Matthew 6:9: “Jesus Teaches His Disciples The Model Prayer”
by
1.
INTRO: Prayer is such an important aspect of the
Christian’s life. Andrew Murray has
said, "God's child can conquer everything by prayer. Is it any wonder
that Satan does his utmost to snatch that weapon from the Christian or to
hinder him in the use of it?"
1.1.
Therefore, it is very important that we Christians take the time to learn
how to pray, and thus we take up this next section of chapter 6 of Matthew
1.2.
Every Christian should desire in his heart to learn how to pray
effectively
1.3.
God wants us His children to learn to depend upon Him in everything, to
lift up all of our needs and even our wants to Him in prayer
1.4.
Further, God loves it when His children come to Him in prayer, He loves
it when they worship Him, He desires to know His children ever more intimately
1.5.
In this section of scripture we see that the disciples had watched Jesus
in all areas of His life, and they realized that He had a life of communion and
prayer to the Father that none of them nor the religious leaders of
1.5.1. Jesus’s response to them
then is to teach them how to pray
2.
VS 6:9 - “9 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name”” - Jesus teaches His disciples a model prayer
2.1.
First of all,
this prayer should not be called ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ since He never prayed it,
but rather ‘The Disciple’s Prayer’
2.2.
Jesus did not
teach the disciples a prayer to be repeated verbateum over and over (as many
Christians use this prayer) since He had just prior to this expressed contempt
for that type of prayer being used:
2.2.1. As Luke 11:1 reveals concerning this incident of Jesus
teaching this prayer, that the disciples did not ask Jesus to teach them a prayer
to be repeated, but rather ‘how to pray’
2.2.2. Jesus does not say here that they are to repeat this
prayer, but rather to pray ‘in this way’
2.3.
So then, we
should look at this prayer as being an example prayer:
2.3.1. It contains the attitude that people should approach
God in prayer
2.3.2. It contains all of the elements which should exist
within effective prayer
2.4.
This prayer needs
to have all of its parts disected in order to understand the type of prayer
that God desires His disciples to pray
2.5.
Before we notice
what it says, notice what it does not say.
The prayer does not immediately begin asking God for stuff, the way
perhaps the majority of those who pray go about their praying. Instead, it first begins by focusing on and
exalting the Lord.
2.5.1. Effective prayer begins by extoling and exalting the
Lord, and really this should be the aim of all of our praying
2.6.
Jesus teaches
them to pray and address God as ‘Our’ Father:
2.6.1. This should remind us that no person comes into
personal favor with God apart from all the rest of those who are in fellowship
with Him, and thus it discourages
2.6.1.1.selfishness
2.6.1.2.self-centeredness
2.6.1.3.being a lone-ranger for God
2.6.2. This should encourage ‘unity in prayer’ amongst those
who also know God as their ‘Father’
2.7.
Jesus teaches His
disciples to pray to the ‘Father’
2.7.1. Jesus usually addressed God as Father when He prayed
2.7.2. This was new and part of the new dispensation, for in
the O.T. times people did not addess God as ‘Father, for He was viewed as being
terrifying in His might and holiness.
2.7.3. When we Christians approach God as ‘Father’ this
should remind us of His love and care over us, and thus it should encourage us
to believe that God desires to answer our prayers to Him
2.7.4. We Christians should know then that we can come
‘boldly’ before our Father’s Throne of Grace in time of need
2.8.
He is not only
our Father but He is also ‘in heaven’:
2.8.1. While the name ‘Father’ brought the thought of
closeness and favor with God, ‘in heaven’ brings us face to face with the
awesome terrible nature of Him who is almighty and powerful and reigns and rules
over all of creation
2.8.2. Thus, though we as Christians address God as our
Father, we must also realize that we must always approach Him with the utmost
reverence and respect, never flippantly
2.9.
Jesus teaches us that
we must always approach God acknowledging the “hallowedness” of His ‘Name’:
2.9.1. God’s ‘Name’ represents all of His characteristics, as
all of the Bible reveals them
2.9.1.1.Each of the “Names” given to God in the scripture
refect a certain characteristic of His nature
2.9.1.2.In Exod. 34:6-7, we see that the Lord answered Moses’
request to see His glory, and when the Lord passed in front of Moses He
revealed to him what ‘His Name’ expresses, “6 Then the Lord passed by in
front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and
gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; 7 who keeps
lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet
He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers
on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations””
2.9.2. We Christians must never be presumptuous and think
ourselves to be in such fellowship and closeness with God that we do not
respect Him and remain in awe of the perfection of His ‘holiness’
2.9.2.1.This word ‘hallowed’ in the Greek comes from the root
word for ‘holy’
2.9.2.1.1.It also carries the idea of being separate and
sanctified, thus God alone is truly holy and separate from all of His creation
because of His holiness
3.
VS 6:10 - “ 10 ‘Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven” - Jesus taught that we ought to pray for God’s
‘kingdom’ to ‘come’
3.1.
Effective prayer
is really to pray for God’s kingdom to come and intervene in this world, and
when this happens:
3.1.1. The church grows and is extended throughout the world
3.1.2. People come to salvation in Jesus (escaping the
dominion of satan in their lives)
3.1.3. God’s people become obedient from the heart to the
Lord, allowing Him to have His way in their lives
3.1.4. Sin is expelled from our lives and we begin to live
for the Lord
3.2.
The ‘
3.2.1. The ‘kingdom of heaven’ is what Jesus preached, and
what He “brought” to people wherever He went
3.2.2. God’s kingdom will fully come to the earth when the
Millenial Reign of Christ occurs at the end of the 7 Years of The Great
Tribulation of the book of Revelation
3.3.
Jesus taught that
when we pray to God that we ought to pray, ‘Thy will be done’
3.3.1. As I mentioned earlier in this chapter, true prayer is
not trying to convince God to do what we want Him to do (since He presently is
unwilling to do so), but rather getting ourselves to be in line with Him and
His mind and will
3.3.2. Paul wrote in Rom. 12:2, His will is “good,
acceptable, and perfect”, so we should never think it wise or good to pray for
anything that is not inline with His will, “2 And do not be conformed to
this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove
what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect”
3.3.3. There is no ‘name it and claim it’ you can read into
this, for we are to pray for His will to be accomplished upon the earth, not
our own
3.3.4. To be effective in prayer we need to put aside our own
desires and wants, many of which are selfish, self-centered, and sinful, and
allow Christ to do exactly what He wants to do in our lives
3.3.5. Even Jesus struggled to place Himself completely to do
God’s will as His prayer in the
3.3.6. The man who is one who is after God’s heart is also
one who is bent upon doing ‘ALL’ His will, as we see revealed concerning David
in Acts 13:22, “22 “And after He had removed him, He raised up David to be
their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I have found
David the son of Jesse, a man after My
heart, who will do all My will’”
3.4.
Jesus taught that
we are to pray for God’s will to be done ‘on earth as it is in heaven’
3.4.1. Heaven is the place where the Lord dwells, and thus in
heaven it is only God’s will which is ever done
3.4.1.1.In heaven there is perfect order and submission to the
One who alone is exalted and lifted up, and all of the angels and creatures
there before the Lord are there to serve and worship Him and do His will
3.4.1.2.In Matt. 7:21-23 Jesus taught us that only those who
do His will shall be with Him for eternity, “21 “Not everyone who says to
Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of
My Father who is in heaven. 22 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord,
did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your
name perform many miracles?’ 23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew
you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’””
3.4.1.3.Our prayer should be that God’s will as He desire it
in heaven be done in our prayers
4.
VS 6:11 - “ 11 ‘Give us this day our daily bread”” - Jesus taught us to ask daily for all of the
necessities of life
4.1.
This part of the
prayer consists of where we bring before the Lord the various “physical as well
spiritual needs” that we may have (we shouldn’t normally begin praying by
asking God for stuff, as I mentioned earlier)
4.1.1. This could refer to clothes, shelter, food, transportation,
jobs, etc., but it could also refer to spiritual and emotional needs that we
have
4.2.
The ‘daily’ part
here refers to the fact that we are not to come to God asking for Him to supply
our needs every once in awhile, or once in a blue moon, but every single day,
as often as we have needs
4.2.1. God wants us to be dependent upon Him for all that we
ever have need of, for dependence upon Him brings Him glory, and it is His
desire to meet our needs
4.2.2. Jesus did not mean that each of us as Christians are
to pray these exact words each day in regard to our needs we may have, but
rather to learn to pray specifically about all of our needs
4.3.
God promises to
meet all of our needs as we place Him first in our lives (Matthew 6:33), yet
still He wants us to come to Him in prayer concerning them
5.
VS 6:12 - “12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have
forgiven our debtors’” - Jesus
teaches us to ask for forgiveness for our sins in our praying
5.1.
This word
translated ‘debts’ here is a word that is used to refer to being monetarily or
otherwise indebted to someone, yet here the reference is to the debt of sin
that each of us owe to God. We owe God a
debt of punishment for our sins which He has forgiven through Christ and His
substitutionary work on the cross, and now we must forgive others for the debt
of sins they have committed against us
5.1.1. In Luke 11:4, which contains Luke’s account of our
Lord’s Prayer, he records that Jesus taught them to ask forgiveness for their
sins, but he didn’t use this word translated ‘debt’ to refer to sin, but the
more common word for sin, ‘hamartia’, which is an archer’s term that refers to
missing the mark, so by this we are assured He is referring to a debt of sin
5.1.2. Paul wrote in Col. 2:13-14 about how the Lord had
cancelled the debt of sin which we owed to Him, “13 And when you were dead
in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive
together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, 14 having
canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which
was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the
cross”
5.1.3. To that debt of sin which we owed to the Lord, He
wrote, “paid in full”, as the word propitiation used in 1 John 2:1-2 reveals,
“2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not
sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous; 2 and He Himself is the propitiation
for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world”
5.2.
However, the Lord
expects us to forgive others in the same way in which He forgives us
5.2.1. As one author has written, it is an insult to God to
ask Him to do for us what we are unwilling to do for others
5.2.2. Being willing to forgive others is a prerequisite to
being forgiven by the Lord
5.2.3. If we have truly been forgiven by the Lord, we cannot
help but to forgive others who have wronged us, for it is the natural result of
what the Lord has done for us
5.2.4. In verses 14 and 15 of this chapter, Matthew records a
further warning of Jesus about the necessity to forgive others if we wish to be
forgiven by God, “14 “For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your
heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 “But if you do not forgive men, then
your Father will not forgive your transgressions””
5.2.5. In Matt. 18:21-35, Jesus taught a sobering parable
about a man who was forgiven a huge debt by another, yet refused to forgive
another man who owed him only a small debt, “21 Then Peter came and said to
Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to
seven times?” 22 Jesus *said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times,
but up to seventy times seven. 23 “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be
compared to a certain king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. 24
“And when he had begun to settle them, there was brought to him one who owed
him ten thousand talents. 25 “But since he did not have the means to repay, his
lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he
had, and repayment to be made. 26 “The slave therefore falling down, prostrated
himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will repay you
everything.’ 27 “And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him
and forgave him the debt. 28 “But that slave went out and found one of his
fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to
choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ 29 “So his fellow slave fell down
and began to entreat him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’
30 “He was unwilling however, but went and threw him in prison until he should
pay back what was owed. 31 “So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened,
they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened.
32 “Then summoning him, his lord *said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you
all that debt because you entreated me. 33 ‘Should you not also have had mercy
on your fellow slave, even as I had mercy on you?’ 34 “And his lord, moved with
anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed
him. 35 “So shall My heavenly Father also do to you, if each of you does not
forgive his brother from your heart””
5.2.5.1.When we Christians think about the absolutely immense debt
of sin that the Lord has forgiven us, how could we ever refuse to forgive any
person of any debt that they owe us?
6.
VS 6:13 - “13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but
deliver us from evil. [For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.
Amen.]’” - Jesus
teaches His disciples to pray that they be not led into temptation
6.1.
Though God does
allow Christians to go through trials which build our faith, and each trial
does involve some temptations, even so it is not God’s will for us to get into
situations which He knows we are too weak to resist the temptations, and in
which He knows that we will fall into sin
6.2.
Satan could place
a uniquely fashioned temptation before any one of us Christians and we would
find ourselves too weak to resist, therefore we ought to pray that we shall not
encounter situations where we will have such tremendous temptations to sin
which we will not be able to fend off
6.3.
Though God allows
temptations to come into our lives, He himself is not the author of temptation,
as James teaches us in Ja. 1:13-15, “13 Let no one say when he is tempted,
“I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself
does not tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and
enticed by his own lust. 15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to
sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death”
6.3.1. It is the sin that dwells within us, our own lust, in
which temptation is conceived, and though the devil can tempt us directly or
indirectly, temptation actually evolves from within our own hearts
6.4.
However, during
those inevitable times when we shall be tempted, Jesus teaches us to pray that
during those times that God will ‘deliver us from evil’
6.4.1. This then is a prayer that whatever temptations that
we may encounter that we shall end up being victorious over through Christ and
His power in our lives
6.5.
We ourselves need
to ‘flee’ from temptation as the scripture teaches us, not wish that we might
be led into it
6.6.
The clause, ‘For
Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen’ is ommitted
in the earliest manuscripts and therefore is found in braces here
6.6.1. Even though the clause is ommitted, it still is very
powerful as it points to God as the One whose kingdom is being built up, and
His power which accomplishes all good as it works within and without us to
accomplish His will, and that it is to Him and Him only to whom all glory is to
be given
7.
VS 6:14-15 - “14 “For if you forgive men for their
transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 “But if you do
not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions”” - Jesus teaches us that we must forgive others
in order for the Lord to forgive us our sins
7.1.
This verse must
not be twisted so that it teaches that we merit forgiveness by the Lord if we
forgive others, for we can do nothing that would ever make us worthy to be
forgiven by God
7.1.1. What it teaches is simply that we must be people who
forgive others or the Lord will be insulted at us rather than willing to forgive
us of our sins