“In your prayers … pray like this.” Matthew 6:7-9 Prayer I

The Lord’s Prayer

One of the most fundamental actions underlying a Christian’s life and faith is Prayer.  Christ exemplified what an active and appropriate prayer-life should be and why it is so fundamental to our relationship with God.  I intend to address the issue of Prayer in this blog and this post begins the process.

Subsequent posts on this topic may not be directly sequential.  Other topics may be interposed between postings.  But I promise that we will examine this topic as thoroughly as I can.  And, where else to begin the ‘examination’ other than the Lord’s Prayer?

In Matthew 6:10-13, we read:

“Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
On Earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but
Deliver us from Evil.
For Thine is the Kingdom, and the Glory, and the Power, forever and ever.”

(my personal recitation based on the King James version of the Bible.  Other versions have and are being used originating in the first century.)

Some Interesting Information

Before we go through the prayer, some points of interest.  First, the last line in the version given above was not in the original Greek or Latin translations.  It was apparently added some time later by well-meaning translators as a sort of “doxology” or concluding expression of faith.  It is not clear when it was added but it was included in the King James translation in 1611 A.D. and has been in wide-spread use since.  Not all Bible translations include this line in Matthew.

Second, there are two versions of the prayer.  Luke 11:2-4 reads:

“Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done.
As in heaven, so in earth.
Give us day by day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
For we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.”

Note that the last line as recorded in Matthew is not present in Luke.

Some more contemporary translations omit other lines as well.  “Thy will be done.  As in heaven, so in earth,” and, “…but deliver us from evil.” are omitted.  Again, it is probable that these were added to the Luke version sometime either before or at the time of the KJV.

Over the years, translators have taken a good deal of “artistic license” with the original Latin and Greek versions to make the text more appealing and accessible to their contemporary readers.  In any event, the meaning and feeling behind whichever version you may use is ancient and had its origin, not with Man, but with Jesus Himself.  So, its Authority is beyond question (my opinion).

Suggested Explanations

Now, let’s go through the text to make sure we are understanding not just the words but the meaning.

“Our Father who in art in heaven…”, or “Our Father who is in heaven …” is clearly addressing God, the “Father Almighty.”  Jesus repeatedly expressed His reverence for His father (God) and encourages us to address Him similarly.  This phrase presents God as the Origin Point, the Creator, and the Almighty.  We should all be awed by Him and address Him with proper respect and devotion.  Some versions say, “… which art in heaven…”  This version says, “who” to make it clear that God is a distinct Personality, not a “what.”

“Hallowed be Thy name …”, or “Your name is Holy.”  This gives proper recognition not only to who God is, but also to His unmatched Divinity.  Notice that Christ did not refer to Him as “Yahweh” or by any of the other names the Jewish tradition had ascribed to God.  There are two reasons for this.  First, in the Jewish tradition, it was not proper to address God by His name.  Therefore, they referred to Him, but did not address Him.  This reference shows that even God’s name is holy and worthy of reverence.  And second, no one normally refers to either of their parents by their given names.  We all use either “Father” or “Mother.”  Since Jesus’ father was God, he referred to Him as that, “Father.”  Elsewhere He refers to God as “Abba,” another Jewish word for “father” but one that connotes a closer and less formal relationship between father and son.

“Thy kingdom come …”, or “We are looking forward to the day God perfects the Earth and brings the New Jerusalem to it.”

“Thy will be done …”  Nothing matters other than God’s will.  Whatever He desires or deems fit for us here on Earth is what we wish for and will work to accomplish.

“On Earth as it is in Heaven …”  Or, “Your will is already supreme and fully manifested in Heaven.  We look forward to the day that the Earth will be Sanctified as Heaven is.”  We will work as we can to make it so until the Second Coming.

“Give us this day our daily bread.”  This does not refer just to bread for us to eat.  It’s an allegory for ALL that we might need … food, clothing, shelter … anything we need to live and survive.  Since God is the source of all things, He is naturally seen as “giving” our substance to us.

“And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those against us.”  Here, we are admitting that we have sinned (i.e. “trespassed”) and are asking forgiveness of them.  We are correct to be contrite, because we know that we are sinful creatures and are constantly in need of His forgiveness.  John the Baptist and Jesus had both already spoken extensively about the need for “repentance” and asking that our sins be forgiven as necessary for our salvation.  Including this in the prayer was to be expected.

However, the next phrase is not expected.  “…as we forgive those against us.”  This was a new concept.  Previously Jewish law and tradition had taught that “trespasses” against one’s person or property could only be absolved after some sort of repayment, compensation, or assessed penalty from/against the perpetrator.  The idea of simply “forgiving” a trespass or the trespasser was a completely alien concept for the listeners at the time (see Post 7 from July 27, 2018 for more on this).  But Jesus now requires that for OUR sins to be forgiven, we must first be willing to forgive OTHERS’ sins against us.  And, that the extent of our forgiveness will only be matched by the amount (and sincerity) of our forgiveness of those who have “trespassed against us.”

A Brief Aside

This matter is so important that Jesus goes on with further instruction after giving the prayer.  He continues, “Yes, if you forgive others their failings, your heavenly Father will forgive you yours; but if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive your failings either.” “Whoever has ears to hear should hear” (in other words, “Pay attention!”) was a common admonition at the time, and although this saying is not from the scripture (see CORRECTION below), it still applies to us today.

And to Finish

“And lead us not into temptation, …”  This may seem a curious request at first.  “Why,” we might ask, “would God purposefully place temptation before us?!?  If He does not like us to sin, why would He lead us astray?”  Jesus is not implying that God would do such a thing.  This phrase really only makes sense when partnered with the continuation of,

“… but deliver us from Evil.”  Aha!  What Jesus is asking is not that God not tempt us, but rather that He be aware of our temptations, and to shield us from them.  He is also aware that evil was/is a real “thing” in the world.  Jesus didn’t equivocate where evil was concerned.  He clearly stated that Satan was real and was constantly working against God’s purposes for and in our lives.  Asking for God’s help in answering this threat makes abundant sense.

Conclusion and Invitation

We’ve begun here with the Lord’s Prayer because it was Jesus’ example for us of how we are to pray.  Since it was His instruction, we can accept it as being perfect in its intent and execution.  Future posts will focus on certain aspects of Prayer:

• Why we Pray;
• When we Pray;
• The Structure of Prayer;
• The Subjects of our Prayers;
• And other related aspects of Prayer.

As always, I invite your comments about this post.  I am confident that at least some of you will have a different “take” on some of the phrases from the Lord’s Prayer.  I would really appreciate your sharing those with all of us.

Also, remember that these are my own thoughts and ideas.  Everyone should read, consider and then decide for themselves whether these interpretations are agreeable or not.  My desire is to give information and food for thought on these topics, not to tell the reader what he/she should think.  “Whoever has ears to hear should hear!”

God’s Blessing on You All.

Richard

September 21, 2018

CORRECTION:  My mistake!  A faithful reader pointed out that this phrase IS in the Bible.  With some research, I found that it is only used by Jesus and that He utters it eight (8) times!  Ref: Matthew 11:15, 13:9, 24:15, Mark 4:9, 4:23, 7:16, and Luke 8:8, 14:35.  Some translations omit a few of these, but I found them in mine.  Apologies for the miscue, but much thanks for the correction!

[photo by rawpixel on Unsplash]