The Lord's Prayer

Matthew 6

7      “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.
          8      “So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
          9      “Pray, then, in this way:
         ‘Our Father who is in heaven,
         Hallowed be Your name.
               10      ‘Your kingdom come.
         Your will be done,
         On earth as it is in heaven.
               11      ‘Give us this day our daily bread.
               12      ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
               13      ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]’

This prayer is so beautiful and powerful! The background of this prayer is the Sermon on the Mount wherein Jesus deals with the heart of the Law (e.g. Matt. 5:17-20, 7:12). With this in mind, let's take a moment and pause to meditate on this prayer given by our Lord Jesus.

Verse 9:
"Our Father": Stop. Stand in awe. Worship God who has provided a way for us to be His children (see passages such as Rom. 8:12-17, Gal. 4 [see 3 for context], 1 Jn. 3:1-3 etc.). What an amazing God! What an amazing reality! From rebels to heirs!

"Hallowed be Your name.": Pause and reflect on God's holiness (Is. 6).

Verse 10:
"Your kingdom come.": The OT is full of the theology of the kingdom of God. From Creation to the future, God has planned to dwell with and reign over all the cosmos. This reality has always stood and has been manifested throughout the OT, is somewhat fulfilled in the NT, and is anticipated being not yet fully consummated. We must long and ask for this to come about.

"Your will be done,": Although God's will does ultimately happen, Jesus commands us to pray to that end; submitting all to His Lordship.

"Give us this day our daily bread."; Our Father is sufficient to meet our needs as we see later in this chapter. Our Lord commands us to pray for this, acknowledging Him as the source upon which we must rely.

"And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.": It is characteristic of believers to forgive as we have been forgiven so much by God (Matt. 18:21-35 & Eph. 4:32).

"And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.": God has conquered Satan. Salvation from sin and evil is from Him. We must depend on His sufficiency not only to save, but also to keep until glory (Ps. 23, Jn. 10, Hebrews, Jude 24-25 etc.). He allows trials and temptations in our lives (Jas. 1), but the attitude of the believer should always long for holiness.

"For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.": While some translations do not include this sentence, it's consecutive parts are still stated as truths throughout Scripture.

Praise the Lord!

New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Mt 6:7–13). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.p\