The Lord’s prayer
Nehemiah Kim
Matthew 6:9-15
Key Verse 6:9b-10 “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Prayer is the dialogue between God and us. We can talk with God through prayer. How wonderful it is. I heard that if someone wants to have lunch and talk to Warren Berfict, he should pay million dollars. We don’t deserve to talk with God due to our sins, but we can talk with God, the creator without the need to pay. We can talk to God in anywhere, at any place. Let us enjoy the great privilege of prayer. Then, what should we pray for? Today’s passage is called “The Lord’s Prayer”. It is a model prayer. We recite it in every Sunday worship service. Sometimes we say this prayer habitually without thinking about its meaning. Let us learn from The Lord’s prayer and pray according to Jesus’ teaching.
I. Our Father God and His heart’s desire (9-10)
First, “Our Father in heaven” (9). This is how we should address God. God is our Father. We are not trying to connect with some vague spiritual world. We are talking to the One who made us, our Creator. As our loving heavenly Father, He invites us to approach Him. During Jesus’ time, this was revolutionary. Prior to this, people considered God so holy that He was almost unapproachable. In the Old Testament, only the high priest could come into God’s presence. Ordinary people could not imagine approaching God without a mediator. But Jesus became our one and everlasting Mediator, who paid the ransom for all our sins through the shedding of His blood (1 Ti 2:5). Through Jesus, God adopted us as His own children, so we can call Him, “Abba, Father” (Gal 4:6). We can come to God freely with confidence to enjoy an intimate loving relationship with Him (Eph 3:12). What a great privilege this is! We can come to God just as we are, calling, “Father! Daddy!” A very famous Christian author, Andrew Murray said, “Calling our father in heaven is the key to unlocking the door to prayer.” When we call God as our father in heaven, we can enter the wonderful love relationship with God.
When my son calls me “Father, Daddy”, I am so happy. I am his father. He is my son. Our Father “in heaven” is different from our earthly father. Earthly fathers are imperfect and weak. They disappoint and even wound their children. My physical father loved me so much, but when he drank a lot, he became a disappointment to me. Our earthly fathers are temporary, but our heavenly Father is everlasting (Isa 9:6). Our earthly fathers make mistakes, but our heavenly Father is perfect. Our earthly fathers can be sick and weak, but our heavenly Father is always strong; He is the Almighty Creator God with whom nothing is impossible. Most importantly, our heavenly Father loves us so much that He sacrificed His one and only Son Jesus for us.
Our heavenly Father is well described in the parable of the prodigal son in Luke’s Gospel chapter 15. We are like the second son in the parable. We ran away from God, squander His wealth, and sin against Him greatly. But when we come back, our heavenly Father forgives and embraces us with an unconditional, never-ending love. Our heavenly Father is good and everything He does for us is good (Ro 8:28). Our earthly fathers need their heavenly Father as well. So instead of complaining about them, we should pray for them to approach the heavenly Father.
When our hearts are heavy with agony, we long to share our burdens to someone, or to cry aloud. But if we disclose our honest feelings, others might judge or blame us. Even though our earthly father understands us, he cannot solve all our problems. Some of us eventually give up sharing our agonies, frustrations, and sorrows. However, our Father in heaven is compassionate and almighty at the same time. We can come to our Father in heaven and pour out our agonies and frustrations. Our heavenly father listens to us very carefully, embraces us as we are, counsels us wonderfully. Through prayer, we are drawn closer and closer to God.
Since God is “our” Father, all believers are brothers and sisters in one family. We are not enemies or competitors, but family members. That is why we love one another, show concern for one another, and pray for each other. Prayer is not burdensome; it is enjoying a deep loving relationship with our Father God. This is where prayer begins.
Second, “hallowed be your name” (9). What does “hallowed be your name” mean? It means “holy be your name”, which is to honor God as God. Who is God? He is the Creator (Gen 1:1; Isa 40:28). That is why God alone is to be worshiped. Prayer should begin by worshiping and praising God.
Due to the corruption caused by sin, men no longer naturally glorify or give thanks to God (Ro 1:21). Their thinking has become futile and their foolish hearts are darkened. They exchange God’s glory for idols of all kinds. When I went to Sri Lanka a month ago, I was disgusted with so many idols in the Buddhist temple. They worshiped elephants, insects, and the strange Buddha with multiple hands. Young people worship movie stars and sports stars as their God. Last year, in the Incheon airport, I was surprised that many girls gathered to welcome a K-pop group. The girls came from China, Japan, Viet Nam and Europe. Nowadays many people worship money and pleasure. But they don’t deserve to be worshiped. Due to idolatry, God’s glory has been concealed. As creatures, we should worship and praise God. Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Although human beings are created in God’s image, we do not worship God, nor glorify Him. Martin Luther said, “Let God be God.” We should pray earnestly for God’s name to be glorified. Then the spiritual order can be established. God is pleased with us, and we can be happy.
In Isaiah 36, Assyrian soldiers attacked Judah. They scorned the name of God. “Who of all the gods of these countries have been able to save their lands from me? How then can the Lord deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”(Isaiah 36:20) King Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, “Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you are the only God”(Isa 37:20). God was pleased with Hezekiah’s prayer and sent His angels to put to death 185,000 in the Assyrian camp (Isa 37:36). God wants us to glorify Him and honor His name. Wherever we are, whatever we do – at home, in the office at our computer, studying at school or traveling – we must do it all for the glory of God (1 Cor 10:31).
Third, “your kingdom come” (10). The ultimate hope of believers is the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is not a geographical territory, but God’s reign. In the garden of Eden, God ruled, so it was a paradise. But after disobedience to God’s command, Satan entered and began to rule as our king. This is the root source of all kinds of miseries: violence, lust, jealousy, and depression. Several days ago, an elementary female teacher killed an 8-year-old girl in the school. It was very shocking to the Korean society. The female teacher was probably governed by demons. Many people are addicted to the violent and lustful media. Satan is working mightily through these bad media. We should pray that God’s kingdom may come and reign in our hearts, our families, our community, our nation, and this world. When God reigns, we have true peace and love, justice and truth in our hearts. Furthermore, relationships are restored; there is harmony between God, man, and nature.
There is a constant battle between God’s kingdom and Satan’s. In this battle, we are called as the soldiers of Christ (2 Ti 2:3). We are engaging in spiritual warfare. Let us pray for the spiritual victory. Prayer is not a ritual exercise, but a holy war.
When we serve others with 1:1 bible study, the kingdom of God can be expanded. Let us pray that God may bless us to engage in 1:1 bible study battles this year in order to build the heavenly kingdom in the hearts of many American young people.
Verse 10 ends with “…your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” In heaven, everything is done according to God’s will. This is not yet true on earth. The pride and rebellion of sinful men distort the spiritual order. We should pray that we may deny our selfish will but to obey God’s will. Jesus showed us the example when he prayed, “Yet not as I will, but as you will” in Gethsemane (Mt 26:39b). Prayer is to submit our will to God’s perfect will. It must not be done only once. Rather we have to pray continuously until our value system may be changed completely.
In the past, I wanted to establish my kingdom. I was interested in my fame, my glory, and my honor. I was selfish and self-centered. My heart was full of jealousy, inferiority, and frustration. I was ruled by Satan. However, the Lord had mercy on me and saved me. When I accepted Jesus as my savior Christ, Jesus became my king. God changed my purpose in life to seek His kingdom. I prayed for the world mission and campus pioneering. God appointed me to take care of a soul with Jesus’ heart, and I became free from jealousy, hatred, and selfishness. “Your kingdom come.” It became my earnest prayer topic. May God grant me God-centered prayer moment by moment to establish God’s kingdom.
II. Prayer for our needs (11-15)
Here, Jesus teaches us to pray for our needs. First, “Give us today our daily bread” (11). Man is both body and soul. We should not ignore our bodies. In order to maintain our bodies, we need bread. Here “bread” represents our basic physical needs, such as those for food, clothes, shelter, education, and health. God knows that we have these needs, and wants us to ask Him to meet them. We spend a lot of time thinking about material things. But we need not worry about what we eat or what we drink. Rather we must pray to God to give us all the necessary things. Jesus promises that if we seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness, all that we need will be given to us (Mt 6:25-33).
Jesus taught us to ask for “daily” bread, not “bi-monthly” or “yearly” bread. We should depend on God every day and every moment. Jesus did not tell us to ask for “my” daily bread, but for “our” daily bread. This teaches us that we should overcome our selfishness and be mindful of others. We should be mindful of those who are needy and suffering.
Second, “Forgive us our debts” (12,14-15). Look at verse 12. “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” The moment we believe in Jesus, our sins are forgiven. But we still need daily forgiveness, for we sin every day, intentionally and unintentionally. The only way to break free from sin’s power is to receive forgiveness from God. God has mercy on those who come to Him. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
It is easy to judge when we notice others’ problems. But we should repent not only my sins but also other’s sins. We have been called as the royal priesthoods. We need to take the sins of others on our shoulders. In Exodus 32:31-32, Moses prayed to the Lord, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. But now, please forgive their sin – but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.” The Lord was pleased with Moses’ prayer for his people’s forgiveness and forgave their sins. It is time for us to pray for the forgiveness of our country, our family, and our friends. God will listen to our intercessory prayer for others.
Jesus said in verses 14-15, “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” One of the great problems of men is that we do not forgive others. People would rather break relationships than forgive. This is the main reason why there are so many broken relationships: between husbands and wives, parents and children, and between fellow Christians. We need to forgive others for the sake of our own mental and emotional health.
Peter once asked Jesus with a generous heart, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Maybe Peter was hoping to receive praise from Jesus. However, Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” Wow, it seems to be impossible for us to forgive. Remember Jesus who prayed for our forgiveness on the cross. “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Lk 23:34) When we remember the grace of forgiveness given to us, we can forgive.
Third, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (13). The world we live in is full of evil. Our enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour (1 Pe 5:8). He is much stronger and smarter than we are. Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church confessed, “My temptations come in the evening. They come from two very demonic sources. The television and the refrigerator. There is the devil” These days, watching YouTube too much is a big temptation. Many young people are tempted by lust and addicted to bad things. They become slaves of sins. We should pray to the Lord, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
1 Corinthians 10:12 says, “if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall.” None can be exempted from temptation. Even Christian leaders fell into temptations – material and sexual temptations – and became miserable. Ephesians 6:11 says, “Put on the full armor of God. so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” How can we put on the full armor of God? Jesus taught us to pray not to be led into temptation. When we acknowledge our weaknesses before God, and ask for His help, God strengthens us to overcome temptations and live a victorious life. In addition, we should pray, “Lord, please fill my heart with your holy Spirit.” God will inflame us with the holy passion to devote ourselves to the work of God. God will make us the good soldiers of Christ Jesus to defeat temptations from Satan and serve the great work of God.
The Lord’s Prayer ends with, “for yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.” This is the conclusion of the Lord’s prayer. Our God is the Eternal God. He was and is and always will be. He has the almighty power. He deserves to be exalted and glorified by all creatures. When we pray to the Lord like this, God is pleased and he answers us indeed. In 1 Chronicles 29:11-14, David prayed, “Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything is heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. — But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this.” God was pleased with David’s prayer and answered him with joy. Even now, God is living and almighty. He listens to our prayers and answers us. John Knox said, “Greater is the one man who prays than the people who do not pray.” Let us pray to the Lord according to Jesus’ teaching.
God has blessed the UBF ministry through prayer. Our spiritual ancestors prayed earnestly for the world mission and campus pioneering. Sometimes, they stayed up all night in prayer. Late Dr. Samuel Lee said, “For Christians, prayer is the hardest labor. But we must pray until we discover the power of prayer and our hearts are broken.” May God inspire us to pray more earnestly so that we may experience the power of God. God established me as the director of Korea UBF. I did not know what to do. I prayed for the campus revival. God answered our earnest prayer. 2 years ago, 300 students came to the National student conference. Last year, 400 attended. God blessed this year’s conference with 473 attendees. We were so inspired, so we are praying for 1000 attendees next year. God has also given us good opportunities for world mission through foreign students in Korea. The number is 260,000. We want to invite them to 1:1 bible studies and Vision Camp which will be held on June 30th to July 7th. Our earnest prayer topic is that God’s kingdom may come. May God bless UBF so that we may engage in spiritual battle to save young people from sins. I believe that God will answer us and bring a revival among us. May God bless each of you so that you can pray earnestly according to the Lord’s prayer and experience the almighty power of God.