Matt. 6:9–13, 14–15


I. Introduction

A. In verses 5–8 Jesus taught us how not to pray.

1. Don't pray just to impress others.

2. Don't pray like the pagans with their magic words and babbling repetition.

B. In verses 9–13 Jesus gave us an example of a model prayer.

1. It is sometimes called the "Lord's prayer," but is more correctly a "Disciple's Prayer."

2. Some people repeat the prayer itself, but what Jesus really gave us is a "framework" from which we can model our own prayers.

C. This is a simple and straightforward prayer, but it is also deeply meaningful.

D. The prayer consists of six petitions to God.

1. The first three have to do with God and his glory.

2. The other three have to do with our needs and necessities.

E. It is a prayer that brings us into God's presence and also brings God into our everyday lives.

F. Jesus began with the words, "This is how you should pray..." (v. 9)

1. Jesus did not say, "This is what you should pray..."

2. Instead, he said, "This is how you should pray..."

3. There is s big difference between the two. The one would be a prescribed prayer that must be followed. The other gives us a "model" that allows us the freedom of our own words.



II. Speaking to God (vv. 9–10)

A. "Our Father in heaven"

1. Jesus' use of "our Father" reveals a dramatic new relationship between God and human beings.

2. The Jews did not use this expression to address God. They would have used: "Lord God of our fathers" or "God of Abraham." They would have considered "our Father" too personal.

3. As disciples of Jesus, however, we have this new personal relationship with God.

4. Jesus probably used the Aramaic expression Abba, which was an intimate name for a human father.

5. Some people may have carried Jesus' use of Abba too far (i.e., "Daddy"), but the early church adopted the use of "Abba" in referring to God (Rom. 8:15 and Gal. 4:6).

B. "Hallowed be your name"

1. "Hallowed" is an older word that is not often used today.

2. The word comes from the same root word as "holy" and means to make holy or sanctify.

3. It is an expression that seeks to honor God's name and some versions translate it as: "may your name be honored" (Philips, NLT).

C. "Your kingdom come"

1. Some people have equated the word "kingdom" entirely with the "church" and have said that we cannot pray this today because the church is now in existence.

2. To do so, is to limit the meaning of the word "kingdom."

a. God's kingdom is the realm of his rule or reign.

b. The church is God's kingdom here in the present, but God will also reign in heaven.

c. So until Jesus returns, there is still a future aspect of God's kingdom.


D. "Your will be done"

1. This may not be always easy for us to pray. Sometimes we want our will to be done rather than God's will to be done.

2. Jesus prayed these same words in the Garden as he faced the cross. That should be example enough for us in our lives and prayers.


III. Making requests of God (vv. 11–13)

A. "Give us our daily bread"

1. Food, shelter, clothing—these are all basic things of life and they all come from God.

2. Even our ability to work to earn money for these things comes from God.

3. We must be certain that we are praying for what we need and not what we want. There can be a big difference.

4. Jesus called it "daily bread."

a. Workers in the 1st century were paid by the day, and missing a day's work could be serious for a family living hand to mouth.

b. Our work situation may be different, but God still gives us our necessities each day.

B. "Forgive us our debts"

1. "Debts" mean sins or transgressions.

2. We have much to be forgiven and we need to remember this regularly in prayer.

3. Our forgiveness is conditional—Jesus said, "as we forgive our debtors." This is expanded in verses 14–15.


C. "Lead us not into temptation"

1. God does not entice us to sin.

a. We know this from the example of Jesus' own temptation and also from James description of temptation and sin (James 1:13–14).

2. The word can also mean a trial or testing.

a. Mounce suggests that Jesus was saying "do not let us fall into a trial so difficult that we will fail" (R. Mounce, Matthew, NIBC, p. 57.)

b. We know that we will have temptations. We are asking God to not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can withstand.

D. "Deliver us from the evil one"

1. It is Satan who tempts us and leads us astray.

2. I don't have to tell you that the world is full of evil—and Satan is behind it all.

3. Jesus is saying that we should ask God to deliver us from Satan and his tempting ways.

4. We will still sin, especially if we want to do so, but we can also ask God specifically to deliver us from Satan.


IV. Conclusion

A. This is a short prayer, but it is really packed.

B. This prayer covers it all.

C. We may want to be more specific in details, but it is all there and can serve as a model for us as we pray.