by James T. South - abiblecommentary.com on the lords... · grateful to William Haithcock for his sharp-eyed proofreading. Both have made this a far more useful work than it otherwise

1

“Pray Like This”

A Brief Study of the Lord’s Prayer

by

James T. South

2020

2

Contents

Introduction and Acknowledgments

1 - “Not Like the Hypocrites”: The Lord’s Prayer in Context 2 - “Our Father in Heaven”: Knowing to Whom We Pray 3 - “Hallowed Be Your Name”: Honoring God Through His Name 4 - “Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done”: Praying for the Kingdom Present and Future 5 - “Our Daily Bread”: Acknowledging God as the Source of Life 6 - “Forgive Us, as We Have Forgiven”: Seeing Others as We See Ourselves 7 - “Deliver Us from Evil”: Seeking God’s Protection Appendix - “For Thine Is the Kingdom”: What Happened to the Doxology?

3

Introduction and Acknowledgments

In the summer of 2018 I preached a seven-part series of sermons on the Lord’s Prayer. This was the first time I had systematically studied and and preached through the Prayer, and it was a rewarding experience for me. The series was well received by the good people at the Glen Allen Church of Christ (Glen Allen, VA), and I thought it might be worthwhile to further develop these lessons and put them in written form. So, here they are. As I prepared these sermons, I did not use a large number of reference works, but included more in the preparation of the following chapters. These I have footnoted for those who might want to look into them further. The Lord’s Prayer has had a rather strange history among Churches of Christ, for reasons that will be given later. On the one hand, we have honored it as Scripture and as a significant portion of our Lord’s teachings. But on the other, based partly on our aversion to set liturgical forms, we have eyed it with a degree of suspicion and have not always felt comfortable in its presence. I hope the following chapters will help to

4

alleviate at least some of that discomfort by clearing up some confusion regarding the prayer and its proper use. As always, I am indebted to others for their help in producing what follows. These include those who have gone before me in their thinking, preaching, and writing on the Lord’s Prayer, as well as present friends who have made valuable suggestions and helped me put my thoughts into readable form. I am indebted to Dr. C. Philip Slate for his generous use of time in reading through this manuscript and offering thoughtful critiques and suggestions. Also, as with my earlier work on Proverbs, I am deeply grateful to William Haithcock for his sharp-eyed proofreading. Both have made this a far more useful work than it otherwise would have been. I am hopeful that these chapters will be helpful to any Christian who takes time to read them. But as always, I especially hope they will be useful to preachers and teachers in sharing with others the richness of God’s word, especially on the subject of prayer. May God bless all who make use of them in any way. You will notice that this work is not copyrighted. You are free to print it, quote it, or pass it on to others as much as you like. My only requests are that you not alter it in any way, and that if you see fit to

5

share it with others, that you do so without charge. May God bless you abundantly in learning more of His word, especially about His Son Jesus, and particularly on the subject of prayer.

James T. South April, 2020

6

1

“Not Like the Hypocrites”: The Lord’s Prayer in Context

A little boy went with his dad to run some errands. At lunchtime they

went to a favorite restaurant, and when the food came, the father said,

“Son, we’ll just have a silent prayer for the food.” Both bowed their heads.

The father finished his prayer and looked up, but the little boy was still

praying. He waited and waited, and still the little fellow didn’t look up.

Finally the boy finished and his dad asked him, “What were you praying for

that took so long?” The boy answered, “How do I know? It was a silent

prayer.”

There is a lot we don’t know about praying, isn’t there! Even Jesus’

disciples struggled with this. On one occasion (Luke 11:1), one of them

said, “Lord, teach us to pray as John taught his disciples.” And Jesus did.

This was an interesting request, because as devout Jews there is little

question that the apostles were men of prayer, yet they felt somehow that,

compared to Jesus’ prayers at least, their praying was lacking something.

Don’t we all feel that way at times?

7

Another time Jesus taught his disciples to pray is found in Matthew

6:9-13, which is a portion of the Sermon on the Mount. We call it “The

Lord’s Prayer.” Some prefer to call it “The Model Prayer,” but either way, it

is a significant text for our understanding of Jesus’ own prayer life and for

how He wants us to pray as well.1 Since Jesus said, “Pray like this” as He

taught this prayer, I think it’s imperative that we spend some time with it

in order to know better how to pray and what to pray for. So I’m glad you

are joining me in this study.

As often happens with Scriptures, especially very familiar ones, we

sometimes fail to pay attention to the context of the Lord’s Prayer

(hereafter abbreviated as LP), and as a result we may miss something

important that Jesus intended to teach us. So our first task is to see the LP

in context.

How To, and How Not To

Notice first that the LP is both a lesson in “How to Pray,” but also

1Luke 11:2-4 contains a very similar prayer, but the context seems to be different from that in

Matthew 6, so many regard it as an example of Jesus’ teaching His disciples to pray on a

separate occasion, while some believe it is the same prayer, edited by Luke and placed in a

different context. For this study we will confine ourselves to Matthew 6:9-13.

8

“How NOT to Pray.” Before Jesus says a word about how to pray, He says

how not to do it.

His teaching on prayer is part of a larger discussion that begins in

6:1: “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order

to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father

who is in heaven.”2 “Beware,” Jesus says, because false motives in our

outward devotions to God can have dire consequences, specifically, the

failure to receive any reward from God. And motives can be tricky things,

can’t they! In this context Jesus discusses not only prayer, but also fasting

and giving to the poor. Alms (giving to the poor), fasting, and prayer were

considered the three principle acts of Jewish piety. They are what the

individual Jew did to express his personal devotion to God, in addition to

public worship in the synagogues or the offering of sacrifices and

observance of festivals at the Temple. So Jesus says, when giving, don’t

make a show of it in order to call attention to your generosity. Rather, “Do

not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” (An obvious

exaggeration, but you get the point.) When fasting, don’t “disfigure your

face” to be sure everyone knows how pious (and miserable!) you are.

2Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the English Standard Version.

9

Rather, go about your business without letting others know. God will know,

and that’s all you need.

“And when you pray,” Jesus says, “you must not be like the

hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the

street corners, that they may be seen by others” (6:5). Instead, pray in

secret so that God, who sees all, even what is done in secret, will reward

you. Jesus clearly has in mind here Jewish hypocrites (since he mentions

“synagogues”) who make a show of their piety. But there are other bad

examples to be avoided as well.

“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles

do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be

like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (6:7-

8). The Gentiles’ “many words” probably refers to the pagan tendency to

use as many titles for as many gods as one could think of, in hopes of

placating them all. The use of so “many words” in order to get what we

want from God is actually an attempt to manipulate God into doing our will,

rather than seeing prayer as a way of submitting our will to His.

So we need to ask, what exactly is Jesus teaching against here,

10

especially in regard to prayer? What is He saying not to do?

First, we should note that He is not teaching against public prayers.

The expression “Our Father,” which opens the LP, assumes praying in the

company of others, since the pronoun is plural. Also, Paul gives instructions

about public prayers in 1 Timothy 2, and Acts 2:42 records that the earliest

church “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to

the breaking of bread and the prayers.”3 So there’s nothing wrong with

praying in public in the company of other believers. As Robert Guelich says,

the issue here is not public worship, but “worship for publicity.”4

Likewise, Jesus is not prohibiting lengthy prayers. Luke 6:12 says

Jesus prayed all night before selecting His twelve apostles. And the Old

Testament offers examples of lengthy prayers, such as Solomon’s prayer at

the dedication of the Temple, which runs from 1 Kings 8:22-53 - and then

adds a benediction.

What Jesus is teaching against is praying (or giving, or fasting) “in

3It should be noted that Acts 2:42 uses the definite article, “the prayers,” and is a reference to the

church’s collective prayers, not simply to praying in general. NIV and some others omit the

article (“and to prayer”), making it seem as if Luke is referring to “prayer” in general rather than

to the church’s corporate prayers

4Robert A. Guelich, The Sermon on the Mount: A Foundation for Understanding (Word, 1982)

281.

11

order to be seen by others,” i.e., making it about you rather than about

God. Our prayers, acts of charity, and all expressions of worship, whether

public or private, should flow from our relationship with God and our desire

for fellowship with Him, and not with a desire to gain the recognition of

other people. Why? Because if human recognition is all we seek, that’s all

we’ll get. But if our praying, fasting, and giving are for God, only He will

see, and He will reward us appropriately. Comparing what Jesus says here

to Matthew 5:16, where He says we are “to let our light shine before men,”

A. B. Bruce says we are to “Show when tempted to hide, hide when

tempted to show.”5

So in contrast to the hypocrites and Gentiles, Jesus says, “pray then

like this,” and gives us the LP as a model to follow.

Brief, Direct, & to the Point

If someone today were to write a manual on prayer, can you imagine

it containing only fifty-two words? That’s the length of the prayer Jesus

taught when read in the ESV. In Greek it is only fifty-seven words

5A. B. Bruce, The Expositor’s Greek Testament: The Synoptic Gospels, ed. by W. Robertson

Nicoll (Reprinted by Eerdmans, 1974), 116.

12

(counting the nine definite articles), and forty of those fifty-seven are only

one syllable. Only three words have as many as three syllables, and none

are longer than three. It would be hard to imagine a simpler prayer than

this.

So what, you might ask? Well, for one thing it teaches us that verbal

eloquence certainly isn’t a requirement for prayer. Also, that there is no

special “prayer vocabulary” that we must use when addressing God. (This

is important, I think, since so many of us learn to pray from hearing the

“formal” prayers said during worship, where the language used may be

lofty, but often is non-specific.) Jesus shows us that our prayers are to be

the humble, gentle outpouring of our hearts. John Bunyan once wrote,

“Better that your heart has no words, than that your words have no heart.”

The LP clearly supports Bunyan’s observation.

The LP is also clear in teaching what we are to pray about. It begins

with praise to the God to whom we pray. Then there is to be prayer for the

advancement of God’s kingdom, that His will be done on earth as it is in

heaven. Next, we are to pray for our daily needs, realizing that God is the

source of all we have. Likewise, we are to pray about our need for

13

forgiveness, even as we are in the process of forgiving others. Finally, we

are to pray for deliverance from evil (or, “the evil one” - more about that

later).

Notice how much of the LP centers on spiritual concerns rather than

material ones. Looking at it statistically, it’s four to one. Is that how we

pray?

Readers of the ESV and other translations more recent than the King

James may wonder why the last line is missing: “For thine is the kingdom

and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.” It’s missing from

later translations because it isn’t found in the earliest manuscripts of

Matthew, although it is present in brackets in some, with an explanatory

note about its absence. It was most likely added very early in the church’s

history due to the Jewish practice of ending prayers with a “doxology”

(literally, a “word of praise”), and also because the LP began to be recited

in unison in Christian worship and seemed to need something to “round it

off” with an appropriate conclusion. When the LP is said in unison today,

the last line is almost always included, simply because it is so familiar to

everyone that it would be hard to say it without that last line. After all,

14

every good prayer has to have an “Amen”!6

Should We Pray This Prayer Today?7

This may seem like an odd question to some, but it isn’t unimportant,

especially for those of us who are the heirs of the American Restoration

Movement. Alexander Campbell, one of the leading figures of this rigorous

“back to the Bible” movement in the 19th Century, said that believers today

definitely should not pray the LP. In a brief note in the Millennial Harbinger

in 1858,8 Campbell wrote that no Christian can properly say this prayer

because of the phrase “your kingdom come.” Again, some will wonder,

“Why not? What’s the problem with praying the Lord’s Prayer today?”

Campbell had a rather flat view of the meaning of the term

“kingdom” in Scripture. Based on Matthew 16:18-19, where the terms

“church” and “kingdom” occur in close proximity, Campbell concluded that

“kingdom” refers to the church and only to the church. And since the

church is now established, he reasoned, it is improper to pray for its

6For a fuller discussion of the doxology, see the Appendix.

7For more on this question see Chapter 4.

8Volume 1, p. 42.

15

coming. Therefore the LP became invalid on the Day of Pentecost when the

church was established.9 It’s all a very neat proposition, and it has affected

our beliefs and practice down to this very day. In fact, some people teach

that when you encounter the word “kingdom” in the New Testament, you

should simply insert the word “church,” and you will have the correct

understanding of the text. Due to this faulty interpretation, the prayer is

almost never prayed in Restoration churches.10

But Campbell overlooked the fact that, while the church is the current

manifestation of God’s kingdom on earth, the kingdom hasn’t fully come

and won’t until Jesus comes again. He also ignored the fact that heaven is

sometimes referred to in Scripture as “the kingdom,” and that it is perfectly

proper to pray for the arrival of that reality. For example, facing the

nearness of his own death, Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 4:18, “The Lord will

rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly

kingdom.” And, I’m pretty sure Paul was already in the church! Likewise, in

1 Corinthians 15:50 he wrote, “I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood

9Acts chapter 2.

10I am referring here to praying collectively, reciting the LP together in worship. It is impossible

to know what individual believers do or do not do in their private devotions, which is as it should

be.

16

cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the

imperishable.” Peter struck the same chord when he urged Christians to

“be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you

practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be

richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord

and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:10-11). So while the church is without

doubt the present manifestation of God’s kingdom on earth, there is still a

heavenly dimension to the kingdom that is yet to come. Jesus was teaching

us to pray for the full realization of that reality.11

The sad reality is this: Jesus said to pray, “Your kingdom come,” but

Campbell said we shouldn’t. And we listened to Campbell rather than to

Jesus.

Others object to reciting the LP on the grounds that it has often

become part of a liturgical formula that is said in unison every week in

many churches. The hazard of this is that its recitation may become a

11This is similar to Paul’s prayer in 1 Corinthians 16:22, “Our Lord, come!” That did not mean

Jesus had not already come, but that there is more to come. It is the same with God’s kingdom,

and Christians definitely should pray for that full realization of God’s purposes. C. Philip Slate

observes that in Matthew 6:33, Jesus surely is not teaching that we are to “seek first the church!

Rather, we are to keep on seeking ‘God’s rule,’ His will in our lives.” He adds that he once heard

the late Harvey Floyd, professor of Greek at Lipscomb University, remark how odd it would be

that this petition should so soon become obsolete after being taught as a model! (Private

correspondence with C. Philip Slate, March 12, 2020).

17

matter of routine and the prayer said without much thought to its meaning

or content. In this case, the LP itself can become like those “empty

phrases” Jesus said the Gentiles “heap up” and which we should never do.

But this danger isn’t unique to the LP. In fact, it can happen with any

public prayer. When the whole church is being led in prayer, there is

always the danger that our heads may be bowed, but our minds may be

far from the assembly and from the prayer’s content. The problem isn’t

with the prayer itself, but with the heart of the worshiper. And don’t we

sometimes invent our own prayer formulas that get used over and over?

I’m thinking here of “Guide, guard, and direct us, and bring us back at the

next appointed time,” and other stock phrases that are standard in many

churches. I’ve even heard Christians say that when Brother So-and-so

prays, you can almost say the entire prayer a step ahead of him, because

he always says exactly the same thing.12 And what about other parts of

worship that we do every week? Does the Lord’s Supper lose meaning

because it is repeated week after week, or because we do it together? The

problem isn’t with either the Lord’s Supper or the Lord’s Prayer, but with

12Note that this is not intended as a criticism of anyone’s best efforts at leading the church in

prayer, only to make the point that we sometimes have our own “liturgies” even while denying

that we do.

18

our attitudes as we worship, and it’s up to us to see to it that our

participation is anything but thoughtless.

So should we pray the Lord’s Prayer in worship today (or even in our

private prayers)? Allow me to make the following three suggestions:

1. Whether we use Jesus’ exact words or not, we should by all means

pray as He taught us to pray. Otherwise, “Pray like this” loses all meaning,

and we are disregarding our Lord’s instructions.

2. Never should we recite these words thoughtlessly and without

thinking of the meaning of each and every word. The LP is not a magic

formula that brings miraculous results or divine protection simply by being

recited. And it isn’t only the LP that we should not pray without thinking of

what we are saying; the same is true of any prayer, either private or

public.

3. It seems to me that at times we should say these very words

together (whether every Sunday or not), if for no other reason than to

remind us of what Jesus taught, that we should pray simply, thoughtfully,

and trustingly in the goodness of our Father in heaven.

Let me encourage you to pray these words right now, thinking deeply

19

about the meaning of each word and each line as you pray.

“Pray then like this. . . .”

Think About It

1. Read Matthew 6:7-15 and Luke 11:1-4. What are the similarities and differences between the two versions of the Lord’s Prayer? What does the setting of each suggest about whether or not these are the same prayer, or an example of Jesus’ teachings on prayer on two separate occasions? What does the presence of two versions of the prayer in Scripture suggest about the need to say the exact words that Jesus said? 2. How literally do you think we should take Jesus’ words about praying in our room (“closet”), giving so that one hand doesn’t know what the other is doing, and fasting in secret? Why do you think as you do? 3. Compare Matthew 6:1-6 with Matthew 5:16. How can we “let our shine before men” if we are always doing our praying, giving, and fasting “in secret”? Is Jesus talking about the same subject in both texts? 4. Where do most of us learn to pray, especially the language we tend to use in our private prayers? How does this color our thinking about what is appropriate “prayer language” and what is not? 5. How do you think the content of most of our prayers today compares to the content of Matthew 6:9-16? If there are differences, why do you think they exist? 6. Have you ever heard the Lord’s Prayer recited in a congregation of the Church of Christ? If not, what do you think is probably the reason? 7. How can we make use of the Lord’s Prayer in worship without it becoming simply a formula that we recite?

20

2

“Our Father in Heaven”: Knowing to Whom We Pray

When I was in high school, I attended an awards dinner one evening,

where the invocation was given by a priest from another town, someone I

had never seen before. I’ll never forget how he began his prayer: “O thou

Ground of All Being. . . .” I had never heard anyone pray that way, and I

found myself wondering, “What is a ‘Ground of All Being’?” And I still

wonder if the man who said it knew what he meant.13

That isn’t how Jesus taught us to pray in the LP. He said, “Pray then

like this: Our Father in heaven.” The phrase “Our Father” is so identified

with the LP that the prayer itself is sometimes referred to as “The Our

Father.”14 The LP is not the first time in Matthew that Jesus has referred to

God as “Father.” In giving instructions about fasting, giving, and prayer, He

13C. Philip Slate recalls that in the 1960s, when some were enamored with Paul Tillich’s

“Ground of all being” concept, someone prayed, “O Thou Ground of all Being, Thou hope of our

eschatological expectations, Thou. . . .” And God said, “Who?” (Private correspondence, March

12, 2020).

14In the early 1990s I took a plaque containing the LP as a gift to the Minister of Religion in a

Ukrainian city where we had established a church. It was written in English, so I asked him if he

knew what it was. He was not an English speaker, but he smiled appreciatively as he gazed at the

plaque and said, “Our Father.” He may have been a communist, but he clearly was not an atheist.

21

referred to God as Father five times (“Your Father who sees in secret will

reward you.” “Pray to your Father in secret.” “Your Father knows what you

need before you ask,” etc.) And, He does it twice more in the LP itself:

“Your heavenly Father will also forgive you. . . neither will your Father

forgive your trespasses” (6:14-15).

I may not understand “Ground of All Being,” but I understand

“Father,” because I had a father and have known many other fathers (but

have never met a “Ground of All Being” - at least, not to my knowledge).

So I’m glad Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father in heaven.”

Is It Really That Important?

Addressing God as “Father” may have more significance than we

realize, since we’re so used to that expression. Part of its significance goes

back to Jesus’ instructions not to babble like the Gentiles when we pray

(6:7). The problem with them is, they don’t know to whom they pray, and

that’s why they use so many words for “god,” most of them meaningless.

But as followers of Jesus, we do know: we pray to “our Father.”

What Jesus was teaching here was not entirely new, because

22

Judaism knew the imagery of God as Father. When Moses was sent to

Pharaoh, the Lord told him to say, “Thus says the LORD, Israel is my

firstborn son, and I say to you, ‘Let my son go that he may serve me”

(Exodus 4:22). And when Israel was about to enter the Promised Land

after wandering in the wilderness, Moses said, “The LORD your God who

goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt

before your eyes, and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the

LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you

went until you came to this place” (Deuteronomy 1:30-31). One of the

most beautiful of all the Psalms says, “As a father shows compassion to his

children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. For he

knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust” (Psalms 103:13). And

Proverbs 3:12 says, “For the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a

father the son in whom he delights.”

So the “Father” imagery wasn’t new, but there was something new in

what Jesus taught: that His followers could address God directly as “our

Father in heaven.” This was certainly not the normal Jewish address to God

in prayer. Calling God “Our Father” is far more intimate, yet intimate and

23

respectful at the same time. Notice that in the Old Testament examples

given above, God describes His actions toward Israel as “like a father,” but

He is not directly addressed as “Father” in the way Jesus now teaches us

to do in the LP.15

What “Our Father” tells us about God

Thinking of and addressing God as “our Father” gives a positive

image of God, which in turn serves as an encouragement to pray. And not

just to pray, but to pray boldly.

I’m sure Jesus realized that the word “Father” would not produce the

same image in everyone’s mind. While for many, “father” creates thoughts

of warmth, love, and support, for others “father” is that person who

ignored or abandoned or abused them. In teaching others about God, it is

important that they understand what kind of “Father” He is.

Jesus is obviously thinking of the typical ancient Jewish image of a

father as a protector and provider for his children, who cannot protect and

provide for themselves. So if you have negative images of fatherhood

15However, as R.T. France points out, the address “Our Father who art in heaven” does occur in

some Jewish prayers (Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary [IVP, 1985] 138).

24

based on your own past, don’t let those stand in the way of thinking of

God as your Father. If your father wasn’t what he should have been, be

thankful that you have a heavenly Father who is what you wish your father

had been, but who is much more than you can even imagine. God is a

loving Father who longs for His children to bring their concerns, needs, and

requests to Him.

Jesus’ other teachings encourage us to think of God in this positive

way, especially as a motivation to pray. For example, the Parable of the

Persistent Widow (Luke 18:1-8) is designed to encourage us “always to

pray and not lose heart.” If we read this parable and conclude that God is

like the “unjust judge,” we have missed the point entirely. Jesus is not

teaching His followers that if we badger God sufficiently, He will give us

what we want. Rather, He is the opposite of that. He is the One who “will

give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night.” If even an unjust

judge will give what is asked, how much more will our Father in heaven!

The Parable of the Friend at Midnight (Luke 11:5-10) teaches a similar

lesson. Again, God is not like an inconvenienced friend who just wants us

to go away and leave Him alone. Rather, the point is that if even someone

25

like that will give us what we ask, how much more will God do so. Notice

that to this parable Jesus adds these words: “What father among you, if

his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he

asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know

how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly

Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:11-12). Most

likely Jesus specifically mentions the giving of the Holy Spirit as the

ultimate gift that could be given to anyone (see Acts 2:36-38, 5:32). If God

is willing to do that for us, there is no limit to the good He will do if we only

ask Him. Jesus encourages us to pray, because a loving Father both hears

and answer our prayers.

Likewise, thinking of God as “Father” helps us understand His nature.

Rather than an impersonal, indifferent force in the universe (that “Ground

of All Being” the priest prayed to?), God is a “person,” someone we can

talk to, someone who cares. He is not vindictive or harsh, but loving and

providing, “who gives generously to all without reproach,” James 1:5 says.

And He is not distant from us, someone “out there” whom we must find by

our own devices, but One who seeks an intimate relationship with us. Paul

26

said, He is “not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:27), and Jesus says we

can - and must - “know” Him (John 17:3), for only in doing so can we find

eternal life.

All of this is fully in harmony with the urging of Hebrews 4:16, which

tells us that, because Jesus is our sympathetic High Priest, we should “with

confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy

and find grace to help in time of need.” The throne upon which our Father

sits is a “throne of grace,” and because it is, we can pray “with

confidence.” We should ask boldly and pray big prayers.

You would never have that encouragement if you prayed to “The

Ground of All Being.” But you have it if you pray to your Father who is in

heaven.

Why “In Heaven”?

Because there are so many concepts of what a father is, it is

important for us to put “our Father” in the proper perspective. He is “our

Father who is in heaven.” Theologians use the word “transcendence” to

describe the fact that God is completely different from us, that He exists

27

outside of us, and in fact, outside the entire universe, as its Creator and

Lord. He “transcends” anything we might compare to Him; He is beyond it,

greater than all.

Because of that transcendence, He is the Father whom we love, but

also the God we respect and worship. No matter how intimately we may

come to know Him, He is never our “heavenly pal,” our “BFF.” Rather, He

is always to be obeyed and never to be disregarded or ignored.

That’s why He is not, contrary to what many think and say, the

Father of everyone. Oh, He is the “Father” of all in the sense that

everything comes from Him. But in the sense in which Jesus speaks of

Him, of knowing Him, being in relationship with Him, He is “Father” only to

those who are His people. Please don’t miss this point: No matter who you

are, God wants to be your Father in every sense of that word. But He will

not be until you are “born anew of water and the Spirit” as Jesus taught

(John 3:5). That new birth is what makes you God’s child in the spiritual

sense, in the “salvation sense.”

Remember what Paul said about “our Father in heaven”:

The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of

28

heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he

served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he

himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he

made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of

the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of

their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel

their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from

each one of us. . . .” (Acts 17:24-27).

And that is why we can pray, “Our Father in heaven,” and know that

He hears, cares, and will answer.

Think About It

1. Explain in your own words how praying to God as “Father” stands in contrast to what Jesus says about the way the “hypocrites” and “Gentiles” pray (6:5-8). 2. Read Matthew 6:7-8. If God “knows what you need before you ask him,” why do we need to pray? Why doesn’t God simply supply our needs without prayer? What changes when we pray? 3. Read Exodus 4:18-23. Why do you think God instructed Moses to emphasize to Pharaoh that Israel was His “firstborn son”? What did that have to do with letting the Israelites go free? What was the significance of being the “firstborn”?

29

4. Read Psalms 103:1-14. How do these verses serve as an encouragement to pray? 5. Read Luke 18:1-8 and 11:5-12. How do we know that Jesus isn’t teaching in these parables that God is like the unjust judge or the bothered friend, who can finally be coerced into giving us what we ask for? 6. Read Acts 17:22-31. What do you think Paul means in verse 27 when he says that God “is actually not far from each one of us”? How does this serve as an incentive to pray? Why was it necessary to give this description of God to this particular audience? (See verses 16-21).

30

3

“Hallowed Be Your Name”: Honoring God Through His Name

Do you like your name? Some people do, but others don’t. Some

even go so far as to change their names to something of their own

choosing rather than the name their parents gave them. I’ve always been

thankful my parents chose to name me after my dad’s father, James

Thomas South, rather than after my mother’s grandfather, Thaddeus

Cornelius Baldwin. That’s a good biblical name, but it would have been a

little hard to live with growing up in a small West Texas town.

Names are important for lots of reasons. Some researchers claim that

your name has a lot to do with determining your vocational and financial

success in life. For example, some studies suggest that if your name is

easy to pronounce, others will interact more favorably with you than if it

isn’t, or that you’re more likely to get hired if you have a common name, or

that if you have a distinguished-sounding name, you’re more likely to be

hired for a more responsible position, or that using your middle initial as

31

part of your name causes people to assume that you are smart and/or

competent. Some claim that most CEOs are men with shorter names (think

Tim Cook, Bill Gates, etc.). I don’t know how much of that is true - or if

any of it is - but I do know that no matter what your name, you want to be

treated with respect. One of the first rules of good personal interactions is

to learn people’s names and learn how to pronounce them correctly. That’s

a sign that you respect them. If you don’t bother to remember them, or if

you consistently mispronounce their name, it suggests (rightly or wrongly)

that they don’t matter to you very much.

If we associate our own names with respect, how much more should

we respect the name of God? So it isn’t surprising that when Jesus taught

us to pray, the very first petition of the LP was, “Hallowed be your name.”16

What Does “Hallowed” Mean?

16Gary Burke makes the important observation that “hallowed be your name” is in fact a petition

(“may your name be held sacred”) and not a declarative statement, even though most English

translations (the NIV is an exception) make it appear to be one by putting a period after it. In

reality, Burke points out, there is grammatical parallelism evident in the first three petitions

(“hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done”). All three have the same

structure in Greek: an aorist imperative third person singular verb, article, noun, and genitive

personal pronoun. He suggests that all three petitions are a unit and are all three intended to be

taken with the words “on earth as it is in heaven.” Taken this way, the first petition is, “May

your name be held sacred on earth as it is in heaven.” (Gary Burke, personal correspondence

with C. Philip Slate, March 30, 2020).

32

“Hallowed be your name” is an expression that many of us have

heard most of our lives - but what does it actually mean? I grew up

hearing it pronounced “hallow-ed,” but that doesn’t help much with

understanding its meaning.

The Greek word that underlies the English word “hallowed”17 comes

from the same root as the word for “holy.” So “hallowed be your name”

means something like, “May your name be regarded as holy.” “May your

name be sanctified.” But why is that so important that Jesus would put it

as the first petition of the LP?

In ancient times a name wasn’t just a label. A person’s name stood

for the person him/herself. It represented all that was true and

characteristic of that individual. This is clearly the case with God’s name in

Scripture. When God revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush

(Exodus 3), Moses asked what he should tell the people of Israel about

who had sent him. God replied: “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM18

17Hagiazo - treat as holy, sanctify.

18Since the Hebrew alphabet has no vowels, this name is spelled YHWH, and is sometimes

called the “Tetragrammaton” (written in four letters). It is a form of the Hebrew verb “to be,”

and this accounts for the variety of translations in various English Bibles. It is articulated in

English as “Yahweh,” arrived at by supplying the two vowels. “Jehovah” is a variation of this

English transliteration. In most English translations it is indicated by writing “the LORD,” using

all capitals, a practice followed in this study.

33

has sent me to you. . . . The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of

Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’

This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all

generations.” What does “I AM” mean? Probably something like, “I am the

one true God,” the One who is and always will be. It indicates God’s self-

sufficiency and self-authentication. He simply is “The One Who Is.” This

name identified the One who had been faithful to Abraham, Isaac, and

Jacob, and who will now be there for His people Israel as they enter into a

covenant relationship with Him. All of this is wrapped up in God’s covenant

name. This is why Psalms 9:10 can say, “Those who know your name put

their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek

you.” God’s name represents his faithfulness. So with Psalms 90:7: “Some

trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD

our God.”

In Isaiah 30:27 the prophet declares, “Behold, the name of the LORD

comes from afar, burning with his anger, and in thick rising smoke; his lips

are full of fury, and his tongue is like a devouring fire.” So God’s name can

stand for more than just His faithfulness. It represents the totality of His

34

character and nature.

So “hallowing” or sanctifying God’s name is important, because His

name represents God Himself. But what is Jesus teaching us to pray for in

saying, “Hallowed be your name”? William Barclay19 suggests that since the

basic meaning of holiness is differentness or uniqueness, the prayer is that

God’s name will be treated differently than all others, that it will stand

apart as unique. A. B. Bruce thinks it means that God’s name alone be held

in reverence, unlike the practice of “the Gentiles” mentioned in Matthew

6:7-8, who prayed to many “gods.”20 R.T. France sees the reference as a

petition that God’s name will be honored in the world rather than flagrantly

dishonored as it so often is today.21 Others suggest that “Hallowed be your

name” indicates a longing for that final Day when God’s name is honored

by all. There is likely some truth in all of these ideas. Followers of Jesus

pray that our heavenly Father’s name will be honored, respected, treated

as sacred, reverenced by all, “on earth as it is in heaven.” And we pray for

19William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible: Matthew, Volume 1 (Westminster, 1958) 205.

20A. B. Bruce, 120.

21“This clause may express both the desire to see God truly honored as God in the world today,

and an eschatological longing for the day when all men acknowledge God as the Lord” (France,

139).

35

that day when it will be held in reverence by all, unlike the shameful

disrespect shown toward God’s name by so many today.

How Do We “Hallow” God’s Name?

First of all, we hallow God’s name by recognizing the kind of God He

is. Hebrews 1:16 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for

whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he

rewards those who seek him.” That’s what God was telling Moses when He

sent him to Egypt: “Remind them of the kind of God I am; one who has

been and always will be faithful to His people; one who desire is to bless

the world; one who is not far from each one of us.” When we believe that

about God, we will respect His name.

We also hallow God’s name when we are continually aware of Him.

Not just when we’re at church, not only when we’re praying, but always

aware of His presence in our lives. Face it: there is no such thing as a

“part-time disciple.” Jesus dealt with that when He encountered people

who wanted to “first” go and bury their dead and “first” take care of other

business than the business of the kingdom. But there is no such thing as

36

honoring God “some of the time.” To not honor Him at all times is not to

honor Him at all. If we don’t live our lives each and every day - at work, at

home, at school, or wherever we happen to be - by being mindful of God,

then we don’t truly honor His name. But when we are mindful of Him

always, we honor Him, and others will see that we do, and some will honor

Him as well.

Another way of hallowing God’s name is by being obedient to Him.

Jesus once asked, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell

you?”22 The term “Lord” implies Lord-ship, that we are following Jesus in

whatever He tells us. So if we truly honor God’s name, we will do as God’s

word directs us to do. When Scripture teaches us to “Repent and be

baptized,”23 we won’t quibble about it; we’ll just do it. When He tells us to

worship Him, we won’t debate each week whether or not to assemble with

other Christians; we’ll just do it. When He tells us to live lives of holiness,

we will live in holiness - all in order to honor Him whose name is holy.

One way of hallowing God’s name that we dare not overlook is by

speaking his name only in sacred ways. One of the most distressing

22Luke 6:46

23Acts 2:38

37

characteristics of our age is the loose and profane way God’s name is used,

both in everyday speech and in the media. There was a time (not that long

ago) when it was considered disrespectful and in bad taste to use God’s

name loosely - but not any more. I have often thought that one of Satan’s

most effective weapons for turning our society away from God and toward

unbelief is by encouraging the off-handed use of God’s name by the

general public. I often wonder if people are really so verbally challenged

that they cannot think of anything to say when surprised (or pretending to

be) other than, “Oh, my ______!” Even little children learn at an early age

(mostly from media, as well as from their parents) to use God’s name

thoughtlessly, and when they do so, they are almost never corrected, and

their parents show no embarrassment at all. Do you think these children

will grow up to respect and honor God? But even worse, this same sort of

disrespect is often shown by Christians, who are so influenced by our

culture that they toss God’s name around lightly without realizing how they

are dishonoring Him. And yet the Third Commandment still says, “You shall

not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not

hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.”24 Do you know what “in

24Exodus 20:7

38

vain” means? It means “empty,” “meaningless,” or “thoughtless.” And

that’s exactly how God’s name is used by many Christians! Parents, if your

children don’t know that it’s a sin to dishonor God by misusing His name, it

is past time for you to teach them. And start by setting the proper example

yourself.

God’s name will never be held sacred by the world if it isn’t held

sacred by God’s own people.

“Hallowed be your name” is not just a formula to make a prayer

sound lofty and articulate. It should be the prayer that is in the heart of

every follower of Jesus: that the name of the His Father and ours will be

held in honor by all, both now and in the age to come.

Think About It

1. What are some examples of ways we can show either respect or disrespect toward other people by the way we use their names? 2. Read the entire thrid chapter of Exodus. What is God telling Moses (and what is Moses supposed to tell the people) about Himself based on what He says about His name? Based on this chapter, Jehovah’s Witnesses say the only proper way to address God is to call Him “Jehovah.” How would you respond to this claim? 3. Read Psalms 20:1-9. How do these verses show that the “name” of God stands for God Himself?

39

4. In addition to the suggestions made in this chapter, what other ways can you think of to “hallow” God’s name? 5. In what ways can we “hallow” God’s name by what we don’t say? Why do you think even so many Christians fail to hallow God’s name, in spite of Jesus’ prayer and the Third Commandment?

40

4

“Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done”: Praying for the Kingdom Present and Future

In describing one of his remarkable visions, Daniel said, “I saw in the

night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a

son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before

him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all

peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an

everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that

shall not be destroyed.”25

The New Testament later reveals that this “one like a son of man” is

none other than Jesus, who often called Himself “the Son of Man.”26 And

this “kingdom” which He has received from God the Father (the “Ancient of

Days” - i.e., the One who has always existed; similar to the meaning of “I

25Daniel 7:13-14

26This was, in fact, the way Jesus most often referred to Himself. Interestingly, we have no

record of His early followers ever calling Him by this title, and still today it is rare in Christian

worship, appearing only occasionally in hymns. It was, of course, supplanted by the more

explicit title “Son of God.”

41

AM” in Exodus 3) was at the very heart of Jesus’ teachings. For example,

Mark 1:14-15 summarizes Jesus’ message this way: “Now after John was

arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and

saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent

and believe in the gospel’.” Later Jesus instructed His twelve apostles to

proclaim the same message: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter

no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of

Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at

hand’.”27 So the kingdom was their central message, as well as His. And

then there are the well known “Kingdom Parables,” many of which are

found in Matthew 13, and which begin, “The kingdom of heaven is like. . .

.”

So what was this “kingdom”? Daniel 7 helps us here, since it

describes the kingdom as a “dominion. . . that all peoples, nations, and

languages, should serve him. . . an everlasting dominion, which shall not

pass away. . . one that shall not be destroyed.” Obviously from these

descriptive phrases, the kingdom of which Jesus spoke is His ruling

authority over the whole world, His kingship. It isn’t just a place or a

27Matthew 10:5-7

42

specific group; rather, it is the authority which belongs to Him and to Him

alone. So it shouldn’t surprise us that when Jesus taught us to pray, He

taught us to pray about the kingdom: “Your kingdom come.”

What Is It We Are We Praying For?

In order to grasp the significance of this portion of the LP, we need

to understand what Jesus meant by the term “kingdom,” and just what it is

that we are to pray for. As discussed in Chapter 1, Alexander Campbell and

others influenced by him argued that the kingdom is nothing more or less

than the church. That was Campbell’s reason for believing that Christians

should not pray the LP, since the church was established on the Day of

Pentecost. Therefore this portion of the prayer, Campbell believed, has

been fulfilled.

But a brief survey of what the Bible says about the kingdom shows

that this understanding of it is far too narrow. Among those who follow

Campbell’s reasoning, it is not unusual to hear someone suggest that when

we encounter the term “kingdom” in the New Testament, we can simply

substitute the word “church” for it. But this is far from representing what

43

Scripture actually says and in fact leads to a distortion of the biblical

concept of the kingdom. For example, Psalms 103:19 says, “The LORD has

established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.”

When David wrote Psalm 103, the kingdom already existed. (The fact that

the “kingdom rules” shows again that the writer is thinking of kingship and

not “territory.”) “They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of

your power, to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, and

the glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting

kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations.”28 Not

only was the kingdom in existence in the Psalmist’s day, he says it always

will be. In the Old Testament, God’s kingdom is His ruling power and

authority, something that has always existed.

When Jesus came, He made it clear that the kingdom was present in

and during His earthly ministry. He was bringing God’s kingdom to earth in

a new way. That’s why both Jesus and John the Baptizer proclaimed that

the kingdom was “at hand.”29 And since “at hand” could bear more than

one meaning, Matthew 12:28 helps clarify it: “But if it is by the Spirit of

28Psalms 145:11-13

29Matthew 3:2

44

God that I cast out demons, the kingdom of God has come upon you.”

Notice the past tense: Jesus is the “one like a son of man” to whom the

ruling authority of God was given. So when He was present, the kingdom

was present. “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be

observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, there it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the

kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”30 In other words, the kingdom -

God’s ruling authority - was present in Jesus Himself.

Not only does the kingdom have this past-and-present31 dimension,

there is also something about it that is yet to come. Peter urges Christians

to strive to develop the “Christian graces” and to “confirm your calling and

election. . . For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance

into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”32 Paul

concurs when he writes, “I tell you this, brothers, flesh and blood cannot

inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the

imperishable.”33 Both Peter and Paul were writing to those who were

30Luke 17:20-21

31Frequently referred to as the “already and not yet” quality of the kingdom.

322 Peter 1:8-11

331 Corinthians 15:50

45

already Christians, already in the church (“flesh and blood” certainly can

inhabit the church), so the kingdom of which they speak must be

something more.

This is not to deny that the church is God’s kingdom in its present

earthly manifestation. It clearly is that, since Paul says in Colossians 1:13-

14, “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us

to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the

forgiveness of sins.” Believers in Christ who respond to the gospel in

faithful obedience are redeemed, forgiven, and transferred from the

kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of Christ. What a beautiful image of

the church! The church is nothing less than those who have submitted to

God’s rule, and that is what causes us to be part of God’s kingdom, even in

the here and now. And yet the church is far from the totality of the

kingdom, since the kingdom has existed from all eternity (via the rulership

of God) and has a future manifestation for which we wait (the heavenly

kingdom).

So back to the question: What are we to be praying for, if we are to

continue to pray, “Your kingdom come”? Let me suggest at least two

46

things specifically that we are to be praying for.

First, we should pray for the present expansion of God’s kingdom on

earth. Notice that “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is

in heaven” is not two separate requests, but one and the same. God’s

kingdom comes whenever people on earth submit to His authority and do

His will. The prayer is, in one sense, that this will happen more and more

in the present time. In this way it is at least in part a prayer about

evangelism, since only through the gospel will more people come to do

God’s will.

Second, we should pray for the final consummation of God’s

kingdom, for the day when Christ will return. That’s when God’s ruling

authority will be fully manifested once and for all. Scripture shows that this

is something Christians should long for and pray for. In 1 Corinthians 16:22

Paul prayed, “Our Lord, come!” In saying this Paul used the Aramaic

expression used by the earliest Christians: marana tha. And the next-to-last

verse in the Bible says, “‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord

Jesus!”34 Well, the Lord already has come - but He will come again. In

much the same way, the kingdom has come, but by God’s grace there is

34Revelation 22:20

47

more to come, more than we can possibly comprehend. Praying “Come,

Lord Jesus” is the same as praying, “Your kingdom come, your will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.”35

Some Implications Not to Be Overlooked

First, believers today have every reason to pray this prayer, just as

Jesus taught us to do. John had a vision of that great day when God’s

kingdom is established in the new heaven and earth in Revelation 22:1-5:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven

and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven

from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard

a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of

God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people,

and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away

every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall

35“The prayer looks for the full realization of all that the kingdom means and that the will of God

be perfectly done. . . . The prayer looks for the perfect accomplishment of what God wills, and

that in the deeds of those he has created as well as in what he does himself. It points to no

passive acquiescence but an active identification of the worshiper with the working out of the

divine purpose; if we pray that way we must live that way” (Leon Morris, The Gospel According

48

there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain any more, for the former

things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne

said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this

down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

What follower of Jesus would not want that day to come? To see sin and

death abolished, Satan destroyed, and nothing left but God and His people

gathered around His throne, and His will being done on earth as it is in

heaven. Sadly, believers have often been taught to fear the Lord’s

appearing rather than looking forward to it. One result of this is that we

don’t pray for that day to come as we should - we don’t pray as Jesus

taught us to pray. If you are not already praying for God’s kingdom to be

spread throughout the earth and for that day when your Savior will come

again to take you home to be with Him forever, it’s past time to get

started.

But we must remember that only God can bring in His kingdom; only

God can save the world. It seems we are always looking for someone or

something to rescue us: maybe the next president, or the next Supreme

Court justice, or an improved economy, or better stewardship of the planet

to Matthew [Eerdmans, 1992] 145-146.

49

or stronger social programs or a new medication. But when we pray, “Your

kingdom come,” we’re giving up all of that. We are confessing that this

world has but one Savior, and that’s the God who made us, who will rescue

us through His Son who died for our sins, and this poor world’s only hope

is in Him. “This is a prayer for the desperate, who recognize that this world

is not as it should be and that only God can set things straight. . . . the

prayer of those who have nowhere to turn but God.”36

Here’s the point: the coming of God’s kingdom displaces all others. It

should displace them all now in our own hearts and lives, and it will

displace them entirely when that Day comes. Jesus taught us to pray that

the kingdom will come in both senses.

That means that our praying affects divine timing. If it does not, why

did Jesus teach us to pray, “Your kingdom come?” Why not just sit back

and wait? Responding to those who questioned God’s promise to bring this

world to an end and begin a new one, Peter wrote,

But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one

day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The

Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is

36Craig S. Keener, Matthew: The IVP New Testament Commentary Series (IVP, 1997) 141-142.

50

patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all

should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a

thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the

heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and

the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things

are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives

of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of

the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and

dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But

according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new

earth in which righteousness dwells.37

Do you long for a new world in which righteousness is the order of

the day, rather than all of the sin and sickness that prevails today? Do you

want to see justice done without fail and everything just as it should be?

Then you need to be praying - because our prayers, Peter says, “hasten”

the coming of the day of God. An amazing thought, and one which tells us

something important about the work of the church: part of that work is to

be prayerful about the ultimate fulfilling of God’s plans for His world, to be

372 Peter 3:8-13

51

praying, “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in

heaven.” Our prayers make a difference!

If we pray as Jesus taught, no doubt the kingdom will come about

sooner rather than later. But whether we do pray this way or not, it will

come. Are you ready for that day? Jesus preached, “Repent, for the

kingdom of heaven is at hand.” And it still is.

Think About It

1. Read Psalms 145:1-13. How does this text show that God’s kingdom (ruling authority) has always existed, and didn’t just begin on the Day of Pentecost? 2. Read Matthew 12:28 and Luke 17:20-21. How do these texts show that the kingdom was already present during Jesus’ ministry? 3. How does Colossians 1:13-14 show that Christians are already part of God’s kingdom? 4. Read 2 Peter 1:11 and 1 Corinthians 15:50, substituting the word “church” for “kingdom.” What happens when you do this? 5. First Corinthians 16:22 and Revelation 22:20 give examples of praying for Jesus to return. Why do you think Christians don’t do more of this? How can we overcome this? 6. Read 2 Peter 3:8-13. In addition to our prayers, are there other ways we can “hasten” the coming of the day of God?

52

5

“Our Daily Bread”: Acknowledging God as the

Source of Life

In 1965 legendary Hollywood actor Jimmy Stewart starred in a film

called “Shenandoah,” the story of a widowed farmer with a large family,

who on the eve of the Civil War was struggling to keep both his farm and

his family intact. His difficulties in life had made him hard and somewhat

bitter. In one scene the family is at the dinner table, and Charlie Anderson

(Stewart’s character) leads his family in this prayer: “Lord, we cleared this

land, we plowed it, sowed it, and harvested; we cooked the harvest. It

wouldn’t be here and we wouldn’t be eatin’ it if we hadn’t done it all

ourselves. We worked dog-bone hard for every crumb and morsel, but we

thank you just the same anyway, Lord, for this food we’re about to eat.

Amen.” It makes you wonder why someone would bother to pray at a meal

at all, if that was their prayer and their attitude!

In the LP Jesus taught us to pray about food - not about giving

thanks at the table (other Scriptures teach that, but not here). Rather, He

53

taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Not, “thank you for

it,” but, “Please continue to supply it.”38

First Things First

38As indicated in the ESV margin, there is an alternative translation of verse 11: “Give us this

day our bread for tomorrow.” In this case the prayer would still be for God to supply our food on

a daily basis, but asking for it a day ahead. The word translated “daily” (epiousion) can be

translated in a variety of ways, including “necessary for existence,” “for today,” “for the

following day,” “for the future,” etc. However, in light of the fact that Jesus says, “Give us this

day” our bread, the translation “daily” makes the most sense. Also, since Jesus says in Matthew

6:25-33 that we should not be anxious “about tomorrow,” including what we will eat, it would

make little sense for Him to teach us in the prayer to ask for “tomorrow’s bread” - especially to

ask for it “today.”

Notice that the request for daily bread marks a shift in the concerns

expressed in the LP. The prayer opens with the desire that God’s name be

held in honor, followed by a prayer for God’s kingdom to come and His will

to be done “on earth as it is in heaven.” And all of that before there is even

one word of asking the Father anything for ourselves. So often we think of

prayer as an exercise in asking for what we need and/or want, a time

when we present our list of concerns, fears, and needs. And it is right that

we make requests of God, for this is something He wants us to do. In fact,

Philippians 4:6 teaches us to ask God about everything that concerns us: if

it is important enough for us to be anxious about it, it is a fitting subject for

54

prayer. When we make our requests known as Paul directs, “the peace of

God which surpasses all understanding” guards our hearts and minds - and

that is no small matter. Who couldn’t use a more peaceful heart?

But before we ask for those things that are of concern to us, we

ought to praise God for who He is, and pray that His name will be honored,

and pray for the advance of His kingdom. You see, prayer isn’t about

seeing how much we can get from a heavenly vending machine; it is about

aligning ourselves with God and His will and becoming part of His agenda

for the world, not making Him the facilitator of our own. Beginning our

prayers with kingdom concerns gives context to our petitions, which are

right and proper in themselves, by showing that we know what is prior and

where our needs and desires fit in to God’s larger agenda.

So the order is important: we are to pray about the kingdom first,

then about our requests, for Jesus says at the end of this chapter, “Seek

first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours

as well” (6:33). A good way to practice getting our priorities straight is to

have them in order when we pray, to “seek the kingdom first” in our

praying, just as in every other area of our lives. Praying in this way will

55

help mold our thinking so that we will put the kingdom in its proper place

on a day-to-day basis.

Down to Basics

And just look at how simple and basic this request in the LP is: “Give

us this day our daily bread.” It’s so basic, in fact, that some early Christian

writers could not believe that it was really just about bread. To go from

praying about the nature of our Father in heaven, the sacredness of His

name, and the desire for His kingdom, to asking for something as mundane

as bread just seemed like too great a leap to them. People such as

Tertullian, Cyprian, and Augustine “spiritualized” the request; they said it

wasn’t about literal bread at all, but about the “spiritual bread” of the Word

of God, or even perhaps about the bread of the Lord’s Supper.39 Surely,

they reasoned, Jesus was not just talking about literal bread. But they were

missing the point. We are to pray about the lofty concerns of God and His

name and His kingdom, but we are also to pray about even the simplest of

things that we need for life - like food. This prayer is an acknowledgment

39John R.W. Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) [Inter-Varsity Press,

1978] 148. Stott also notes the saner comment of Calvin, who describes such spiritualizing as

“exceedingly absurd” (Stott, 149).

56

of what James wrote in James 1:17, that “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.” He wants us to pray

about His nature and His kingdom. But he also wants us to acknowledge

Him as the source of every bit of bread we eat.

But More Than Bread. . .

“Bread” in the LP represents not just our daily food, but everything

we need for life. It is an acknowledgment that without God, we couldn’t

live for even a single day. In this sense, the request “Give us this day our

daily bread” is about an attitude toward life. Each of us has to choose

between the Charlie Anderson view of life and Jesus’ view of life. Do we

sustain ourselves, or are our lives lived moment-by-moment in the hands

of God? Is the good in our lives a result of our own efforts, or of God’s

blessings? The prayer answers those questions emphatically.

This takes nothing away from the importance of seeking to provide

for ourselves. Israel knew all about “daily bread” from their experience in

the wilderness. God caused manna to fall from heaven each day except the

57

Sabbath, but they still had to go out and gather it and prepare it. So the

Bible teaches us that we need to be diligent about providing for our daily

needs. In 2 Thessalonians 3:6-12 Paul “commanded” the Thessalonians to

“keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness” and who refused

to work to take care of himself. Paul’s rule: If he won’t work, don’t let him

eat. Proverbs has much to say about the “sluggard” who ought to learn

from such tiny creatures as ants the importance of gathering and storing

food for the time when they can no longer do so.40

Still, our own diligence is just part of the story - and it isn’t the most

important part. The writer of Ecclesiastes observed that “under the sun the

race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise,

nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time

and chance happen to them all” (9:11). Even hard work, wisdom, or

intelligence is no guarantee of having “daily bread.” Without God’s

blessing, all of our efforts can be entirely fruitless.41 If God had not caused

the manna to fall, Israel would have had nothing to gather. And it’s the

40Proverbs 6:11. Proverbs contains several statements about “the sluggard,” a comically pathetic

character who appears frequently, as in 10:26, 13:4, 26:14-15.

41See Haggai 1:5-6.

58

same for us: we work for our living, but we need to pray to God to

continue to give us the ability and the opportunity to do so. And we can

trust that He will. As Craig Keener has put it, “If God provided for a whole

people through forty years of wilderness wandering and unemployment,

how much more should we trust him for our basic needs!”42

Needs, Not “Wants”

And let’s not fail to see that this prayer is about needs, not wants.

Jesus’ teachings have been horribly distorted by some who say that we can

ask God for anything, and if we ask boldly and expect it to happen (“name

it and claim it”), it will. Guaranteed. And they frequently apply this to

material wealth and luxuries, and so teach that Jesus taught us how to

gain these things. But Jesus didn’t teach us to pray for a new Lexus or a

mansion or a second home in the Caribbean or a luxury vacation. He

taught us to pray for bread. Part of our problem with this prayer is that

most of us in America live so far above the level of needs that we don’t

sense any urgency about asking God for daily bread. Every winter I get

amused (okay, and a little perturbed) at people who, at the first hint of a

42Keener, Matthew 144.

59

forecast of snow, will rush to the supermarkets to buy up all the milk and

bread they can carry. (Are milk and bread a protection against freezing to

death? These are always the items of choice.) You would think we were all

in danger of perishing if we can’t get to Walmart for a whole day - or even

if we could get there, but it’s just so inconvenient. And yet our pantries and

freezers are filled to overflowing. Are we really so afraid of not having

enough43 - or just afraid of not having what we want? Afraid of having to

live at the “daily bread” level, even for one day?44

Yet for millions in the world today, just as in Jesus’ time, this prayer

has an urgency about it that most of us cannot understand. Their daily

question is not, “Will I have all I want for today?”, but “Will I eat today?

Will I be able to feed my children today?” For people who live at that level,

“Give us this day our daily bread” takes on a significance that few of us can

relate to. Yet the truth is, were it not for God, all of us would be lacking

daily bread. And all of us can have that happen, if God does not continue

to provide. And so we pray, too, “Give us this day our daily bread.” And

43As I am writing this, panic over the spread of the coronavirus and its resulting illness, COVID-

19, has millions jamming the stores to buy disinfectant wipes, hand sanitizer, and toilet tissue.

44“A prayer expressing dependence on God for daily bread and asking only for bread was the

prayer of a person willing to live simply, satisfied with the basics. . . .” (Keener, 144).

60

hopefully we thank Him when He does.

So bread and prayer go hand in hand. Were it not for God, we could

not live. Yet bread alone won’t sustain us either. When tempted by the

devil to turn stones into bread, Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread

alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”45 When

faced with the temptation to use His divine power selfishly, Jesus

depended on the God of the Exodus for His daily bread.46 We don’t live by

bread alone. We live by the God who alone supplies it. It isn’t the Charlie

Anderson attitude we need, but the attitude of Jesus: “Give us this day our

daily bread.”

Spoiler alert: By the end of the movie, Charlie learns that he has to

depend on God, because his world totally falls apart without Him. Ours will,

too, if we don’t learn the lessons of the prayer that Jesus taught us to

pray.

Think About It

1. When we pray, do you think we tend to make requests first rather than

45Matthew 4:4.

46Keener, 144.

61

praying about God and His kingdom first? If so, why do we do this, and how can it be spiritually detrimental? How can we learn to do otherwise? 2. Read Philippians 4:6 and Matthew 6:25-33. Both Jesus and Paul teach us not to be “anxious” about anything. How can we learn not to be driven by anxiety and to pray about our concerns instead? Read 1 Peter 5:6-7. How should what Peter says help us not to be anxious? 3. Read Matthew 4:1-4 and Deuteronomy 8:1-3. What does the statement, “Man does not live by bread alone” mean in its original context in Deuteronomy? How is this principle applicable for us today? 4. Read Exodus 16:1-8. How does the account of God providing “manna” for Israel help us understand the concept of “daily bread”? What can we learn from this account about trusting God for our “daily bread”? 5. Read Ecclesiastes 2:4-26. What does this text suggest about keeping a balanced view of trusting in God, yet working to provide for our needs? Can you think of other Bible texts that teach the same principle?

62

6

“Forgive Us. . . As We Have Forgiven”: Seeing Others as We See Ourselves

Forgiveness 101 I once read somewhere of a tombstone in a cemetery in New

England that, rather than having the usual epitaph, contains only one

word: “Forgiven.” When we reach the end of our days on this earth, that’s

really the only thing that matters, isn’t it? Whether or not we have been

forgiven by God. That being the case, it’s not surprising that Jesus taught a

great deal about this subject, and that He did so on a number of occasions.

Why? Because forgiveness is hard work. It doesn’t come easily to any of

us. If someone has injured us to the point that we need to forgive them, it

usually means we have a considerable amount of anger and resentment

stored up against them, and letting go of that is never easy. And the longer

we have nursed it, the harder it is to release. So the need to forgive isn’t a

one-time lesson. It bears repeating over and over - and Jesus gives us

that. Here’s a brief synopsis of what He said.

63

One of the most powerful forgiveness lessons Jesus taught was not

only by word, but also by example. As He hung on the cross, dying for the

sins of the world and being treated in a horribly unjust and inhumane way,

He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”47 By

doing so, Jesus raised the bar for His followers: if He could forgive those

who executed Him, who is there that we should not forgive? Which of us

has been wounded, treated more unfairly, scoffed at, or ridiculed more

than he?

In Luke 17:3-4 Jesus said, “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if

he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day,

and turns to you seven times saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

Notice the word “must.” Forgiving others is not an option.

When Peter asked Jesus if he was obligated to forgive a brother as

many as seven times (apparently thinking this was more than generous),

Jesus said, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.”48

47Luke 23:34. These words from the cross are found only in Luke, and some early Christian

scribes found this so difficult that they omitted Jesus’ words from the manuscripts of Luke which

they copied, thinking it must surely be incorrect. Others have sought to limit the definition of

“them” in Jesus’ prayer, asserting that it must mean only the Roman executioners and not the

more culpable Jewish leaders who had demanded Jesus’ death.

48Matthew 18:21-22. “Seventy-seven times” may also be translated as “seventy times seven,” as

in the RSV text and NIV marginal reading. The point: Don’t do the math. Just forgive.

64

He then followed that with one of His most powerful and memorable

parables, the story of the “unmerciful servant” who had been forgiven an

enormous debt, but refused to forgive even a small one and as a result

was thrown into prison permanently. That’s all of us, when we refuse to

forgive.

You don’t have to read very far to get Jesus’ point: For followers of

the Savior, forgiveness is not an option but an obligation - and one we

dare not neglect.49

Praying About Forgiveness

That Jesus teaches us to pray about forgiveness in this remarkably

brief prayer is further testimony to its importance. “Forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Notice that after the conclusion of

the prayer, Jesus brings up the subject of forgiveness again: “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

49Keener (144) points out that the imagery of “debts” to represent our sins was a particularly

appropriate one for Jesus’ original audience. Most of them would have been debtors, not lenders,

and would have understood and appreciated the idea of “debt forgiveness.” France (Matthew,

136) adds that “debts” represents the usual Aramaic term for sin.

65

forgive your trespasses” (verses 14-15). In between the prayer itself and

these closing words lies the request that the Father will “lead us not into

temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”50

Why the gap? Why are the prayer about forgiving and the words

about its urgency separated by a request not to be led into temptation? If

the Lord had more to say about forgiveness, why didn’t He just say it all at

once, in verse 12, then go on to the subjects of temptation and deliverance

from evil? You can search numerous commentaries on this text and you

will find that most scholars do not even mention this separation, much less

offer an explanation for it. So allow me to make a suggestion.

It seems to me that, since Jesus places these additional comments

about forgiveness after the end of the prayer, then the entire prayer must

in some way be connected with forgiveness. From this point of view,

verses 14-15 are a kind of commentary on the entire LP. The point, I think,

is that the whole LP is given in the atmosphere of forgiveness; in some

way it’s all connected to forgiveness, not just the one line that mentions

forgiveness directly. As Thomas Long describes it, forgiveness is like

breathing in and out: we “breathe in” God’s forgiveness of our sins, and we

50Or, “from evil.” More about this later.

66

“breathe out” our forgiveness to others.51 And based on what Jesus says,

like breathing, forgiving is essential to life. It can’t be just a “sometimes”

thing; it’s who we are and what we do as we live in relationship with God

and one another. Prayerful people will sense that, and not just sense it, but

actually put it into practice as we live in relationship with God and one

another.52

We Pray as Forgiven People

The petition for forgiveness in Matthew 6:12 isn’t a prayer to be

prayed by just anybody; rather, it is a prayer for disciples, for those who

have begun to follow Jesus and have received the forgiveness of their sins.

We pray to “Our Father,” and remember, He is not the “Father” of

everyone in the spiritual sense, but of those who acknowledge Him and

strive to obey Him.

We often hear it said, “We must forgive in order to be forgiven,” and

that statement is partially true - but only partially. Putting it that way

51Thomas G. Long, Matthew (Westminster John Knox Press, 1997) 71.

52It may also be that the petition not to be led into temptation but rather be delivered from evil

may connect in this way: “Deliver us from the evil of having an unforgiving heart.”

67

places us in danger of thinking we somehow earn God’s forgiveness by

forgiving others. The truth is, God’s forgiveness comes first. Then, as we

continue to follow in His way, we extend forgiveness to others so that

God’s forgiveness of us will not be hindered or broken along the way. “We

love because he first loved us,” John says,53 and the same is true of

forgiveness: “We forgive because He first forgave us.”

We Seek Continued Forgiveness

Why do we continue to seek forgiveness if God has already forgiven

us through Jesus? It’s simple: because we continue to sin. Not as we did

before, not in disregard of God’s will for us, but because we’re weak, and

we never get everything right. So we continually ask God to forgive us our

debts, because we continually need it, just as we continually need air. We

don’t just breathe once, or even just occasionally, do we?

Notice that in verse 12 Jesus uses the word “debts,” while in verses

14-15 he says “sins.” Actually this represents the Greek word for

“trespasses.” A “trespass” is a violation of God’s law. The parallel text in

Luke 11:4 says, “Forgive us our sins (not the word for “trespasses”) as we

531 John 4:19.

68

ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.” That explains why we

sometimes get confused when reciting the LP, because the two texts use

various terms for “sins.” But it all means pretty much the same: We are

sinners, and we need God’s forgiveness. So Jesus taught us to pray for it,

not just sometimes but always. We are forgiven people by God’s grace, but

because we still sin, we still need to pray about our sins. We always have

debts we cannot pay.54

We Resolve to Forgive Others

Here’s the hard part - not realizing that we need forgiveness, or even

asking God for the forgiveness we need. What’s hard is to tie our

forgiveness by God to our willingness to forgive others. So challenging is

this task that some suggest that Jesus means we must have the inclination

to forgive, since, sinners that we are, even our forgiving of others is always

imperfect.55 The question then would be, do we want to forgive, and are

54It is sometimes asserted that we should not pray continually for forgiveness, as this seems to

cast some doubt on God’s promise to forgive. But the presence of this petition in the Lord’s

Prayer would seem to argue otherwise. It isn’t that we doubt the Father’s willingness or His

promise to forgive, but that we are realistic about our own spiritual weakness and our perpetual

need for forgiveness in order to be in relationship with a God who is entirely holy.

55Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, 147. “This must surely be taken as an aspiration

rather than a limitation, or none of us would be forgiven; our forgivenesses are so imperfect.”

69

we trying to do so? There is obviously some truth to this point; certainly

our forgiveness of others is never quite what it should be. But we should

observe that this isn’t what Jesus says, and there is always the danger that

if we state the requirement less absolutely than He does, we may be

lowering the bar in a way He would not approve. Paul doesn’t make that

mistake when he writes, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and

clamor and slander be put away from you, along with malice. Be kind to

one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ

forgave you.”56 Likewise, he exhorts the Colossians to “Put on then, as

God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness,

humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has

a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven

you, so you also must forgive.”57 The bar remains very high: God really

does expect us to forgive one another.

Again, it is essential that we realize that forgiving others does not

earn us God’s forgiveness as a reward for doing so. Rather, it is simply a

condition of continuing to receive God’s own forgiveness, something

56Ephesians 4:31-32.

57Colossians 3:12-13.

70

without which none of us can live. I said earlier that this is hard, and it is.

It’s costly to forgive someone, just as it was costly for God to forgive us. As

Mark Daly has so well expressed it, “Be prepared to extend forgiveness at

all costs. Forgiveness may cost us our pride, our human desire for revenge

and payback, or it may cost that intoxicating drink of being ‘proven right.’

To forgive another may cost us all the memories of the past.”58

Since our own forgiveness by God is tied to our willingness to forgive

others, there has to be a sense of urgency about this particular request of

the LP. Forgiveness of others tends to be one of those “back-burner issues”

that we put off until later, sometimes much later. Sometimes until it’s too

late. We really shouldn’t, because too much is at stake.

Two of the greatest literary giants of Nineteenth Century English

literature were Charles Dickens and William Makepeace Thackeray. For

several years the two were admirers of each other’s work and became

good friends, as did their two daughters. But eventually jealousy crept in,

some harsh words were said, and the two became embroiled in a feud that

lasted for years. Even their daughters were not allowed to associate with

58Mark Daly, “The Seven Laws of Forgiveness,” Bulletin of the Church of Christ at Cameron

Avenue (April 25, 2004.).

71

one another. One day Dickens and Thackeray accidentally encountered

each other on the steps of an exclusive London club. At first they simply

glared at each other and walked past, saying nothing. But as he walked

past Dickens, Thackeray stopped, turned around, and extended his hand,

and Dickens took it. A few months later Thackeray died unexpectedly of a

stroke at the age of 52. Surely both he and Dickens were thankful that

before this happened, they had again acknowledged their respect for each

other.

Forgiveness is like that. Because being forgiven is tied to our

willingness to forgive others - and actually doing it - it isn’t something that

can wait.

Think About It

1. What do you think is the most likely explanation of the fact that Jesus teaches us to pray for forgiveness in verse 12, then talks about something else (verse 13), but then returns to the subject of forgiveness in verses 14-15? 2. Read 1 John 1:7-9. If the blood of Jesus is continually cleansing us from all sin (as suggested by the present progressive tense used in verse 7), why do we need to ask for forgiveness when we pray? Are we questioning the truthfulness of 1 John 1:7 and suggesting, as some say, that by asking for forgiveness we are casting doubt on God’s promise to forgive continually?

72

3. To what extent is the LP a prayer for disciples, for those already forgiven by Christ? Can those who don’t follow Jesus pray for the forgiveness of their sins and expect to receive it? What other elements of the prayer show that it is a “disciples’s prayer” and not a general prayer for everyone? 4. Why is it important to remember that God’s forgiveness of us comes first, then our forgiveness of others? What error might we fall into if we do not remember this? 5. What do you think of Leon Morris’ suggestion that “as we also have forgiven our debtors” refers to being inclined to forgive them, since our forgiveness is always imperfect and incomplete? Do you find this thought helpful, or not? Why or why not?

73

7

“Deliver Us from Evil”: Seeking God’s Protection

We can only imagine the loneliness that Jesus felt that night in

Gethsemane, when He agonized59 over the prospect of suffering the next

day for the sins of the world, and as He implored the Father, “If it is

possible, let this cup pass from me.” No wonder He sought the Father’s

fellowship and comfort in prayer. And no wonder He was so disappointed

when, three times, He came to His disciples and found them sleeping

rather than praying with Him and for Him.

It wasn’t only His loneliness and agony that caused Him pain when

He found them sleeping, however: it was the fact that they were not doing

the very thing they needed to do most, given the circumstances they were

about to face. “Why are you sleeping?”, He asked. “Rise and pray that you

59The traditional artistic representations of Jesus in Gethsemane do not do justice to what He was

experiencing. They portray Him as serene and composed, with hands folded, looking upward as

a beam of light bathes His face. The Gospels portray a quite different scene, describing Him as

falling on His face to pray and being terrified at the thought of going to the Cross and of

experiencing the agony of separation from His Father. See Matthew 26:38-39, Mark 14:32, Luke

22:44. In thinking of Jesus in Gethsemane, we must not allow the idea of His Deity to

overshadow the reality of His humanity.

74

may not enter into temptation.”60 They were failing to pray that they would

not fall into temptations they could not endure, failing to recognize that the

spirit may be willing, but “the flesh is weak.”61 That no matter how much

they may have wanted to be firm in their loyalty to Jesus, they wouldn’t be

able to do so without divine help. And so they didn’t pray, but slept. This

was not only Jesus’ hour of testing, but theirs as well, and just as He

needed the Father’s strength to endure, so they would need it also. And in

the hour of trial, because they were not relying on God’s guidance and

strength, the flesh failed them entirely; they all deserted Him, and one

repeatedly denied even knowing Him. No wonder Jesus was upset that

they weren’t praying!

“Lead Us Not Into Temptation”

Precisely because we all need God’s guidance and strength to resist

evil, Jesus taught us, as the final petition of the LP, to pray, “Lead us not

into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

We need to be clear about what Jesus is not suggesting here. He

60Luke 22:46.

61Matthew 26:41, Mark 14:38.

75

isn’t saying that if we don’t ask God otherwise, He will tempt us. James

1:13-14 is emphatic about that: “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am

being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he

himself tempts no one.” If God did tempt us, we would have no hope of

resistance, since the temptation would be irresistible, and that would make

God - not us - responsible for sin. James says further, “Each person is

tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire” (verse 14) - not

when he is lured and enticed by the Father.

What, then, does “Lead us not into temptation” mean? The Greek

word translated as “temptation”62 means that when the context requires it.

Otherwise it refers to a “test.” A test can have positive intent, but a

temptation never does. But here’s the connection: a “test” can become a

“temptation.” Let me explain.

The Bible clearly teaches that God tests us, or allows us to be tested,

for our good, in order to strengthen us, or sometimes to purify us. In

reminding us of the great salvation God has in store for us, Peter wrote,

“In this you rejoice, though for a little while, if necessary, you have been

grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith -

62The word is peirasmos.

76

more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire - may be

found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus

Christ.”63 Gold is refined by being heated to the melting point, so that all

the impurities can be skimmed off and only the pure gold left. That’s how

Peter says it is sometimes (not always) with our lives. We are tested “by

fire” so that our faith will be stronger and our hope of eternity brighter.

Hebrews 12:3-12 describes Christian suffering as “the Lord’s discipline,”

and reminds us that fathers discipline their children because they love

them. And, since God is the perfect Father, His discipline is also perfect,

exactly suited to our need. Paul describes this same process in Romans

5:3-5: “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that

suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and

character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because

God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has

been given to us.”

What does that look like in real life? We may experience an illness or

a strained relationship or financial hardship or persecution, and as a result

learn to depend on God more than ever. Why? Because there are just

631 Peter 1:6-7.

77

some lessons we won’t learn any other way.

So here’s what Jesus is teaching us to pray about: that when we go

through trials, they don’t become temptations that we can’t bear, and that

we won’t be caught unprepared for what lies ahead of us, no matter what

it is. That we will be “delivered” (“saved,” “rescued”) from evil. That’s what

those first disciples needed to be praying about in Gethsemane, and it’s

what we need to be praying about now, because any “test” can become a

“temptation” if we’re not prepared for it, not relying on God to rescue us

from it.64

There’s Evil Out There!

The problem we have to face is that there is genuine evil in the

world, and that evil seeks to bring us down. True, some things happen just

because of what we call “bad luck” or “chance” (Ecclesiastes 9:11). “Time

and chance” do happen to all of us. But some things happen to us because

Satan wants to erode our faith and pull us away from God, and is always at

work in the world to bring that about.

64The prayer is that “testing will not lead to falling” (Keener, 145). Keener also adds the

important reminder that Jesus is not proposing that disciples can avoid tests of their faith.

78

Perhaps “The Evil One”?

Most of our Bibles have a footnote after “deliver us from evil” in

Matthew 6:13. The alternative translation is, “Deliver us from the evil

one.”65 In this case the prayer would be that God will guard us from

Satan’s evil schemes to destroy us. I tend to favor the alternate translation,

“the evil one,” partly because it corresponds so well with 1 Peter 5:8-9,

which warns us to “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil

prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” So we most

certainly do need delivering from “the evil one,” regardless of how we

translate Matthew 6:13.

I’m afraid that for most people today, any talk of an “evil one”

(Satan, the devil) sounds like some outdated mythology concocted to

explain why bad things happen in the world. Most would say there really is

no such thing as the devil, and that when Jesus does speak of such an evil

being, He is simply accommodating himself to the primitive views of His

own day. But think about it: If you were out to get someone, wouldn’t it be

the best thing you could do to convince that person that you don’t exist

and that they really don’t have an enemy?

65The Greek term tou ponerou can properly be translated either way.

79

There are many arguments in favor of the reality of Satan. One is

that Jesus clearly believed in his existence; He wasn’t tempting himself out

there in the wilderness at the outset of His public ministry. Paul, John,

Peter, and other New Testament writers also believed in him, so we should

thnk twice about dismissing him as a figment of primitive imagination.

Besides, if there is no devil, why is human nature so consistently corrupt?

Why are humans continually at war, when it really benefits no one? Why is

there so much violence and abuse? You would think that by now, with all

of our sophisticated insight and technological advances, we would have

learned to overcome these things if it’s just we who are motivating them.

But the truth is, even in the “information age,” things are just as bad - if

not worse - than they have ever been. Why is that? We would do well to

listen carefully to what Scripture says about “the evil one” rather than

dismissing his existence so flippantly.

Some students of the LP suggest that what Jesus is thinking mostly

about in this petition to “deliver us from evil” is the persecution that is

bound to confront Christians as we try to live in this world, being faithful to

a Lord most others don’t believe in. Those who follow this line of thought

80

point to the nature of the petition as Jesus says not only “Lead us not. . .,”

but also “deliver us.” Thomas Long maintains, “The best way to understand

this petition. . . is to envision the congregation heading out the front door

of the church to do God’s work in a storm-tossed world and whispering the

prayer ‘Keep us safe out there, O God. Let the forces of evil tremble to see

us coming, rather than the other way around, and bring us home at the

end of this day even stronger in faith than when we go out’.”66

I have no doubt that the Lord had something like that in mind. He

certainly must have had in Matthew 26 when chastising the disciples for

sleeping rather than praying, acting as if no enemies were about to appear

on the horizon, as if there were no danger to be avoided. But the petition

doesn’t have to be limited to that specific scenario or to those

circumstances. It’s also about going out the door of your house every

morning and into a world that is absolutely hostile to your faith. It’s a

prayer for your family as they go out the door (and even when they’re

inside) and into a world that wants to do them in by drawing them away

from God. It’s a prayer, wherever we are, about being “sober-minded and

watchful,” and just as Jesus says, prayerful, that we will not be led to the

66Long, 72.

81

place of irresistible temptation, but that God will keep us from evil. This is

a prayer we need to be praying for ourselves, for our families, for our

church leaders and their families, and for all believers everywhere, because

Satan is prowling around like a lion seeking someone to devour. If in

today’s world, you are not praying for God to keep you and your family and

the church from the evil one, you just don’t understand how frightfully

dangerous the situation really is, and just how desperately you need God’s

protection to deliver you.67

That’s the petition: “Lead us not into temptation, but deiiver us from

(the) evil (one).” But along with that goes a wonderful promise found in 1

Corinthians 10:12-13: “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands

take heed lest he fall. 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 will also provide the way of escape,

that you may be able to endure it.”

67Weymouth’s translation has “rescue us from the Evil one.” Richard Francis Weymouth, The

New Testament in Modern Speech, revised by James Alexander Robertson (Boston: Pilgrim

Press, 1937). Robert Guelich adds, “The verb to deliver. . . expresses a rather strong intervention

to rescue or to preserve someone or something from danger. . . . The theme of deliverance is very

common in the Old Testament, especially in the Psalms. Set in the aorist imperative the verb

again connotes a finality in the action requested.” Robert A. Guelich, The Sermon on the Mount:

A Foundation for Understanding (Word Books, 1982) 297.

82

Temptations will come, but we don’t have to fall. But prayer is

absolutely vital to our survival. We can’t go it alone. We need to be praying

constantly, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

Think About It

1. Read Matthew 26:40-45. What kind of experiences were the disciples about to face that they should have been praying about? What happened as a result of their not praying? Why do you think they slept instead of praying? 2. Read Matthew 4:1-11. Since the same word can be translated as either “tempt” or “test,” do you think Jesus was being “tempted” or “tested” in the wilderness? What does this tell us about the nature of the temptations/tests we sometimes face? 3. Read James 1:12-15. Why is it important to know that “God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one?” What is the overall concern of this paragraph? 4. Read 1 Peter 5:8-11. What is an “adversary”? Why do we need to know that we have an adversary on the prowl seeking to destroy us? What happens if we are unaware of his desires? 5. Read 1 Peter 1:6-7, Hebrews 12:3-12, and Romans 5:3-5. Explain in your own words why testing is a necessary part of spiritual growth.

83

Appendix

“For Thine Is the Kingdom”: What Happened to the Doxology?

Have you ever been in a worship service where someone led the

church in prayer, but ended without saying something like, “In Jesus’

name. Amen”? No matter the depth of thoughtfulness expressed in the

prayer, something seems to be missing if it ends without the conclusion we

have come to expect. It seems so abrupt, so incomplete. It leaves us

hanging, waiting for the appropriate conclusion. When this has (rarely in

my experience) happened with a “closing prayer,” I have seen

congregations just stand there, unsure of what to do next. Is the service

really over if no one says “Amen”?

That’s how we feel, I think, when we read the LP in a Bible

translation that simply ends with, “And lead us not into temptation, but

deliver us from evil,” and then Jesus goes on to make some brief

comments about forgiveness. The reason it seems so awkward to us is that

the “doxology,”68 as it is usually called, is in the King James Version, and it

68“Doxology” comes from a combination of two Greek words meaning “a word of glory” or “a

84

is the way Christians have been ending this prayer since perhaps as early

as the Second Century, and is the way it is almost always ended when

recited publicly. You most likely have never heard the LP prayed publicly

without the doxology at the end. It seems so fitting, so natural.

So What Happened to It?

In addressing this question, we should note first that the doxology is

omitted from almost all translations other than the King James. The New

King James Bible includes it, but has a footnote indicating that it is not

included in the text generally accepted by scholars as the most reliable

one. Likewise, the New American Standard Bible includes it, but in

brackets, with this note in the margin: “This clause omitted in the earliest

manuscripts.” Most translations (RSV, NRSV, NIV, ESV, etc.) omit the

doxology from the main text, but include it in a marginal note explaining

the same thing as in the NASB. The Jerusalem Bible omits it and offers this

explanation in a footnote: “a reading introduced into the text through

liturgical influence.” Of the Bibles in my collection, the earliest English

word of praise.” There are many doxologies found in Scripture, as in Romans 16:27, Ephesians

4:20, and many other places.

85

translation that I could find which omits the doxology is the English

Revised Version of 1881, and most others since have followed suit. But

why?

The simple fact is that the doxology is not found in the better

manuscripts of Matthew, although it does occur in several early ones. But

the ones that omit it are generally considered to be the more reliable ones,

suggesting that the doxology was not originally part of the prayer, but was

a later (although early) addition to it. Supporting this conclusion is the fact

that when the doxology does begin to appear in the various manuscripts,

the wording varies, indicating a period of fluidity in its form. At the same

time, it is significant that no manuscripts of Luke have the doxology in the

Lucan parallel (Luke 11:4).

So how do we know the doxology began to appear early in the

church’s history, and where did it come from? A close parallel to it occurs

in the work known as the Didache, or “The Teaching of the Twelve

Apostles,” which dates from the late First or early Second Century. The

Didache version, coming at the conclusion of a restatement of the LP,

reads, “For thine is the power and the glory forever.”69 That’s close, but not

69From the translation by C.H. Hoole.

86

quite what we have in the KJV. Some suggest that the doxology is perhaps

modeled after a similar statement occurring in David’s prayer in 1

Chronicles 29:11: “Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the

glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in

the earth is yours. Yours in the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as

head above all.” Since it was typical to conclude Jewish prayers with such a

doxology, it makes sense that some Christians early on thought the LP

should likewise have one. Some have even suggested that when Jesus

gave the prayer, He assumed that His followers would end it with a

doxology, but left the form open, a possibility which may be reflected in

the various forms in the earlier manuscripts.70 The form in which the

doxology occurs in the King James Version was likely standardized at some

point during the Second Century.71

Should We Include It?

This question naturally arises when we think of praying the LP today:

70France, 141.

71Morris notes that “The case for the doxology is stronger than many students assume,” and cites

the research of W.D. Davies (Morris, 149). However, it should be noted that in spite of Morris’

statement and Davies’ efforts, few scholars are persuaded of the doxology’s originality.

87

should we, or shouldn’t we? If the doxology was absent from Jesus’

original words, as the manuscript evidence suggests, are we adding to His

words by tagging on the doxology?

Different readers of the Bible will - with equal sincerity and respect

for the text - likely come to different conclusions about this. However, it

does not seem to me that we should concern ourselves too much over the

addition. For one thing, there is nothing in the doxology that is not either

taught or stated elsewhere in Scripture, so we are not adding something

untrue or unimportant when we say it. Likewise, we have no qualms at all

about making up our own prayers, both public and private, to fit the

occasion and the need, so why should the addition of these final words of

praise not be seen in that same light?

Going back to my opening paragraph in this appendix, if we pray the

LP - especially publicly and in unison - and omit the doxology, we are

bound to create confusion. I might suggest that if the prayer is to be said

in unison, it would be a good idea to furnish the congregation with a

printed version of it, since otherwise people will be quoting different

translations with a variety of wording, especially where our

88

“sins”/”trespasses”/”debts” are concerned. That way there will be no

question of whether or not to end the prayer with the doxology. Needless

to say, omitting the doxology is almost certain to cause more consternation

than including it. So why not simply have a full printed version available,

one that includes all that people are accustomed to hearing, reading, and

for some at least, saying?

Finally, while the question of the doxology is not an unimportant one,

neither is it the most important aspect of the prayer. And it would be a

shame to allow our uncertainty about how to say “Amen”72 to Jesus’ words

to prevent us praying it together.73

72Remember that our word amen derives from a Hebrew term which means something like

“certain” or “true.” Pronouncing the “amen” at the conclusion of a doxology, prayer, or even a

series of curses indicates our corporate agreement with what has been said, as well as a

commitment or obligation to the truths that have been expressed. See Deuteronomy 27:11-26,

Nehemiah 5:6-13 and 8:6, Romans 1:24-25, Galatians 6:18 among many others, as well as Jesus’

own use of the word to precede His teachings (usually translated as “Truly, truly”) as a way of

emphasizing their solemnity, authenticity, and authority. See Matthew 5:17-18, 6:2, and the

many examples in the Gospel of John, such as 3:3 and 5, 5:25, 6:26, 8:34, etc.

731 Corinthians 14:16 suggests that the early Christian practice was for the church to say an

audible “amen” at the conclusion of (or perhaps even during) a public prayer. Using a printed

copy of the LP in worship would have the added advantage of the congregation uttering the

“amen” together as an expression of solidarity in affirming and participating in what Jesus taught

us to pray.