Prayer. The word is a common expression among Christians, Muslims, and Jews, and other religions have their own version of prayer. However, the question begs, what is prayer? This is not a trivial question. What prayer is determines what we pray for, our mindset of prayer, and whether our prayers are accomplished or not. Jesus took the subject of prayer with utter seriousness, for He spoke about it in Matthew 6:5-8. He was so serious about it, he scalded the Pharisees for their high, lofty, lengthy, and public prayers. Public prayer was not the issue at had; the issue was they prayed for recognition and man’s praise. The heart of their prayers was human, over divine, approval. The only thing more offensive to the sinner than true religion and piety is double minded piety, which is not piety at all. The pious are content with the blessings of God, and to be counted as approved in His sight; whether man approves is a matter of no consequence. The man or woman who prays for the wrong reasons is counted no more righteous than the pagan who does not pray at all. There continues to be men, and women, who pray in wrongful spirit. If there is so much wrong in their prayer, how do we know right from wrong in prayer? Patience grasshopper, and you shall learn.
The first line in the Lord’s prayer that we are given in Matthew 5:9 is “Lord, hallowed be thy name.” The first line is the most important in the spirit of prayer. For to be hallowed means to be glorified, and be given ultimate reverence. The most important part of prayer is to be before the Lord giving praise to God and His name. The object of prayer is first, foremost, and to the last is God Himself. The object of God is to be our foundation, our rock, our refuge, our fortress, and our strength. Nothing else will count as being approved by God, for the Lord is not pleased with windy lip service that gives verbal ascent to His name, then walks out of church to practice carnality. Such a man is, before the Lord, insincere, double-minded, uncontrite, and definitively arrogant. A man of this character is arrogant because he deludes himself into thinking God approves of Him for walking into His house with no intention of repentance. This man is not, and no other person like him is, given license because He is a member of the house of God. The entrance to the house of God is an act of prayer, for as his thoughts and intentions are coming in, so God will do battle against Satan over where his heart is when he comes out. The words hallowed be thy name shatter the stone crusted over the heart to welcome the way for the King to walk and enact His will in their life. Until God is hallowed in one’s prayer life, it will come off as mere hypocrisy.
v. 10 “Thy Kingdom Come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.” The heart of prayer is one of humility before the Lord to declare that the will of God be done above the will of man. In our supplication, our prayers do not give evidence of desire for God to enact His will irrespective of our ambitions. To the contrary, our ambitions are held with recalcitrant opposition to anything of God’s will that will wage war against them. Prayer is not the fulfillment of selfish ambition; it is the place where selfish ambition dies and Christ brings the new man to bear. It is not to no point when James 4:10 says humble yourself before the Lord, and He will exalt you. Exaltation comes after humility, and humility with resignation to the hand of God’s will in our lives rather than war against it. The will of God on earth as it is in Heaven reflects where our true citizenship rests, and that which we strive for. Mind that you are not comfortable with life on earth to the point of loosing desire for Heaven. This life we bear is but a vapor in the wind, our story in the chapter of God’s play, and each person is a player. Will we play our role in the play, or will we be prideful, and war against the playwrights script?
v. 11 “Give us this day our daily bread.” The passage has caused a debate to erupt between scholars over whether the daily bread is a mere spiritual reference, or is a reference to bodily needs and provision for survival. The debate, while understandable, is plagued by one fault. It is the fact that this debate is an either/or fallacy: a false dichotomy. The prayer for bread is request for nourishment of the body or provision of ones needs; after all, all provision is from our heavenly Father who richly provides for our needs. The prayer of the spiritual bread is one of the most powerful, and ironic prayers. This prayer asks for provision of spiritual sustenance to bear a healthy spiritual life, when the healthy spiritual life is already possessed by the believer by praying rightfully. The evidence of a bad prayer life, and a spiritual life as well, is the matter discussed in James 4:2-3. The person who asks for that which is correspondent to the passions of the flesh, over the will of the Spirit, insults the Spirit by the fact that it treats God as a genie/jinn. You cannot seal God in a bottle and demand of Him as you will. The Lord is Sovereign and will bring to pass that which He has foreordained. As per James 1:2-3, we are promised trials of many kinds. We are promised to be heirs of the kingdom when persecuted for righteousness sake Matthew 5:10, not if we are persecuted. We pray for endurance in trials, droughts, disparity, hopelessness, and persecution, for our final refuge is God, and God alone.
v.12 “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” The prayer of forgiveness in proportion to the mercy we bear to our fellow man is both a comfort and a indictment. The question of how much mercy we bear toward man in God’s image for his transgression against us reflects whether God will bear mercy towards us in our sins. The hard hearted man, for which is unwilling to forgive another’s debt, will not be forgiven the debt he owed. Matthew 18:24-35 talks about a debtor who refused to forgive his neighbors debt, despite the 10,000 talents he himself owed, and was initially forgiven of, until the king reneged on it out of disgust for the servant’s ingratitude. The measure of the debt we owe for our sin before God is the incentive to forgive another’s sin because our offense against God is greater, and all sin is an act against God Himself. Lying tells a man in God’s image He is not worthy of truth, and that, by extension, God is not worthy of being spoken to truthfully. Rape tells the victim that their dignity as a human in God’s image does not matter, and neither does the dignity of God. Murder tells the victim that their life does not matter, and that God, whose image man is made in, does not matter. So before you rush to sin against your neighbor, remember this. If your transgression is an act against God in greater measure to the act you commit toward God, you must examine your hearts, cleanse your hands, and purify your mind. Do not ask God to forgive, if you will not forgive your neighbor, for you will not be shown mercy if you show no mercy to others.
v.13 “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” The desire for deliverance from temptation of sin, and from the hands of the evil one, is the greatest symbol of spiritual maturity. The nature of spiritual warfare begins where it ends: on your knees praying in a sincere pursuit of God, battling with the forces of the air in their fallen horde. If you want to gauge how well you battle against sin, examine how you pray, and how frequently you pray. An anemic prayer life is the Devil’s best friend. A believer who prays like its a religious sacrament will develop a redundant, and insincere, prayer life. The prayer of the believer is to be intentional, not accidental. Pray like your life depends on it, because in some cases, your physical life will depend on it, and in spiritual life cases, it will always depends on it. James 1:13-14 makes it clear temptation is a product of human desire for sin, not God’s fault. To accuse God of tempting man into sin is a sign of ignorance, at best, and at worst, and more the case, accusation against God’s character. This should cause pause in the believer to consider asking for deliverance from sin, rather than offering complaint. If 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us that no sin overtakes us that is uncommon to man, God will not permit temptation beyond the human ability to resist, and will provide a means of escape, what position does one have to accuse God of being indifferent to the human plight? None whatsoever. If the provision of deliverance is at the table, take it and be wise.
The last phase “for yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.” is exempt because, like many passage in the Bible, the earliest manuscripts do not all possess this account. So for unity in the agreement on what can be confirmed in Scripture, this passage will find no discussion. However, we are not done here. What do modern theologians and preachers have to give us about prayer. Timothy Keller gives us this insight. “To fail to pray, then, is not to merely break some religious rule-it is a failure to treat God as God. It is a sin against his glory. (1.)” What does John MacArthur have to say?
Finally, Acts 2:24 explains that the early church was also devoted to “prayers.” Recognizing the necessity of divine wisdom and assistance (cf. John 14:13-13; James 1:5), these believers were characterized by a relentless commitment to corporate prayer (cf. Acts 1:14, 24, 4:24-31). That same priority ought to mark the church today, as believers rely on the providential care and sovereign power of God. (2.)
Finally a word from Millard Erickson. ” While we will use every available technique of modern learning to accomplish God’s ends, we will never cease to be dependent upon his working. We will not neglect prayer for his guidance or for his special intervention. (3.)” This statement was given in reflection to the consequences of God’s transcendence, of which plays a crucial role in prayer. Acknowledging God’s transcendence outside of nature will effect prayer by keeping it reverent, and trusting. You accept God is Lord over circumstance, and you honor whatever outcome He brings about in response to prayer. God is a God of mercy and grace, but will not abide by an accusing spirit. When we pray, we pray humbly and submissively, not arrogantly and in a challenging spirit.
This topic is so big, and so huge, it requires more than a single post. It requires in depth discussion on the multiple types of prayer there are. However, that will be for another day. For now, let us work on the nature of our everyday prayers. You start with the basics, and learn the advance techniques. Make no mistake. Prayer is a spiritual martial art, one of many in the Christians arsenal. How you pray, and what you pray for, will determine how well you fight in spiritual combat. Study the Word, know the God you pray to, lean on the grace of Jesus to pray for recovery from defeat, and pray for power to overcome sin, and achieve victory for the Kingdom of God. You do not pray to become a spiritual warrior; you pray because you are a spiritual warrior. As such, no warrior fights on the days of convenience, but abstains during days of trouble: he/she fights when the time calls for it. For if Satan never quits in the supernatural realm, neither should you. Pray like your life depends on it, because, at the end of the day, it does.
1.) Timothy, Keller Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God (New York, New York: Penguin Group Publishing, 2014) p.26
2.) MacArthur, John and Richard Mayhue Biblical Doctrine: A Systematic Study of Biblical Truth (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Publishing Group, 2017) p.779
3.) Erickson, Millard J. Christian Doctrine (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 2001) p. 89