The Lord's Prayer - Part 1
Matthew 6:5-15
Setting the Scene
This teaching about prayer takes place on the side of a mountain in Galilee. It is part of a much bigger series of teachings by Jesus, commonly referred to as The Sermon on the Mount.
The people that Jesus is teaching comprise mostly Greek-speaking
Jewish males. The practicing Jews would be people who prayed three times
a day - the third hour, sixth hour, and ninth hour - morning, afternoon, and
evening - and they would have used the Psalms as a basis from which to pray.
They would regularly be going to the synagogues.
Would you, as one of these Jewish males, call God ‘Father’?
The answer is yes, but not in the context that Jesus tells you that you should.
You would say “Avinu Malkeinu” [Our Father, Our King] and “Avinu Shebashamain”
[Our Father in Heaven]. However, you would currently be using the term “Our
Father” as a metaphor conveying God’s care and concern for humanity. Jesus is
about to challenge your perception of the Father. In this day and age, the
Jewish people use the term “Father” in a manner to express gratitude,
repentance, and supplication to God. Further on in this lesson we shall cover
what Jesus has to say about this.
What is currently happening? People, most likely Pharisees,
are showing how religious and seemingly pious they are [pious – someone strongly believing in religion and living in
a way that shows this belief].
We find Jesus calling all of those who love to be noticed as hypocrites when
they pray. They are prideful and arrogant, seeking recognition. Admiration of
their prayer efforts is the reward they shall receive.
A couple of years later Jesus uses this parable to highlight
how to pray, Luke 18:9-14:
“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one
a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
The Pharisee stood up and prayed about
himself:
‘God, I thank you that I am not like other
men---
robbers, evildoers, adulterers--- or even like
this tax collector.
I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I
get.’
But the tax collector stood at a distance.
He would not even look up to heaven,
but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy
on me a sinner.’
I tell you that this man, rather than the
other,
went home justified before God.
For everyone who exalts himself will be
humbled,
and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
“We
must not be proud and vain-glorious in prayer,
nor
aim at the praise of men.”
New Matthew Henry Commentary
“Christians’ prayers are measured by
weight, and not by length.
Many of the most prevailing prayers
have been as short as they were
strong.”
Charles
Spurgeon
The Greek word for pray is prŏsěuchŏmai [pros-yooʹ-khom-ahee], which is the act of prayer, and it implies to pray to God, with supplication [earnestly asking for something in humility], and worship. The other commonly used word is ěrõtaō [er-o-tah´-o], implying to request, to ask for as a sort of favour. John used ěrõtaō whenever he referred to pray, even when he was quoting Jesus. In the Old Testament the most common Hebrew word used is nâ’ [naw], indicating I come to in prayer, and occasionally-- I beseech you. An example of this would be when Jerusalem had roughly three years left before its demise. The Babylonians had encircled the city. King Zedekiah of Judah brings Jeremiah in from prison and asks him to: “Please pray to the LORD our God for us” (Jeremiah 37:3).
When referring to the actual act of prayer, the Greek word pâlal [paw-lal] is used, implying to intercede or to make supplication.
The word Prŏsěuchŏmai [pray] comes from two other words with the meanings of nearness and to wish for.
Jesus presents this beautiful picture of the Father as we read in John 16:26-27: “In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.” There are two other scriptures that add to the above. Some may see them as contradicting the above, but that is not the case. Romans 8:33-34: “Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? Christ Jesus, who died---more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” And the writer of Hebrews, referring to Jesus, writes: “Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them” Hebrews 7:25.
Looking at the graphic below, we see that for a quality
prayer time, one should enter prayer with a posture of humility, supported by
an attitude of sincerity and honesty. For God knows all things; nothing is
hidden from Him.
Jesus talks about our Father rewarding us when he sees what is done in secret (Matthew 6:6): “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret will reward you.” It should be noted that He used the same term when teaching them about giving v6:1: “…’acts of righteousness’…” v 6:4: “Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
What do the words secret and reward mean to us, for these were the words that Jesus used? Secret, here is the word kruptŏs [kroop-tosʹ], implying something you should do in private. Nobody else needs to know! Reward in verse 6 is the word apŏdidōmi [ap-od-eedʹ-o-mee], implying you will be given again or recompensed [given something in payment] for what you did, which is significantly different from the word reward in verse 2. The word reward, is now misthŏs [mis-thosʹ], implying that you will be paid for your services, whether they were good or bad; it is your wages. You will get what is due to you.
Is the difference between the two versions of the word reward significant? I believe it is. For those who do something, like acts of righteousness or pray to be noticed, well, they shall receive payment, of whatever form, commensurate with the attention they seek unto themselves. While the others who do the above in secret will be compensated in whatever form God deems best for them. Since Jesus said: “… your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:8), I would prefer to be taken care of by God and be compensated fully by Him rather than have man tell me how wonderful I am. Don’t misunderstand what I have just meant; I am not in the least bit saying that I am wonderful. It comes down to this: if you want to be noticed by people, then you will be noticed. That is what you want that is what you will get. If you do the above in secret, then God, your Father, will compensate you in a way that no one else can. God is in the prayer-answering business, for He delights to do so. And He shall do that how He deems best and when He deems best.
Jesus touches on a point that I feel may offend some. I would suggest that if you are offended in any way, you bring that offence before the Holy Spirit and ask Him to give you some clarity on what Jesus was saying. We read in Matthew 5:7-8: “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
The KJV uses this language: “…use not vain repetitions…”
When looking at the Greek word battŏlŏgěõ [bat-tol-og-eh'-o]
which is used here, it has as its primary meaning that someone stammers
along. They chatter idly along with no real sense of purpose, with simple
meaningless words.
“It
is not much praying that is condemned;
no,
we are bid to pray always, but much speaking.”
New Matthew Henry Commentary
Allow me to paint this picture. People have an open line to the Father. Someone hearing your thirty-minute prayer says to God: ‘Father, [put your name here] just sets such an amazing example of how we should be as your children. They engage in such deep conversation with you.’ You hear God’s reply: ‘He/she is just trying to impress you so that he/she can be honoured by you. I was not involved in that discussion.’
If you feel that the above applies to you in any form, do
not place yourself under any condemnation; rather be excited about how, after
going through this teaching, your prayer life is going to take on a new
dimension, a new level of intimacy with the Father. Jude writes: “But you,
dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy
Spirit” (Jude v20). He wrote this letter to help some churches, or a
church dispel the errors that some false teachers were spreading. The Holy
Spirit is your help in breaking through in this area of prayer.
“Prayer
is not designed to inform God,
but
to give man a sight of his misery;
to
humble his heart, to excite his desire, to inflame his faith,
to
animate his hope, to raise his soul from earth to heaven,
and
to put him in mind that there [Heaven] is his Father,
his country,
and inheritance.”
Adam Clarke, Methodist theologian
and biblical scholar
Do not allow the devil to trap you by telling you that God is hard of hearing or slow to listen. The devil’s plan is to make you think that your prayer life is a waste of time, that God does not really want to hear from you or listen to your insignificant problems when He has much bigger world problems to deal with. Or who do you think you are that you feel you can burden God? If any of these thoughts ever cross your mind, deal with them. “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).
Before we progress further, there is one big obstacle to an effective prayer life, and that is unforgiveness. It is a two-way thing. Firstly, if you have not asked God to forgive you for your sins and accepted His son Jesus Christ into your life, and secondly, if you have not forgiven people for what they have done to you, then you shall struggle in having an intimate relationship with God. Too many people jump into some sort of prayer when they are in trouble, and then when God does not intervene for them, they say that God is either non-existent or useless. It is like going to an ATM called God and trying to draw something from it when you do not have an account.
Let us embark upon an in-depth look at what Jesus was teaching the people as He lays a foundation for our personal prayer life.