Matthew 6:9–13
We just wrapped up a four-week study around experiencing prayer. Thanks to Matt, Miriam and Doug for inviting us to grow in this way. With that in mind, I thought I’d offer some thoughts to consider around the prayer Jesus gave us as a foundation for our conversations with God.
9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Think about something you love to do, something you really want to be good at. Now, what is a foundational skill you have to have/gain if you hope to excel? It is something you can hone to the ‘nth degree, but can’t ever do without or you’re done.
In the Christian life, that one thing is prayer. Yes, there are many other things we need to do (read our Bible, live in community, share our faith), but none of them get any traction apart from our conversations with God.
So, it’s no surprise that Jesus gave us a basic blueprint to follow in our efforts to connect with our Creator. It’s not so much a script to recite as it is an outline prompting us to pray in light of who God is and what we most need as His children.
Speaking of children, that’s how Jesus tells us to approach God; as sons and daughters of a heavenly Father. He is the One who made us. He is the One who sustains us. And He is the One who sacrificed the Son so that we could be adopted into His family. That is why we would ask that our God would be held in the highest regard, holy and exalted above all, and by all.
10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Having acknowledged the majesty and supremacy of our loving Father, it makes sense to ask for the magnificence of his kingdom to be ushered into the brokenness of ours.
A huge part of the beauty of heaven is the unrivaled devotion to the glory of God. Everything revolves around the breathtaking holiness of the “Great I Am.” There are no factions. There is no competition. Love saturates and inspires all that takes place because God is love.
So, we’re directed to pray that the glorious atmosphere of heaven would displace the contentious air that we breathe, and transform our dissension into peace.
11 Give us this day our daily bread,
When was the last time you heard someone say, “I’m good! I’ve got all that I need!” Most likely, you’ll hear people talking about needing just a little bit more to get by. Maybe you’ve said that yourself. Funny thing is, it doesn’t seem to matter how much any of us has; we can always use “just a little bit more.”
It’s no accident we think the way we do. Despite enormous prosperity in the U.S., we’re bombarded daily with marketing bent on cultivating discontentment and entitlement. We’re told relentlessly that more of everything is better and doing without the trinkets of this world is less than we deserve.
In His model prayer, Jesus turns cultural consumerism on its head.
The brief yet profound request for daily bread focuses on attention on necessities, not luxuries. It doesn’t disregard our real need for provision, but it curbs our natural bent toward excess. With humility and confidence, we are supposed to ask for all that we need to do what God has called us to do, believing that our Heavenly Father (vs 9) is glad to deliver the goods.
12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Guilty. It’s a word none of like to hear, but a word that accurately describes every person on earth.
It turns out, guilt comes with a price. Sin racks up a debt so enormous (spiritually speaking) that no amount of goodness, no amount of generosity is ever enough to pay it off.
So we’re left to ask God to do for us what we could never do for ourselves.
When we ask Him to forgive our sin-debt, we’re not just asking Him to forget about it or simply write it off; we’re asking Him to pay it. And that is exactly what Jesus was doing when He laid down His life on the cross.
Have you asked God, completely apart from your own performance, to forgive your sin once and for all? Do you daily acknowledge those thoughts, words and deeds for which Christ died? Have you let go of your right to punish those who have offended you in the same way God mercifully forgave your offenses against Him?
It is here, and only here, that the freedom from guilt we so desperately desire can truly be found.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Our flesh (the residue of sin lurking in our life) is constantly at war with the Holy Spirit, God’s life-changing presence in His people (Galatians 5:16-17). Both pull at us in opposite directions, and our choices dictate which way we go.
While battling it out internally, we are also immersed in a world which lies in the power of the evil oneaccording to the Apostle John (1 John 5:19).
In light of that, it is vital that we consistently ask and watch for deliverance from the destructive influence we face on each of these fronts. Failure to do so will leave us vulnerable to deception and the sin it inevitably produces.
Fortunately, God is glad to intervene on our behalf and enable us to respond in the midst the struggle in ways that result in His glory and our good.
“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)
Let this assurance be a daily source of strength and motivation for you as you fight the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12) until His final return.