This commentary on what is usually referred to as “The Lord’s Prayer” is meant to supplement the topical Bible study entitled “Biblical Prayer,” as found on Internet web site www.bibleone.net. In the first place the term, “The Lord’s Prayer,” is a misnomer. It is not the Lord’s Prayer, because (1) it is presented as a “model prayer” for the disciples and (2) elements within it could never apply to Christ then or now, for example, “forgive us our debts or trespasses.”
This “model prayer” is vital for the believer, since it was given as “instruction in praying” by Jesus Christ Himself. It is the only place within God’s Word where Jesus personally outlines specific elements of prayer. If it was important enough for Jesus Christ to take the time to emphasize and explicate it, then it should be carefully studied and applied to the believer’s daily prayer life.
This commentary will not attempt to duplicate all the various points on prayer covered by the Bible study entitled “Biblical Prayer, mentioned above. This commentary will only list each verse of Matthew 6:9-13, along with an elucidation on each one.
Matthew 6:9
In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
This prayer was not meant to be an entreaty for believers to repeat word-for-word on a recurring basis. This is clear from Christ’s previous comment regarding prayer in verse 7, "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do.” Often when this is done the words lose their meaning in a sea of monotony and superficiality. Many words repeated by rote memory often become empty phrases. Actually the Lord is telling the believer to use the prayer as a model or pattern, and it contains some very specific elements. The following are its elements.
First
Prayer is to be addressed to God the Father, not to the Son or to the Holy Spirit or to anyone else, such as the spirits of the dead. Although there may be no harm in addressing a prayer to Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit, this would be outside the pattern set by Christ in The Model Prayer. Furthermore, it can be found nowhere in Scripture any example where a believer prays to Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit. The use of the word, Father, implies a relationship. How can a person address God as Father? By being born again (spiritually from above) by faith alone in Christ alone. From the “new birth” experience onward, a permanent, personal and loving relationship exists between the believer and God. From that point on he may and should call God his Father.
Second
It should be recognized that God is in heaven, an acknowledgment that the believer’s Father is in fact God Almighty who is sovereign over the universe.
Third
The believer’s prayer should begin with worship, ascribing praise and honor to God who is most worthy of it.
Matthew 6:10
Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Fourth
The believer should specifically pray for the return of Jesus Christ to earth to set up His Millennial Kingdom upon it. This is a prophetic promise that the Jewish Nation and all believers should look forward to in eager anticipation. The believer’s anticipated future in both heaven and on earth, according to God’s Word, should be a preoccupation in the believer’s daily thoughts and a modifier of his every action.
Fifth
The believer should always pray for the advancement of God’s will and plan for earth, for today and until eventually it culminates in the Millennial Kingdom of Jesus Christ. The believer should always put the cause and interests of God first in all matters. The obvious question therefore is how does one know the will of God, not only for himself but for all of earth? The answer is that it has been formulated, outlined and judicially recorded in 66 separate books by some 40 different Spirit-led authors over a period of approximately 1,500 years. This recording is none other than the Holy Bible, and it has one uniform and totally consistent message for earth’s inhabitants. One only has to study it under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit to know the will of God. Psalm 119:9-17; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Timothy 2:15; 3:16, 17
Matthew 6:11
Give us this day our daily bread.
Sixth
After putting God first in prayer, the believer is to acknowledge his dependence upon God for his daily needs, both physical and spiritual. Just as the Children of Israel in the wilderness looked to God for daily manna from heaven, the child of God during his sojourn on earth is to look to his Father for all temporal and eternal needs. As a person depends on Christ in the execution of the salvation experience, he is subsequently to depend on his Heavenly Father for sustenance in both his physical and spiritual growth.
Matthew 6:12
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Seventh
This does not refer to “judicial forgiveness” from the penalty of sin, which was permanently obtained by faith in Jesus Christ. It refers to “parental forgiveness,” which is necessary for continued fellowship with God the Father. The person who accepts by faith alone Christ alone is born again and at that moment is indwelt by and sealed with the Holy Spirit. As time goes on and as the new believer makes wrong decisions by giving into the still remaining “sin nature,” which remains in him, rather than submitting to the inner voice of the Spirit, he thereby “quenches” the Holy Spirit and hinders his fellowship with God. To restore this fellowship and the control (filling) of the Spirit, the believer must confess (acknowledge) all known sin in his life. Upon doing this the promise of God is that not only is known sin immediately forgiven, but all unknown or forgotten sin is also forgiven (1 John 1:9)--resulting in the reestablishment of the fullness of the Spirit and restoration of fellowship with God.
But there is also a principle expressed in this element of The Model Prayer that is further explained by Christ in Matthew 18:21-35, which is that God expects His children to forgive others as He forgave them. If the believer is unwilling to forgive others of their trespasses, then the Heavenly Father will be unable to forgive the believer his trespasses. This is further confirmed in verses 14 and 15.
Matthew 6:13
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Eighth
A believer is not wrong to ask of his Heavenly Father for “smooth sailing.” This is only natural and is to be expected. Even Christ was troubled when the time came for Him to face the cross. Although God will not personally tempt anyone (James 1:13), He will allow Satan to test His children, to undergo trials, adversity and affliction from time-to-time in order to refine them, to encourage them and to strengthen their faith in Him. God has promised that He will not allow His children to be tested beyond what they can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Ninth
The believer should always understand that Satan--the serpent (Genesis 3:4), the devil (Matthew 4:1), the tempter (Matthew 4:3), the wicked one (Matthew 13:19), the ruler of darkness (Ephesians 6:12), the adversary (1 Peter 5:8), the prince of the power of the air(Ephesians 2:2), the prince of this world (John 14:30) and the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4)--like a roaring lion, walks about seeking whom he may devour. Without God’s permission, Satan cannot touch a believer. But for various reasons--out of fellowship, spiritual testing, etc.--God may allow Satan access to a believer. It is proper for a believer to ask God to deliver him from Satan on a daily basis. This is the prayer of anyone who desires to be kept from sin by the power of God.
Tenth
This last phrase of The Model Prayer is omitted in the Roman Catholic and many Protestant Bibles since it is lacking in many manuscripts; however, it is in the majority of ancient manuscripts and it is totally consistent with all other Bible doctrine. This doxology is a perfect ending to the prayer, and the believer should always express his recognition and worship of God Almighty as the Originator of all that is good and eternal.
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