You then pray in this way: Our Father who is in the heavens, Your name be sanctified; Your kingdom come; Your will be done, as in heaven, so also on the earth. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
(Matt. 6:9-13)
Probably the most recognisable verses from the Bible are those that make up the so-called Lord's Prayer. Yet these verses aren't prescriptive; Jesus said, "pray in this way", which means that we can take this prayer as a pattern for our prayers, but that we shouldn't simply repeat His words. Most Christians in denominations will recite this prayer at every Sunday morning service, and they may be perfectly sincere in doing so, which is very good; however, there is far more to this pattern of prayer than just the recitation.
Firstly, in verses 9 and 10, we can see the Trinity of the Godhead implied: “Let Your name be sanctified” is mainly related to the Father, “let Your kingdom come” to the Son, and “let Your will be done” to the Spirit. This is being fulfilled in this age, and it will be fulfilled in the coming kingdom age, when the name of God will be excellent in all the earth (Psa. 8:1), the kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of Christ (Rev. 11:15), and the will of God will be accomplished.
Verse 9 says, “Our Father Who is in the heavens, let Your name be sanctified.” Today God’s name is not sanctified; rather, it is profaned and made common. Unbelievers may ask, “What is God? Who is God?” People speak about Jesus Christ in the same way that they speak about Plato or Hitler. They make the name of the Lord Jesus common. But we know that the day will come, in the millennium, when the name of God will be sanctified. But, prior to that time, our Father’s name is wholly sanctified in the church life today. We do not call upon the Father or speak the name of the Lord in a common way. Rather, when we say “Father” or “Lord,” we sanctify these holy names. Thus, we need to pray, “O Father, let Your name be sanctified.”
Verse 10 says, “Let Your kingdom come.” Although the kingdom is here in the church life today, the manifestation of the kingdom is yet to come. Thus, we must pray for the coming of the kingdom. This matter of the kingdom is clearly related to God the Son. It then continues, "Let Your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.” Following the rebellion of Satan (Ezek. 28:17; Isa. 14:13-15), the earth fell into the usurping hand of Satan. Thus, the will of God could not be done on earth as in heaven. Hence, God created man with the intention of recovering the earth for Himself (Gen. 1:26-28). After the fall of man, Christ came to bring the heavenly rule to earth so that the earth might be recovered for God’s right, that the will of God might be done on earth as in heaven. This is the purpose of the new King establishing the kingdom of the heavens with His followers. The kingdom people must pray for this until the earth is fully recovered for God’s will in the coming kingdom age.
When the Father’s name is sanctified, the Son’s kingdom has come, and the Spirit’s will is done on earth as in heaven, that will be the time of the manifestation of the kingdom. But we who are in the reality of the kingdom today must pray for these things.
So far, we should pray firstly for God's need; now in verse 11, we may then pray according to our need. When God's need is met, He can then meet our needs. According to verse 11 we are to ask “today” for our “daily bread.” The King does not want His people to worry about tomorrow (v. 34); He only wants us to pray for our needs today. The term “daily bread” indicates living by faith. The kingdom people should not live on what they have stored; rather, by faith they should live on the Father’s daily supply.
We should then also consider our failures before God and our relationships with others. Verse 12 indicates that we must admit and confess that we have shortcomings, mistakes, and wrongdoings. We are in debt to others. Hence, we must ask the Father to forgive us as we forgive others for the Father’s sake.
Verse 13 is interesting. Its purpose is to show us that we are weak, and more particularly, to make us admit that we are weak. If we think that we are strong, we are likely to act independently from the Lord, and do a work not according to His will. Matt. 7:22-23 shows us clearly what the result of that is:
Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, was it not in Your name that we prophesied, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name did many works of power? And then I will declare to them: I never knew you. Depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness.
Anything which is done independently from the Lord, even many good things done in His name, is ultimately a work of wood, grass and stubble (1 Cor. 3:12-15), and will eventually be consumed by fire, depriving the owner of their kingdom reward (although not their eternal salvation). Rather, we should say, “Father, I fully realize that I am weak. Please do not bring me into trial. There is no need for You to do that, Father, for I recognize my weakness.” Never say to yourself, “Whatever happens, I am confident I can stand.” If that is your attitude, be prepared to face many trials and temptations, where you will surely fail. Instead, pray that the Father would not bring you into trial, but that He would deliver you from the evil one.
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