The Lord’s Prayer

The Lord’s Prayer

Ah, the famous Lord’s Prayer. Many people recite these words every day. Many more will often quote them. In this study, I want to take a look at what the bible says about the Lord’s Prayer. That’s an interesting statement in itself, because the entire bible is the Word of God (2 Tim 3:16). So, what does the word of God say about the words God (Jesus Christ) said? The reason for this is to think about whether we are observing what God says to do with this prayer or not. I personally believe we need to understand what God is saying to us in His word and then obey appropriately (2 Timothy 2:15). So to answer that question, we need to look at the context surrounding the time Jesus taught His disciples how to pray. I’d like to explore what God is telling us at that time so we know just what Jesus Christ is saying there. Then, I want to take some time consider the question: What really is the Lord’s prayer? There may be more answers to that question than you think.

First, let’s take a look at the context around what is commonly called the Lord’s Prayer. The prayer itself can be found in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:1-4. At this time chronologically, Jesus has just started His earthly ministry and given the Sermon on the Mount. The disciples had seen Him pray and desired to know how they should pray. Take a look at Luke 11:1

1 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.

See the end of that verse? That gives us some insight into John the Baptist’s ministry. John had taught his disciples to pray as well and it would help us to understand John's ministry for the purpose of this study. What was John’s ministry? We can look Matthew, Mark, Luke or John, but I’ll just note Luke 3:3.

3 And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins

Pretty straight forward, right? John's ministry was the baptism of repentance FOR THE REMISSION OF SINS. Note that baptism in water was a requirement at this point in time for sins to be forgiven. The same message is given in Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:16, and Acts 2:38. There is more to John's ministry, though, that we should explore to get a better sense of how John may have taught his disciples. First a bit more on baptism. Please read all of Matthew 3 and Luke 3:3-22, but I'll point out Luke 3:15-17 here

15 And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not;

16 John answered, saying unto [them] all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:

17 Whose fan [is] in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.

Look again at what it says in verse 16. Here are three baptisms mentioned: water, Holy Ghost, and fire. Baptism is a whole other discussion and I don't want to digress too much on that in this study. John was to baptize in water. Why? Because he was an Israelite. Israel was given the promise that they shall be a kingdom of priests and an holy nation (Exodus 19:6). In order to be a priest, the one who was serving needed to be ceremonially clean. Look at Exodus 29:4 and Leviticus 8:6

Ex 29:4 And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water

Lev 8:6 And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water.

This washing with water is the water baptism that John was doing. The Hebrew word there for wash is rachats, which means to wash, wash off or away, or bathe according to Strong's definition. This was the purpose of the laver and it's foot (Exodus 30:18), which is the King James Version speak for the large water basin sitting upon a sturdy base in the tabernacle. Take a moment and think about that. It was not radical that John was performing this kind of baptism or washing. Rather, the leaders of Israel just questioned his authority to do it since it was traditionally for the priesthood. Look at John 1:19-27

19 And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?

20 And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.

21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.

22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?

23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. 

24 And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.

25 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?

26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;

27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.

Let's look at each question in turn and understand where they were coming from. First off, we see that the priests are investigating the matter in verse 19. They send a group along to question John and report back. The first question is simple: Who are you? In verse 20 John clearly says that he is not the promised Messiah, or Christ. No wonder that would be the first question since Israel had been looking for the promised seed of Abraham (Gen 22:18), and also the coming king from the line of David (2 Samuel 7:12) for quite some time. But John says he is not the Messiah, so the next question they ask is if he were Elijah. Why would they ask that? Because of the promise given through the prophet Malachi in chapter 4 and verses 5-6

5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

John again denies this. Then they ask if he was the prophet. THE prophet. The definite article is there in the Greek. So what prophet would that be? The one promised by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15 and 18:18

15 The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;

18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.

You see, the religious leaders of Israel knew their scriptures. They were looking for all of these things because they knew it would be the culmination of the age and restoration of the nation would be imminent. But John denies that he is that prophet. Then in verse twenty two we see a bit of confusion in this group of priests. They need to give an answer to those that sent them, so they ask for a straightforward answer. In response, John quotes Isaiah 40:3. Now note carefully the response of the priests in John 1:25

25 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?

Again, they don't question the baptism ceremony. That ritual was going on since Israel was given the Law. They are looking for his credentials. If John had no authority to baptize, why was he doing it? John's answer was to point them to the Messiah. It would be the Messiah that would have the power to baptize, or wash, with the Holy Ghost or with fire. In short, that would be salvation or condemnation, but I would encourage the reader to study what those two baptisms would be.

So then, we know John was preparing the way for the Messiah. We know his ministry was go get Israel ready for the coming of the promised kingdom and to do that he was getting them ceremonially clean through water baptism. Though it is not recorded in scripture, John would logically be telling his disciples to be looking for the Messiah. He would be encouraging them to remain clean spiritually. No doubt, since he pointed out before that he was the voice in the wilderness to make straight the way of the Lord.

Knowing all of that, we can see that Jesus' disciples in Luke 11:1 were eager to see what was to come and what they should pray for concerning the future state. Keep that in mind as we explore how Jesus taught them. Let's look at Matthew 6:5-15 in detail, beginning with just a couple of verses.

5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

Jesus first tells the disciples not to make a big show of praying. He makes a direct contrast to the current leaders of Israel that do this, calling them hypocrites. Elsewhere they are compared to "whited sepulchres" because they are spiritually dead on the inside though they speak the Law (Matthew 23-see how often they are called hypocrites and note my statement in verse 27). Praying like that will get you your reward, which is praise of men, and is fleeting. Jesus tells them that they are to make their prayers in secret, truly beseeching God with their heart, and then to observe when God answers that prayer publicly. Let's look at the next two verses.

7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

Here we have a comparison to those that are without God. These would be pagans of that day, and they are described as using "vain repetitions." The Greek word there is battalogeó, which means "to stammer." In other words, they would say the same thing over and over again, thinking their god would eventually hear them and answer according to their desire. But from Jesus' words we see that they were putting their hope in the words to get what they wanted and not what is best for them. Please note Jesus' doctrine here. Don't say things over and over without thinking of the meaning. God already knows your needs and is not impressed with repeated words and no heart behind it. Ask Him from the heart of what your true desires are. God wants to give you the best.

9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 

10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

 Note carefully verse 9, that "after this manner" is how Jesus' disciples should pray. The Greek for "after this manner" is houtó, which means like this . . .; in this manner, in this way (fashion), in accordance with this description (i.e. corresponding to what follows); in keeping with; along this line, in the manner spoken. Not one of those definitions says do exactly this. Remember that Jesus just said not to use vain repetitions in verses 7 and 8. Here, He is saying in what manner to pray, not what words must be said.

The next thing to observe is that God the Father is glorified immediately, before any requests are made. Next, the prayer is for God's kingdom to come and His will to be done upon the earth (in = epi in Greek, meaning upon) just like it is in Heaven. Now to pray this would imply that currently God's will is not being done upon the earth. How can that be? The answer is found in one word: sin. God cannot sin, but mankind has and continues to do so. This prayer then must be for the restoration of all things to the point where sin and death will be no more. We have the comparison that God's will is being done in Heaven. This also gives further credence that Satan and his angels were kicked out of Heaven along with Adam and Eve. You can see a discussion of that in my blog on "The Big Picture." Remember the context here. Jesus is proclaiming the coming prophesied kingdom on earth, so this prayer is exactly in line with that concept.

Then we have this phrase "Give us this day our daily bread." Why pray that? God promised Israel that their barns would overflow if they were faithful to him in carrying out the tithing (and the Law) in Malachi 3:10. So if they were faithful in bringing these things to the temple (His house), why would there be a problem? Ah, but remember what else was prophesied in Daniel 9 and 12. The Antichrist would reign in Jerusalem during the Tribulation period and set himself up as God in the temple before the kingdom would come. If the faithful could not access the temple without being persecuted to death, they would not be able to bring their tithes and enjoy the promise of Malachi 3:10. In fact, we have further revelation in the book of The Revelation that those who worship the Antichrist will receive a mark, and those without the mark cannot buy or sell (Rev 13:16-17). It would be pretty tough to get sustenance without that ability. Now does "Give us this day our daily bread" make more sense?

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

Some translations have "trespasses" instead of "debts" but it's a similar idea. I need to point out the order here. Forgive us OUR debts as WE FORGIVE. This is a conditional statement. A disciple of Jesus at that time would have trespasses forgiven AFTER they forgave others. Now take a look at Ephesians 4:32

32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Here we have a 180° change. Forgive others as Christ has already forgiven you. This is not a conditional statement but rather a command from the apostle Paul, who received his doctrine from Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:11-12). In Ephesians, a believer in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ according to the scriptures had been forgiven all sin. As a result, God commands the saint to forgive others just like that. In other words, forgive others entirely and let God be the judge. This is another example of the importance of 2 Timothy 2:15. Are sins forgiven as we forgive or are they already forgiven and we are to forgive others in that way? The words in Matthew 6:12 were spoken by Jesus Christ on earth. The words in Ephesians 4:32, according to Galatians 1:11-12 and 2 Corinthians 12:1-6, were spoken by Jesus Christ from Heaven. The difference is in the dispensations. When Jesus spoke in Matthew 6:12, He was preaching the coming kingdom on earth consistently with all the Law and Prophets. There had been no revelation of the gospel of God's grace, nor could be, since that is dependent on the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary.

Think of the implication of all of this. If you are one repeating Matthew 6:12 every day, would you like to be under the Law looking for the prophesied kingdom on earth? Or does it make sense to you now that you are no longer under Law, but under grace when you trust that Jesus fulfilled the Law? (Romans 6:14, 1 Cor 15:3-4). Be very careful and study this, and take to heart Galatians 5:1-6. I will come back to these thoughts after finishing the rest of what is commonly called the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Here we have the conclusion of the prayer. To better understand this, we must examine the original language once again. The word "temptation" there is from the Greek peirasmos, which means (a) trial, probation, testing, being tried, (b) temptation, (c) calamity, affliction. Remember the context, that the disciples were desiring to know how to pray because the kingdom was at hand. Wouldn't it make sense then to pray they would not be carried into calamity or affliction, but contrarily that they would be delivered away from the evil? They were going to enter the Tribulation period had Israel accepted the prophesied kingdom. God promised this seven year period through the prophet Daniel in Daniel 9:27. They were going to be surrounded by evil, led by the Antichrist, who would persecute many to death. Prayer to be delivered from this would be very important. The second sentence in this verse is a declaration of allegiance. Despite the Antichrist seemingly in power on earth, the faithful in God are saying that God owns the kingdom, God has the power, and God will have glory forever. They are rejecting the Antichrist and accepting their Christ in Jesus.

Now it is interesting to note that Jesus reiterates the conditional statement of forgiveness in Matthew 6:14-15. There's a saying that if God says it once, it's important. If God says it a second time, it's very important. If God repeats it more than twice, you had better be paying attention. Forgiveness is a big deal. In Matthew 6:12, 14, and 15 we have the repeated conditional statement that trespasses are forgiven, but that forgiveness is limited to how an individual forgives. I've already pointed out that the doctrine changes after the revelation given to the apostle Paul and now we have been forgiven all trespasses for those the church, the body of Christ. Please again, study the different gospels mentioned in Galatians 2:6-7 and the transition in the book of Acts over chapters 9-16 for further understanding in this.

So that is mostly what the prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:1-4 is about. It is commonly called the Lord's Prayer, but we see that our Lord Jesus was giving an outline of what prayer ought to be like in light of the coming Tribulation and prophesied kingdom. So if we should not be repeating those words, is there something else that can be referred to as the Lord's Prayer? Many will answer that we should look at the entire chapter John 17. In that chapter, Jesus is praying for His disciples, desiring them to have the same oneness as God the Son and God the Father have (John 17:20-23). As you read through that chapter, certainly this is a heartfelt prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ, but is that still His prayer for us today?

After the change in program of setting Israel aside in unbelief so that salvation can come to all through faith alone (Romans 11:25), I believe things have changed. We read in a few places what prayer is to be and in my opinion, what the Lord's prayer is for us today. Looking at the letters written through Paul, as he is the apostle to the Gentiles (Romans 11:13), we see several things. First, Jesus does still want us to cleansed by His word (compare John 17:16-17 with Ephesians 5:25-27). We also enjoy the oneness that He spoke of with the Father by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (compare John 17:21-23 with Ephesian 1:13-14).

Now I need to point out something vitally important here. The effects of Jesus prayer will not come to fruition until after the Millennial Kingdom. How can I say that? Because of the prophecy in Jeremiah 31:31-34. Israel has those things to look forward to after the 70th week prophesied in Daniel, but we of the body of Christ have them now (Ephesians 1:3). The purpose of all these spiritual blessings is to provoke Israel to jealousy, and they will come back to the Lord on their own accord (Romans 11:11)

So then, back to my question on what the Lord's prayer is for us today? I believe there isn't just one, but rather several. We see things like this written through the apostle Paul:

Romans 11:13 - For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office

1 Corinthians 4:16 - Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.

1 Corinthians 11:1 - Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:20 - Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.

1 Thessalonians 4:3a - For this is the will of God, even your sanctification

1 Timothy 2:3-4 - 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

I could go on but I think the point is there. Remember that the doctrine given to Paul was directly from our risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, so everywhere we see the words "will of God" or something like it, I would think that that is Jesus' prayer for us in this age of grace. In the ministry of reconciliation, it is the desire of God that we follow the apostle Paul in doctrine and deed. We are to be ambassadors for Christ, knowing that our home is in Heaven (Phil 3:20), coming alongside everyone in this world to understand the liberty of the faith in Christ (2 Cor 5:20). God's desire is that all are saved and come to know the full knowledge of the truth. We are to pray without ceasing and with thanksgiving (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18, Philippians 4:6-7), having the knowledge that even if we don't pray for the right thing, the Holy Spirit that indwells us will make intercession for us (Romans 8:26-27).

So we see Jesus Christ still praying for us, but not in the same words every day. He makes intercession for us in our prayers, which would indicate His prayers are dynamic for us since no day or situation is the ever the same. Shouldn't our prayers be dynamic then as well if we are to follow Paul who follows Christ?

Prayer is powerful. Don't use vain repetition and quench the Spirit. Rather, edify one another and earnestly seek the goodwill of others. Bring anything unto the Lord, because He cares for you so deeply and will listen to anything (Phil 4:6,7). Now, I've shared a lot of scripture in this, but as always, please don't just take my word for it. Search the scriptures and see if these things are so. As you study the bible, ask yourself, "What is God really saying here?" My prayer for all that read this is that you are filled with knowledge of the truth.