The Sermon On The Mount Pt.3:The Lord's Prayer
Continuing with our study of the sermon on the mount, this week we'll read Matthew chapter 6, verses 1-13, and then take an in-depth look at the Lord's Prayer..."Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. 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."
In verse 1, Jesus warns against doing alms before men, in order to be seen of them. This would include performing any type of religious or charitable act. As we are told in James 1:27..."Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." We, as Christians, are commanded to perform these types of charitable acts, whether it be the giving of our money, or our time, or both. However, we must ensure that our motives are pure. Hypocrisy was very often pointed out and harshly criticized by Jesus, verse 1 as well as verse 5 of our reading being but two of numerous examples. Jesus strongly chastised those who acted in hypocritical ways. In the original Greek text, the word "hupokritees", the precursor for the English word "hypocrites", was used frequently by Jesus, and it is defined as "one who plays a part, or one who either pretends to be something that he is not, or one who hides who he really is." Though we all, from time to time, are guilty of hypocrisy to varying degrees, may we never allow it to define who we are, and may we always recognize its subtleties and repent of it when we realize that we have fallen into its snare. So deadly are its effects, in fact, that Jesus warns that those whose motives are impure in their prayers or alms, those who seek not for the good of others, but for their own personal glory, have forfeited their reward. The bottom line, then, is that God knows our hearts, He sees in secret, and He rewards openly. Let us therefore pray for purity in all our ways, that all things would be done with "clean hands, and a pure heart." These thoughts are wrapped up in a beautifully reassuring way in verse 8 as Jesus tells us simply..."For your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him." It is a humbling thing indeed to consider the fact that God knows us on such a personal level, that He feels our needs, and responds, that the Creator of the Universe is connected with each one of us in such an intimate way...we should never feel alone, because we never are.
We come now to the beautiful prayer which Jesus taught his disciples, the often quoted "Lord's Prayer." Let us first of all state that this is not a prayer which is meant to be memorized in order to be recited word for word. It should not be repeated verbatim as a matter of habit, since Jesus spoke against vain repetitions in prayer in verse 7 of our reading. Much more pleasing to God is a personal prayer that is heartfelt and honest, and prayed in the name of Jesus, as He is our mediator, our advocate before the Father. Rather, this inspirational prayer is more of a form, or an outline, which we are at liberty to pattern our own prayers after. For the purposes of analysis, we'll break the prayer down into its three distinct parts, the first of which is the preface, or address, followed by the petitions, or the body of the prayer, and then, the conclusion, sometimes referred to as the doxology.
The preface of the Lord's Prayer is simply..."Our Father, which art in heaven,"...When we pray, we are to pray only to God, not to angels, or to saints, and we are to address God as our Father. We have been made joint heirs with Christ, therefore we have the spirit of adoption, and we are to come boldly before the throne of grace, and with solemn reverence speak directly to God, as our Father.
The petitions, or body, of the Lord's Prayer are seven in number, the first three being related to God and to His honor, while the last four are related to our own personal, earthly concerns. We are told later on in the sermon on the mount to "seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you", and the Lord's Prayer follows this pattern, in that the glory and honor of God is first and foremost proclaimed, and then our own individual concerns are addressed. "Hallowed be thy name."...All glory inherently belongs to God, as He is Creator and Sustainer of all, and we must magnify His name in word, in deed, and in all that we do. "Thy kingdom come."...It should be our earnest desire to see the kingdom of God enlarged, to see the gospel spread, to see the lost saved, and the world changed for the better because of the influence of God's love. "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven."... In order to see God's kingdom spread and its influence changing minds, hearts, and lives, we must first be willing to defer to what God wants for us. Our will, our wants, and our desires must be brought into subjection to God's will for our life. Only then can we be part of the solution, in compliance with God's will, and part of His plan, rather than a hindrance or a stumbling block to others. "Give us this day our daily bread."...God knows that we have need of physical sustenance, and He will provide it. Those who seek to stay in His will need never worry where their next meal will come from. David wrote so eloquently in Psalm 37:25..."I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." However, Jesus was speaking of more than just our physical needs. As he said in Matthew 4:4..."Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." So we see that it is not simply physical sustenance that Jesus spoke of, but spiritual nourishment, as well. We need to spend time in God's word daily, as it serves to keep us grounded, to purify our hearts and minds, and strengthen our connection to Him, to make us into what He would have us to be. "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." We must be of a forgiving spirit toward others, as we can never, on our own, hope to repay the debt of sin that we ourselves owe. Let us always remember that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, thereby showing us the true manifestation of a forgiving spirit, and one that we should seek to emulate and exemplify in our daily lives."And lead us not into temptation,"...We should petition God that, in His great mercy, He would remove from our path any snares that the devil has set for us, that He would chain up the roaring lion that seeks whom he may devour. "But deliver us from evil."...Let us also pray that God would deliver us not only from the evil of this present world, but that He would deliver us from ourselves, as well. We, as flesh and blood, are weak, and subject to lust, greed, jealousy, hatred, and so many other things that would separate us from God. We must pray for purity of our hearts and minds, and for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, that we would be led in the paths of righteousness.
The conclusion, or doxology, of the Lord's Prayer is a beautiful proclamation of thanksgiving and praise. "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen." It is an acknowledgement of the all encompassing glory that is due to God, and the fact that His glory is to be proclaimed forevermore. To ascribe eternal glory to God should be our desired destiny, to forever praise Him with the saints and angels in heaven, not because He needs our praises, but because He deserves them. His love warrants endless praises, and to this, we proclaim a resounding, "Amen."
In verse 1, Jesus warns against doing alms before men, in order to be seen of them. This would include performing any type of religious or charitable act. As we are told in James 1:27..."Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." We, as Christians, are commanded to perform these types of charitable acts, whether it be the giving of our money, or our time, or both. However, we must ensure that our motives are pure. Hypocrisy was very often pointed out and harshly criticized by Jesus, verse 1 as well as verse 5 of our reading being but two of numerous examples. Jesus strongly chastised those who acted in hypocritical ways. In the original Greek text, the word "hupokritees", the precursor for the English word "hypocrites", was used frequently by Jesus, and it is defined as "one who plays a part, or one who either pretends to be something that he is not, or one who hides who he really is." Though we all, from time to time, are guilty of hypocrisy to varying degrees, may we never allow it to define who we are, and may we always recognize its subtleties and repent of it when we realize that we have fallen into its snare. So deadly are its effects, in fact, that Jesus warns that those whose motives are impure in their prayers or alms, those who seek not for the good of others, but for their own personal glory, have forfeited their reward. The bottom line, then, is that God knows our hearts, He sees in secret, and He rewards openly. Let us therefore pray for purity in all our ways, that all things would be done with "clean hands, and a pure heart." These thoughts are wrapped up in a beautifully reassuring way in verse 8 as Jesus tells us simply..."For your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him." It is a humbling thing indeed to consider the fact that God knows us on such a personal level, that He feels our needs, and responds, that the Creator of the Universe is connected with each one of us in such an intimate way...we should never feel alone, because we never are.
We come now to the beautiful prayer which Jesus taught his disciples, the often quoted "Lord's Prayer." Let us first of all state that this is not a prayer which is meant to be memorized in order to be recited word for word. It should not be repeated verbatim as a matter of habit, since Jesus spoke against vain repetitions in prayer in verse 7 of our reading. Much more pleasing to God is a personal prayer that is heartfelt and honest, and prayed in the name of Jesus, as He is our mediator, our advocate before the Father. Rather, this inspirational prayer is more of a form, or an outline, which we are at liberty to pattern our own prayers after. For the purposes of analysis, we'll break the prayer down into its three distinct parts, the first of which is the preface, or address, followed by the petitions, or the body of the prayer, and then, the conclusion, sometimes referred to as the doxology.
The preface of the Lord's Prayer is simply..."Our Father, which art in heaven,"...When we pray, we are to pray only to God, not to angels, or to saints, and we are to address God as our Father. We have been made joint heirs with Christ, therefore we have the spirit of adoption, and we are to come boldly before the throne of grace, and with solemn reverence speak directly to God, as our Father.
The petitions, or body, of the Lord's Prayer are seven in number, the first three being related to God and to His honor, while the last four are related to our own personal, earthly concerns. We are told later on in the sermon on the mount to "seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you", and the Lord's Prayer follows this pattern, in that the glory and honor of God is first and foremost proclaimed, and then our own individual concerns are addressed. "Hallowed be thy name."...All glory inherently belongs to God, as He is Creator and Sustainer of all, and we must magnify His name in word, in deed, and in all that we do. "Thy kingdom come."...It should be our earnest desire to see the kingdom of God enlarged, to see the gospel spread, to see the lost saved, and the world changed for the better because of the influence of God's love. "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven."... In order to see God's kingdom spread and its influence changing minds, hearts, and lives, we must first be willing to defer to what God wants for us. Our will, our wants, and our desires must be brought into subjection to God's will for our life. Only then can we be part of the solution, in compliance with God's will, and part of His plan, rather than a hindrance or a stumbling block to others. "Give us this day our daily bread."...God knows that we have need of physical sustenance, and He will provide it. Those who seek to stay in His will need never worry where their next meal will come from. David wrote so eloquently in Psalm 37:25..."I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." However, Jesus was speaking of more than just our physical needs. As he said in Matthew 4:4..."Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." So we see that it is not simply physical sustenance that Jesus spoke of, but spiritual nourishment, as well. We need to spend time in God's word daily, as it serves to keep us grounded, to purify our hearts and minds, and strengthen our connection to Him, to make us into what He would have us to be. "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." We must be of a forgiving spirit toward others, as we can never, on our own, hope to repay the debt of sin that we ourselves owe. Let us always remember that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, thereby showing us the true manifestation of a forgiving spirit, and one that we should seek to emulate and exemplify in our daily lives."And lead us not into temptation,"...We should petition God that, in His great mercy, He would remove from our path any snares that the devil has set for us, that He would chain up the roaring lion that seeks whom he may devour. "But deliver us from evil."...Let us also pray that God would deliver us not only from the evil of this present world, but that He would deliver us from ourselves, as well. We, as flesh and blood, are weak, and subject to lust, greed, jealousy, hatred, and so many other things that would separate us from God. We must pray for purity of our hearts and minds, and for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, that we would be led in the paths of righteousness.
The conclusion, or doxology, of the Lord's Prayer is a beautiful proclamation of thanksgiving and praise. "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen." It is an acknowledgement of the all encompassing glory that is due to God, and the fact that His glory is to be proclaimed forevermore. To ascribe eternal glory to God should be our desired destiny, to forever praise Him with the saints and angels in heaven, not because He needs our praises, but because He deserves them. His love warrants endless praises, and to this, we proclaim a resounding, "Amen."
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