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StudyJesus.com presents The Sermon on the Mount
An Expositional Study
FAMILY PRAYERS
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AFTER THIS MANNER THEREFORE PRAY YE: OUR FATHER WHICH ART IN HEAVEN, HALLOWED BE THY NAME.THY KINGDOM COME, THY WILL BE DONE IN EARTH, AS IT IS IN HEAVEN. GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD. AND FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS, AS WE FORGIVE OUR DEBTORS. AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL: FOR THINE IS THE KINGDOM, AND THE POWER, AND THE GLORY, FOR EVER. AMEN. FOR IF YE FORGIVE MEN THEIR TRESPASSES, YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER WILL ALSO FORGIVE YOU: BUT IF YE FORGIVE NOT MEN THEIR TRESPASSES, NEITHER WILL YOUR FATHER FORGIVE YOUR TRESPASSES.
The Master gives us a family prayer. Some
call it the Lord's Prayer; but it is His prayer only in the sense that He gives
it to us, but not in the sense that He prayed it. One of its petitions makes that quite
certain, "Forgive us"—He never needed to say that. Also, the opening words present a difficulty
because He does not associate Himself with us in a common sonship, as if He and
we were alike sons. True, in every one
of His seven prayers, He addressed God as “Father.”1 Further, He taught us to address God as “Father.” We are sons in a real sense; but He is Son in
a unique sense.
Therefore, He does not say "our
Father," but "My Father and your Father" (John 20:17). So, perhaps "the Lord's prayer" is
not the best title for it—the disciple's prayer, the family prayer, the
Christian's prayer, or the children's prayer, would be better. And, because there are six prayers within the
one, family prayer is not much off the mark. There is another version of the prayer in Luke 11:2, containing several
variations. Our Lord gives it here in
response to the request of "one of His disciples" who perhaps was not
present on the earlier occasion. The
first is given as a model, "after this manner, pray ye"; the second
is seemingly offered as a form, "when ye pray, say," i.e. these words. Family prayers, then; well, notice first that
The
head of the family is addressed
It is good to contemplate what He
is—"our Father." That is the
normal way of directing our prayers. We
sometimes address our prayers to the Lord Jesus; and that cannot be wrong,
because He is God; and sometimes, especially in our hymns, we address our
prayers to the Holy Spirit; and, again, that cannot be wrong, because He is
God. But the normal way is to address
the Father, through the Son, by the Spirit. It is, then, to a Father that we come—One whose love wants the best for
His children, whose wisdom knows the best for His children, and whose power
does the best for His children. An
earthly father may want and know the best, but not be in a position to do the
best; our heavenly Father has all three qualities in perfection, and it is to
such a One that, as His children, we speak.
Where
He abides
Notice where He abides—"which art in
heaven"; or, as the Greek has it, in the "heavens," plural. The New Testament speaks of three heavens:
"Behold the birds of the heaven"—that is the atmosphere envelope
around us; "I will show wonders in
the heavens"—in the stellar spaces that we usually think of as the sky;
"One caught up to the third heaven"—the dwelling place of angels and
God. He is in all the heavens, looking
down on all His creatures and all His children, overlooking their needs, supplies,
and lives. A little military drummer boy
was once asked if God is everywhere then why does the Lord's Prayer speak of
Him as “in heaven”? With the smartness
of an officer, he answered, "Because that's headquarters." We may safely leave it there.
Who
are His children?
Who are His children?—who have the right to
say "our"? In a loose, and
merely creational sense, all people are God's children; but in the real, deep,
spiritual, and eternal sense, only those who have trusted and obeyed Christ and
have been born again2. On His side, our sonship comes through Jesus
and, on our side through faith and obedience to His Word3—there
is no other way. Every one of us has the
amazing privilege of trusting and obeying Him and then calling Him "our
Father," and of living with Him forever. Every good and proper human father loves for his children to tell him
things, and to ask him for things; and that is the happy relationship that is
meant to subsist between Christians and the Father. We need to more fully use our access to
Him. The next point about this prayer is
The
interests of the family are sought
For all Christians, the consuming interests
are not their own things, but His. In
the Christian life, there is a reversal of the order of person, in life's
grammar. The old style is—first person,
I; second person, you; third person, he. The new way, the Christian way is—first person, He, the Master; second
person, you, the other fellow; third person, I. His affairs take precedence over our own in the family prayers. First, there is a concern for His name—"hallowed
by Thy name." That is, may it come
to be highly esteemed among men, and honored for its holiness throughout the
world. As so often happens, we can in
some measure help to answer our own prayer; for we bear His name—"that
worthy name by the which ye are called" (James 2:7)—and if we do not
dishonor it, people may come to esteem Him for what they see of Him in us. Immense responsibility; immeasurable honor.
A
concern for His kingdom
Moreover, we have a concern for His
kingdom—"Thy kingdom come." That kingdom—promised by Scripture, heralded by John the Baptist,
introduced by Christ, rejected by men, ensured by the Death and Resurrection of
Jesus Christ.
A
concern for His will
Then, too, Christians have a concern for
His will—"Thy will be done." Too often, prayer is conceived as a means of getting our will done; but
in reality it is the greatest means of getting His will done. That will is always the best thing that could
happen, either for the world, for nations, or for the individual. Some hymns lead us astray by supposing that
it is a dreary and painful business—it is for our good and we cannot escape it,
and so we must bear it. But, perhaps we have now happily come to recognize that
the Will of God is not something to be endured, but embraced. So, Christians should pray for its widespread
growth. Some modern day scholars hold
that the phrase, "in earth, as it is in heaven," belongs, not
exclusively to this portion, but to all three of them.
However, we know of nothing in the grammar
of the passage that makes that sure. On the other hand, there is a certain
appropriateness about it that commends it to some people. That the Name, Kingdom, and Will should have
the pre-eminent place among us they have in heaven is an ideal worthy of our
earnest prayers and utmost endeavor. As
far as His Will is concerned, there is at least one more place where we may
again answer our own prayer—and that is, our own lives. "Our wills are ours, to make them
Thine." How completely
comprehensive is this prayer. Negatively, it is the condition of all other prayers—"if it be Thy
will"; positively, it includes every prayer that we can offer—"Thy
will, that's all I want, in everything." Romans 12:1-2 indicates how infinitely desirable that will it. And now—having correctly begun by putting the
Father's glory first, let us next see that
The
needs of the family are mentioned
Of course, the Father has no needs; but the
children are a bundle of needs—morning, noon, and night. Physical needs—"Give us this day our
daily bread." Does that seem out of
place in this context? Well, to whom are
we talking? "Our Father": then
surely it is not out of place, nothing is out of place, however mundane or
material, if it touches any aspect of the children's welfare. We love that rendering of 1 Peter 5:7 that
reads, "Casting all your care upon Him, for it matters to Him about
you." Does it matter to the parent
whether a child has daily bread? Of
course it does; and, equally, it matters to Him about us. The inclusion of this petition in family
prayers encourages and instructs us to bring everything to the Father, things
little and large, things secular and sacred, things material and moral.
Mental
needs
Among the great necessities of life are our
mental needs—"Forgive us our debts." The contemplation of criminal
indebtedness because of sin is greatly disturbing to our mental
equanimity. When one puts his trust in
and obeys the commands of Jesus Christ, and is born again, he does not live in
a state of "maybe I am saved today, and maybe not." Instead, through prayer, daily repentance,
and loving others, our sins continue to be washed away by the precious blood of
Jesus Christ. We become a Christian when
we are born again—a member of the family of God. As long as we continue to love God and our
fellow man we are in a saved condition and it is good to always remember that
even though a Christian is to repent of sins, forgive others, and love people,
still our salvation is not based on the merits of what we might do; but on the
grace of God and the merits of Jesus Christ. As long as a Christian remains faithful to Christ he is acquitted at the
Bar of God's Justice. In response to our
repentance and baptism (Acts 2:38), salvation becomes ours and as long as we
remain faithful and choose to stay in the family of God it is a present and
eternal possession.
To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the
adoption of sons. And because ye are
sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba,
Father. Wherefore thou are no more a
servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ (Gal.
4:5-7).
Even
a faithful and obedient Christian will sin.
And when he does it becomes a family
matter, not a court matter. In other
words, a faithful Christian is outside the jurisdiction of the court. But how sad and soul-beclouding it is when a
Christian sins, thus denying himself fellowship with the family of God; and
until he has sought the Father's forgiveness he will not know real peace of
mind. "Forgive us," is a
prayer that all of us need to constantly offer. But we must always remember that it is conditioned on forgiving others,
"but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father
forgive your trespasses" (v. 15). Make no mistake about it, to harbor an unforgiving spirit toward another
renders us ineligible for His forgiveness and we forfeit our fellowship with
the Father, along with the peace, joy, power, blessing, and experience bound up
in that happy relationship. Far too many
of us are spiritually bereft and barren because we simply will not "make
up" with some brother or sister in Christ with whom we have
quarreled. We should not deceive
ourselves—singing hymns, praying prayers, performing duties, making vows, will
be of no avail for until that thing has been put right we will continue to walk
this earth unforgiven of the Father. Only when in humility and honesty we can
pray, "Forgive us . . . as we forgive" can we expect to once again
have peace of mind.
Spiritual
needs
We now briefly consider our spiritual
needs—"Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." This is a difficult verse, because temptation
must always be a universal and continual experience while we remain in the
flesh, and also because it is one of the God-appointed ways of toughening our
moral fiber—therefore, if rightly handled must be a good thing. Perhaps it should be said that we are wrong
if we pray this out of a desire for an easy Christian life; but if we do so out
of a sense of weakness, then we pray legitimately. Certainly we will never comprehend the matter
if we treat this verse as two prayers: only as one prayer do we begin to see
its full meaning, correlating the "not" and the "but." We
believe the purport of it to be "Lead us not into"—leaving us there
to be overwhelmed; but "deliver us out of" the evil to which it seeks
to lead us. No doubt, the best
commentary on the verse is the statement of 1 Corinthians 13, "God is
faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but
will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear
it." By the way, the R.V. here says
"the evil one." So, in giving
us directions as to the "manner" in which we are to pray, the Master
tells us to include every side of personal need, taking, for illustration, a
specimen of physical, mental, and spiritual need. In that full-orbed intercession is found the
secret of release from an anxious life—"Be careful [anxious] for nothing;
but in everything by prayer" (Phil. 4:6; emphasis added). But, while thinking thus of ourselves, let us
next observe that
The
rest of the family are remembered
Throughout the whole prayer, not once is
the word "I" mentioned—it is always "us, our; we, our; us,
us." The blessings we crave are not
sought for ourselves alone, but for all the others in the family as well. There is the individual prayer—"when thou
prayest" (v. 6). It is deeply
moving to realize that each such particular suppliant has God's complete
attention. A little child was once
explaining to a grown-up friend what
happened up in heaven when she prayed: “When I say my prayers God stops all the
music and says, ‘Quiet, please; there's a little girl down there who wants to
talk to Me.’” Perhaps there is no need to stop the heavenly music; but we
believe that without a doubt He gives us personal attention—not because we are
good or great, but simply because we are His children. How quickly amid all the clamor of a noisy
company in the living room, a mother will hear the crying of her little one
upstairs. Just so, above all the noise
of the world and all the delight of heaven, does the Father hear the cry of the
least of His children. Remember that
exquisite thought in Genesis 21:17, "God heard the voice of the
lad"? Dying of thirst behind that
sheltering bush, we are not told that he said anything, but only of his
"voice," perhaps weakly whimpering. But God heard, as He will always hear our need "uttered or
unexpressed," however individual it might be. This is the social prayer—"pray ye"
(v. 9)—plural. Even when praying alone,
in the quiet of our own heart, we will have all the others in mind, as we way,
not "me and mine," but "us and our." What a pity it is that sometimes we forget
that we are members of a family—the family of God. One of the most impelling and attractive
things that Christians can do for the lost of the world, is to recapture and
relay a sense of fellowship and love for one another. One of the great secrets of those first
converts was the enjoyment of "fellowship" (Acts 2:42). We pray that our "manner" of
praying might lead us back to that powerful magnet. Modern men and women are strangely drawn by
fellowship; and how better should they find it than in (what should be) sweet
fellowship of the family of God. In our
lives, then, as in our prayers, let us remember and practice fellowship and
love one for the other. Consider the
following
Three
questions
Three questions arise concerning this
doxology. How are we to account for
it? It seems probable that our Lord did
not speak the words. It is not in that
other prayer in Luke 9; not in R.V.; and not in the oldest manuscripts. Possibly, when the prayer came to be used in
public worship, this doxological ending was attached to make a finish, somewhat
in the same way as, in the singing of the Psalms; a custom grew up of adding,
"Gloria." A note to that
effect might have been written in the margin of some early manuscript, and then
later inadvertently incorporated in the text of some of the copies. It should be said that in spite of what has
been adduced the matter is not entirely settled.
There is argument on the other side. Though the R.V. does not include the words in
the Text, it does say in the margin, "Many authorities, some ancient, but
with variations, add, 'For thine is the Kingdom, etc., Amen.'" So, perhaps after all, they are the Master's
own words. In any case, they seem a
fitting climax—the family's rallying cry, motto, goal.
How
are we to understand it?
So, how are we to
understand it? There is a grammatical
form in the Greek language called Hendiadys, consisting of two or three
substantives linked by "and," the latter of which nouns have an
adjective office strengthening the first. For example, in John 14:6, 'I am the way [and, Gk.], the truth, and the
life'" (emphasis added. What have truth and life to do with the matter of
our context? He is talking of the Way;
and it seems likely that the real meaning of His utterance is, "I am the
Way—the true Way, the living Way."
Likewise in our present passage,
"Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory," we are perhaps
to understand, "Thine is the kingdom, the powerful kingdom, the glorious
kingdom"—assuredly it is, "for ever."
Summary
How are we to regard it? This goal of the family—will we be ashamed of
it, will we apologize for it? No; but
rather let us have a proper pride—not in our own abilities or achievement, but
in the fact that by the grace of God we have been made children of the King,
members of a royal family, committed to the supreme task, and peerless honor of
being a loyal servant of the kingdom of our Lord. Amen. So be it; so may it be; so shall it be.
Footnotes:
1 Matthew
11:25-27; 26:39, 42; Luke 23:34, 56; John 12:28; 17:1.
2 For more on being born again, see God’s Salvation in A Religion
Library section of StudyJesus.com.
3 For more on the Bible, see God’s Word in A Religion Library section of StudyJesus.com.
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