wider praying. We have, for one thing, also to pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44). It is assuredly, however, an indication that the concerns expressed in the prayer are what should be the central thoughts in our praying. And we should certainly not be spending too much time in praying for what will in the end simply pass away. Our concentration should rather be on preparation for the end of the age, and expanding the work of God. And Jesus could well have added, ‘For we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are unseen. Because the things which are seen are temporary and temporal, the things which are unseen are eternal' (2 Corinthians 4:18). But instead He emphasised the new world which He was introducing, a world where men forgave each other when they repented (Matthew 6:14-15).
Analysis of Matthew 6:9-15.
(The capital letters in the Analysis continue on the series from Matthew 6:7 b onwards).
a F Our Father who is in heaven,
b F May Your Name be set apart as holy,
c F May Your Kingly Rule come,
d F May Your will be done,
e F As in heaven, so on earth,
d F Give us this day our tomorrow's bread,
c F And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors,
b F And bring us not into testing, but deliver us from the Evil One.
a G For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
a G But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Note that in ‘a' the prayer is to their Father in Heaven, and in the parallel is on what their Father in Heaven will or will not do for them. In ‘b' they pray that their Father's Name might be ‘set apart' as holy (by what happens in and through them) and in the parallel that they might be set apart by Him from evil and the Evil One. In ‘c' the prayer is for the coming of the Kingly Rule of God on earth, and in the parallel this includes the forgiveness of their failure in the past to observe His Kingly Rule and give Him what was His due, and the revealing of that Kingly Rule in their hearts by their being forgiving. In ‘d' they pray for His will to be done, and in the parallel His will is done in the provision of their deepest physical (daily bread) or spiritual needs (Tomorrow's bread). And centrally in ‘e' all this is to be achieved on earth as well as in Heaven.
Before we look at the prayer in more depth we should perhaps consider it as a whole, and as we do so we learn how to pray. It commences with a simple but profound description of God. This is not just to be seen as an introductory formula with little more meaning than ‘dear sir'. It is a reminder that as we approach Him we must consider the very nature of the One Whom we are approaching. For before we do anything else at prayer we need to get this sorted out. It is only as we do so that our prayers will follow the right course.
Our Father Who is in Heaven'. A pattern Jewish Father was both authoritative and loving. His children would be aware that he would welcome them but also that they must not treat him lightly. So as their Father God too must be respected as such. Honouring father and mother was basic to God's covenant. And this would especially be so with the ‘Father in Heaven'. ‘He is in Heaven and we are on the earth'. Thus Jesus point is that they must approach Him in ‘awed love', in godly fear. It must be done remembering Who He is, and yet aware that, if our hearts are right, we are welcome in His presence as His sons.
Our next concern is to be the glory of God, ‘May your Name be made holy'. To the Jew the name represented what a person was, and to them therefore God's Name indicated His essence. That He is God and there is no other like Him. And to ‘make holy' meant to set apart to a sacred purpose. So here our intention is to be to express the desire that all in Heaven and earth (Matthew 6:10) should be made aware of the remarkable nature and being of God, and should remember Who He is and honour Him accordingly. The point is that they should set Him apart as sacred in their hearts.
It is a reminder to us again that although He is our heavenly Father, the prototype of all fatherhood (Ephesians 3:15), He is not to be treated lightly, and that therefore we should be constantly concerned for the honour of His Name. As we pray this we are still rightly adjusting ourselves to the idea of Who it is Whom we are approaching. We may remember again the words of Ecclesiastes 5:2, ‘God is in Heaven and we are on the earth, and therefore let our words be few'. For this is something that as we enter His ‘experienced presence' we must never forget. Yet we have now moved from contemplation to beginning to pray, for we are praying for His holiness to be revealed by His activity on earth. That is one essential way in which His Name will be hallowed (Ezekiel 36:23).
Then following that our prayer should be that He might be established in His authority over men, ‘may your Kingly Rule come'. We are still meditating on God as King over all, but we are also praying. And yet our prayer is still concentrated on our desire for God to be all in all. We are demonstrating our longing that He should have His rightful place, and be acknowledged as Lord of all.
So in a few short words Jesus has summed up the honour due to His Father, without diminishing it a jot. And we should note that it is only now, having reminded ourselves of all these things, that we turn our thoughts to the world, and what it should be doing, and even then it is not in order to obtain what we want for ourselves, it is out of concern that men might do His will, as it is done in Heaven. So for the first half of our prayer, God and His glory is still to be the centre of our thinking. And in the prayer we will now pray that what we have learned, and will learn, from the Sermon on the Mount, might be the basis on which men live in order that His honour might be upheld. ‘May your will be done.' For the aim of that Sermon is that His will might be done on earth as it is in Heaven (Matthew 7:13-29).
And then having appreciated our Father's presence, and having ensured that our hopes and aims are allied with His, we can go on to pray that we might be aligned with His purposes, and might ourselves be what He wants us to be, by recognising that our sustenance must come from Him, by admitting our own failure and seeking forgiveness for it, on the basis that as His disciples we are forgiving of others, and by being delivered from all evil, including the Evil One himself. We can sum it up as continual dependence, continuing cleansing, and continuing confidence in His saving power. Our prayer is thus that we might be wholly His, and as such, aligned with His will, and fashioned by Him.