THE MODEL PRAYER - Part 2 (Matthew 6:5-15)
This is part 2 of the deep dive into Matthew 6:5-15. If you missed part 1, I would suggest starting there as this post will be focusing on verses 9-13 and the different aspects of prayer that Christ has in His model.
(vs. 9) In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
Christ starts off the model prayer by addressing who we are praying to. We are praying to the Creator of the Universe who is still our loving Father. We have the privilege of coming to Him directly with our needs.
After addressing God the Father, the next step is to praise Him. Our first priority is glorifying God for all He is and all He has done for us. As we saw in part 1, this doesn’t mean listing off every name and title that God has. It means really, truly praising God with our heart and pouring it out with our lips. We must speak of His power, majesty, and splendor. There are many examples of prayers of praise in the Bible, some examples are listed below.
Exodus 15:2 - The Lord is my strength and song. And He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.
Psalm 9:1 - I will praise You, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works.
Daniel 2:23 - “I thank You and praise You, O God of my father; You have given me wisdom and might, And have now made known to me what we asked of You, For You have made known to us the king’s demand.”
Romans 11:36 - For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
1 Peter 1:3-5 - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
(vs.10) Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
This verse has two aspects of prayer that we need to incorporate. The first is the hope of Christ’s coming. The hope of our salvation is the Second Coming of Christ. As believers, we should always be desiring and waiting for His return. Christ reminds His disciples to be ready for His return and to wait for it earnestly. Here are some verses below that show how we should be earnestly waiting and hoping for Christ’s return.
Luke 12:36 - and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately.
1 Peter 4:7 - But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.
Revelation 22:20 - He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
The second part of this verse refers to asking for God’s will to prevail in our lives. Who knows better of our needs - us or the God who created us? God’s will is perfect and we should desire it in our lives. God is a loving Father who only desires to give us good things. Christ is reminding His disciples and us that we should submit totally to the will of God. Christ Himself submitted to the will of God when He came down to this world to die for our sins. Can we not do the same? See some verses below that illustrate this.
Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Romans 8:28 - And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Proverbs 3:5,6 - Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
(vs. 11) Give us this day our daily bread.
The next aspect of prayer is our daily needs. Christ is instructing His disciples to pray for the needs of today, not for what may come tomorrow. Christ explains this concept in more detail within this chapter. In verses 25-34, Christ reminds His disciples that the Heavenly Father takes care of even the creatures of the earth and the flowers of the field. How much more does He care for us? Therefore we do not need to look for what may come tomorrow, we should focus our prayer on our immediate daily needs.
This also means that our prayers should not be selfish. We should not be bombarding God with our ‘wants’. We cannot treat God as a genie who grants us wishes. He is the all-powerful Creator of the universe, not someone who lives in a lamp waiting for us to make a demand. As I keep mentioning, God is a loving Father. He promises that He will provide for us. See verses below.
Deuteronomy 29:5 - And I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn out on your feet.
Psalm 23:1 - The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Philippians 4:19 - And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
(vs. 12) And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.
This verse has 2 aspects of prayer to consider. The first is asking for forgiveness of our sins. As people living in this world, we all commit sins. None of us are perfect. Yes, as believers, our sins are covered by the blood of Christ. But daily repentance is still required. Our Heavenly Father is perfect and does not tolerate sin. We must humble ourselves and ask for His forgiveness.
The second aspect is asking God to help us forgive those who transgress against us. Christ explains this further in verses 14 and 15 (below). God’s standards are pure and much higher than man’s. He is merciful, holy, and just. If God can forgive us of our sins, why can’t we forgive others? So, we must pray to God and earnestly ask that He provides us the strength to forgive those who trespass against us. It is not easy to forgive those who hurt us, but with God’s help, we can.
Matthew 6: 14,15 - “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
(vs. 13) And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
We have come to the last verse of the model prayer. Here, Christ reminds His disciples that we must pray for deliverance from future sins and from the power of Satan. When reading this verse, we may think that we are asking God not to lead us into temptation. That is wrong. God does not tempt us to do sin (see the verses in James below). The idea of temptation here is a direct correlation to praying for deliverance from the evil one. The evil one is Satan who is waiting to drag God’s children into sin (see the verses in 1 Peter below). We must ask God to protect us so that we don’t fall into sin. The only way to prevail against Satan is with God’s help. We must earnestly desire to stay firmly rooted in God and not drift into sin. Satan’s temptations are strong and the only way we can overcome them is through God’s deliverance.
James 1:13-15 - Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
1 Peter 5:8,9 - Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he can devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.
The model prayer ends in the same way it started, with praise. God is Holy, perfect, omniscient, omnipotent, and so much more than we can comprehend. Yet, He is still a loving Father who desires fellowship with us. We must never forget His power and His glory when we speak to Him. Yes, prayer is a personal and intimate conversation with God the Father. But, it must be done with reverence, respect, admiration, and appreciation for all that God has done for us and who He is.
