![]() ![]() “The name in antiquity stood for far more than it does with us. Name means that God’s whole character, His whole person, is set apart. It is to say that there is no one like God, He is completely unique – not just a super person or a better person. Hallowed be Your name: Hallowed means set apart. Man enters the presence of the Father, and then prays as one of the great family.” (Morgan)Ĭ. This is a prayer focused on community Jesus said, “ Our Father” and not “My Father.” “The whole prayer is social. He sees everything: The Lord’s throne is in heaven His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.He is a God of power and might: But our God is in heaven He does whatever He pleases.He is a God of majesty and dominion: O LORD God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? (2 Chronicles 20:6).He is our Father, but our Father in heaven. When we say “ in heaven” we remember God’s holiness and glory. He is our Father, but He is our Father in heaven. It is true that God is the mighty sovereign of the universe, who created, governs, and will judge all things – but He is also to us a Father. “There is no evidence of anyone before Jesus using this term to address God.” (Carson) It was very unusual for the Jews of that day to call God “ Father” because it was considered too intimate. It rightly recognizes whom we pray to, coming with a privileged title that demonstrates a privileged relationship. Our Father in heaven: The model prayer shows us to come to God as a Father in heaven. Instead, we should follow the counsel of Ecclesiastes 5:2: God is in heaven, and you are on earth therefore let your words be few.ī. When we try to impress God with our many words, we deny that God is a loving, yet holy Father. ![]() The Rabbis had sayings like: “Whoever is long in prayer is heard” and “Whenever the righteous make their prayer long, their prayer is heard.” One famous Jewish prayer began: “Blessed, praised, and glorified, exalted, and honored, magnified and lauded be the name of the Holy One.” This prayer is notable for its simplicity and brevity it is a marvel of powerful prayer put in simple terms. The fact that He did not repeat it the exact same way as in Matthew shows that it was not to be used as a precise ritual or magic formula for prayer. The fact that He repeated it here showed how important it is. When you pray, say: On a previous occasion Jesus taught this same basic prayer (Matthew 6:9-13). (2-4) Pray after this pattern.įor we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.Ī. Apparently John the Baptist had taught his disciples something of how to pray the disciples wanted to learn more from their teacher. As the Apostle Paul would later write in Ephesians 6:18: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. Our greatest difficulty is not with mastering a specific technique or approach in prayer (though that may be good and helpful) our greatest need is simply to pray and to pray more and more. Lord, teach us to pray: Most directly, their request was not to learn how to pray, but to pray. Not power with men, but power with God is the first thing.” (Murray)Ĭ. To know how to speak to God is more than knowing how to speak to man. He did not speak much of what was needed to preach well, but much of praying well. “It is on prayer that the promises wait for their fulfillment, the kingdom for its coming, the glory of God for its full revelation… Jesus never taught His disciples how to preach, only how to pray. Prayer is so simple that the smallest child can pray, but it is so great that the mightiest man of God cannot be said to truly have mastered prayer. Even as the disciples, we need Jesus to teach us to pray. There was something magnetic about the prayer life of Jesus, and the way He prayed showed something of His relationship with God the Father. Lord, teach us to pray: There was something about watching Jesus pray that made them want to learn how to pray as Jesus prayed. They stood there and watched Him, drinking in the power of His prayer, until He was finished.ī. As He was praying in a certain place: Jesus prayed as was His custom, but a request came when He ceased – the disciples allowed Jesus to finish praying. Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”Ī. (1) A request from the disciples: Lord, teach us to pray. ![]()
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