The Lord’s Prayer
Everyone claims Jesus was a great teacher. Even people who don’t claim Him as Lord say that. I think wrongly so, because He claimed to be God and said He would die and rise from the dead and you can’t be a good teacher and say those sorts of things unless they are true and you should truly believe them. Spoiler alert—they are true, and you should truly believe them and make Jesus Lord of your life!
With Jesus being this great teacher, of all the things He could possibly teach you, what would you ask Him? “Jesus, why do bad things happen? How can I know your will for my life?” What would you get Him to teach you? “Jesus, teach me to love people like you love them. Teach me to cast out demons. Teach me to raise people from the dead.” After watching Him do a lot of these things, and observing His life and ministry, do you know what His disciples asked Him? Of all the things we have recorded of His disciples asking Him to teach them, we have just one request in Luke11:1. They say, “Lord, teach us to pray.” He then answers with the same thing we’re going to be studying today in Matthew 6, what we call the Lord’s Prayer.
1. God’s glory comes first in all things. (5-6)
Jesus begins His teaching on prayer by calling out the hypocrisy of those who pray to impress others. They stand in synagogues and on street corners and pray to be seen by others. As verse 5 says, their reward is just the fleeting approval of people. That’s not what prayer is about. It’s not about us. God’s glory must come first. Not just in prayer but in every aspect of life.
Prayer, along with every part of life—even good and godly parts of life—can get twisted when we chase recognition. When we do things to be seen. Public prayer itself isn’t the issue since Scripture shows many examples of faithful public prayer. The problem is in the heart’s motive. When we pray to gain applause, we’re sinning by putting human approval above God’s glory. But this is bigger than just prayer. It’s about how we live every moment.
Augustine said that sin is “disordered love,” loving lesser things above the greatest.[1] I want you to think about that. When we make our own glory the goal—or put it above God’s—whether in prayer, work, relationships, or whatever, we miss what we were made for. Scripture calls us to rightly ordered loves. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” From eating breakfast to doing your daily chores, every act should point to God’s glory. Colossians 1:16 reminds us that all things were created “through him and for him.” All things—Life—all of life—every aspect of life—only works when God is at the center.
Running after anything other than God’s glory will only leave you empty. People pour their energy into careers, relationships, social status, money, all kinds of things hoping for meaning, but none of it can deliver. None of it can truly satisfy. When God’s glory comes first, our affections and pursuits find their proper place, and life starts to make sense. And you know what? Private prayer is one of the places where we learn this. Jesus promises in verse 6, “Your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” It’s in secret. It’s just you and God. And part of the reward is your heart is starting to be shaped to look like Him. And that’s part of what praying is for in the first place. To conform your heart to His.
2. Praying is depending on God, not manipulating God. (7-8)
Jesus turns to the Gentiles/pagans’ approach to prayer, which was piling up words, thinking the sheer amount would force their gods to respond. Think for a second about the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18:26.
“And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made.”
There are some pretty comical parts of the Bible, and this is right there at the top of the list. These prophets of this false god are shouting and dancing all day to get a reaction. Guess what? That’s not prayer. It’s manipulation. It’s pleading for attention. And it’s because Baal doesn’t really exist.
Y’all, God isn’t some cosmic vending machine we can control with the right formula of words. You put in the right amount of money, push the right buttons, and get out what you want. That’s often how we treat prayer. That’s not how it is. You can’t manipulate God. That’s what Jesus is saying here. That’s no different than how the pagans pray. It’s not about the amount of words or seeking to manipulate God.
Real prayer is about depending on God. John Stott says, “When we pray this prayer we are expressing our dependence upon God in every area of human life.”[2] Jesus reminds us in verse 8, “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” Prayer isn’t about giving God new information. He already knows! It’s about shaping our hearts to rely on Him. Prayer is about acknowledging God’s wisdom over our own. Prayer isn’t a way to twist God’s arm. It’s saying, “Lord, I need You.”
So, let’s be like the disciples now. Let’s ask Him. Lord, how should we pray? Jesus gives us the model prayer, and, as it should, it starts with God.
3. In prayer, focus on God first. (9-10)
Jesus starts the Lord’s Prayer with God, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” Before we ask for anything, we must lift up who God is. R. Kent Hughes sums it up perfectly: “God first, man second—that is the ideal order of prayer. His glory before our wants.”[3] God must always come first.
a. God’s name is holy. (9b)
In ancient times, far more so than now, names carried deep meaning. They were tied to a person’s essence. They carried the meaning of who they were and who they were meant to be. “The name in antiquity meant a good deal more than it does with us... the name and the qualities associated with the name went together.”[4] To hallow God’s name means to treat it as sacred. Why would we treat God’s name as sacred? Because it is! Because He is! God’s name represents God’s holiness, His power, His love. When we’re praying “hallowed be thy name,” we’re praying for God’s holiness to be seen everywhere.
Isaiah 6:3 declares, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
Psalm 111:9 adds, “Holy and awesome is his name!”
And it’s not just His name is Holy, but we call are to call Him Father. This isn’t just a generic “He is the Father of all creation” term. It wasn’t common for Jews to pray to God as Father. But Jesus almost constantly referred to God as Father and taught us to pray this way. And it wasn’t a formal term, either. It was the Aramaic word “Abba,” meaning Daddy, or more reverently rendered “Dearest Father.”[5] It is intimate and loving. This is like a child calling out to a loving parent. This is how we are to speak to the holy, holy, holy Lord of hosts. And it’s because, through the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus, by grace through faith, we can become adopted into the family of God and become children of the King.
Galatians 4:4-7 – 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
I saw this quote from Tim Keller just this weekend and thought it was so fitting for this, especially thinking of how we are to approach God in prayer. He said, “The only person who dares wake up a king at 3:00 a.m. for a glass of water is a child. We have the kind of access.” Amen! That is how we approach the King of the Kings and the Lord of Lords!
b. God’s kingdom is here and coming. (10a)
“Your kingdom come” recognizes that Christ’s kingdom is both present and still to come. In Mark 1:15 Jesus came preaching at the beginning of His ministry, “The kingdom of God is at hand,” but we still await its complete arrival, when “the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ” (Revelation 11:15). This is the already/not-yet tension of inaugurated eschatology. We long for the day every knee bows to Jesus (Philippians 2:10-11), but we also pray His reign shows in our obedience today.
Sinclair Ferguson writes, “No one can rightly pray, ‘Your kingdom come,’ or ‘Come, Lord Jesus’ (Rev. 22:20) without here and now bringing his life into conformity with the will of God.”[6] This means living as kingdom citizens, letting God’s rule shape our decisions, our relationships, our priorities right now and praying fervently for His kingdom to grow more and more on earth now as it currently is in heaven.
c. God’s will is perfect. (10b)
Romans 12:2 describes God’s will as “good, pleasing and perfect.” Jesus modeled this in Matthew 26:39, when praying shortly before His death, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” True prayer aligns us with God’s purposes, not ours. When we pray this, we trust God’s wisdom over our own, finding peace even when we don’t understand or God answers no. By the way, God answers every prayer. He answers either with yes, no, or wait. And His answer is always perfect. And it’s always right on time.
4. In prayer, trust God to provide for all that you need. (11-15)
When you start your prayers with God, aligning yourself with worship and His will, your priorities fall into place—you rightly order your loves—and you trust God with your provision, even when it hasn’t yet arrived. After focusing on God, Jesus tells us to pray for our needs (material, moral, and spiritual), and to trust God to provide for every need.
a. God provides your material necessities. (11)
“Give us this day our daily bread” reminds us of the manna God gave Israel in the wilderness (Exodus 16:4). Each day, God’s people had to trust Him for provision. They had to learn dependence on God. When Jesus was telling them to pray this way, they understood the context directly.
“In Jesus' day, laborers were commonly paid each day for the work they had achieved that day; and the pay was frequently so abysmally low that it was almost impossible to save any of it. Therefore the day's pay purchased the day's food. Moreover, the society was largely agrarian: one crop failure could spell a major disaster. In such a society, to pray "Give us today our daily bread" was no empty rhetoric.”[7]
Every meal, every paycheck, reminds us that God is the source of all good things. This prayer isn’t about luxuries but the essentials we need to live—food, shelter, health, stability. Philippians 4:19 promises, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” James 1:17 adds, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
But hear D.A. Carson’s warning: “Our very ingratitude is an insult to Deity; the present thankless generation is an affront to him. We have taken his gifts for granted; and then when they begin to dry up we complain and call in question the very existence of this beneficent God.”[8] Think of all that God provided for the Israelites with the manna, and they still grumbled and complained. Yet even amidst their complaining, what did God do? He still provided for them. Isn’t God so gracious toward us?
How often do we complain about what we don’t have instead of thanking God for what we do? This prayer reshapes our mindset. When you’re stressed about bills, worried about providing for your family, or anxious about the future, pray this prayer. It reminds you that God sees your needs and will provide. It also calls you to gratitude.
b. God provides your moral deliverance. (13)
Jesus tells us pray, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,” which really should say the “evil one.” James 1:13 makes it clear that God doesn’t tempt, “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’” Now God may lead us into trials to test and strengthen our faith, as He did with Jesus, when He was “led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan” (Matthew 4:1). God didn’t tempt Jesus, but He allowed the temptation.
In the same way, God uses trials in our lives, not to make us fall, but to build our faith, teaching us to lean on His strength. 1 Corinthians 10:13 promises, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape.”
I will never forget my preaching professor, Herschel York’s explanation of how he taught this prayer: “Don’t let my desires and opportunities cross paths.” “When I have the desire to sin, please Lord don’t let me have the opportunity to. When I have the opportunity to sin, please Lord don’t let me have the desire to.” What a great prayer! This acknowledges our true condition. We’re weak. We’re prone to stumble when temptation aligns with our desires, but God provides a way of escape. He provides strength to endure.
c. God provides your spiritual forgiveness. (12, 14-15)
“Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” In Aramaic, sins were called debts.[9] We ask for forgiveness as those who also forgive others, because those who have been forgiven must also become forgivers. Ephesians 1:7 declares, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.” But Jesus warns in verses 14-15, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Jesus later tells a parable in Matthew 18:21-35 that drives this home, further. A servant forgiven an unpayable debt refuses to forgive a tiny one, and it mocks the king’s mercy. Why? Because an unforgiving heart contradicts the grace that was freely received. If you have been forgiven so much, how can you not forgive someone else? Also, if you have sinned against such a holy, holy, holy God, and He offers you such forgiveness that you can approach Him as a child approaches a king in the middle of the night for a drink of water, how could you not accept such a free gift?
Here’s the truth. The gospel. Every one of us has sinned, racking up a debt we could never pay. But Jesus, God the Son, lived the perfect life we couldn’t, died on the cross to pay that debt, and rose from the dead, defeating sin and death. By confessing your need for salvation, that you are a sinner in need of the Savior, and trusting in His sacrifice and resurrection, you receive forgiveness and new life through grace alone. If you’ve never done that, today is the day to turn to Christ, believe, and accept His free gift of grace. To receive forgiveness. To receive life. To rightly order your affections and your pursuits. To begin today to put things in their proper place. To put God at the center.
And it starts with a prayer. And you know what? Jesus just taught us how to pray. Start with God. Trust Him for every need, your daily bread, your moral battles, your spiritual forgiveness. Live for Him, thank Him for provision, rely on His strength in temptation, forgive because He’s graciously forgiven you. And receive the forgiveness He’s freely offered you. And glorify His name.
[1] https://www3.dbu.edu/naugle/pdf/disordered_love.pdf
[2] John Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount (IVP Academic, 1978), 128.
[3] R. Kent Hughes, The Sermon on the Mount: The Message of the Kingdom (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2001), 154.
[4] Leon Morris, The Gospel according to Matthew (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1992), 144-145.
[5] Hughes, 155.
[6] Sinclair B. Ferguson, The Sermon on the Mount: Kingdom Life in a Fallen World (Banner of Truth, 1987), 127.
[7] D.A. Carson, The Sermon on the Mount: An Evangelical Exposition of Matthew 5-7 (Baker Book House, 1978), 67.
[8] Carson, The Sermon on the Mount. 68.
[9] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, 2nd ed. (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2014), 2014, 61.
