The Lord’s Prayer
(traditional)
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 trespasses,
As we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
The power, and the glory,
For ever and ever.
Amen.
(Taken from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, 1662).
*C. Clifton Black ,Professor, Princeton Theological Seminary states.
Many scholars believe Luke’s shorter version was earlier, expanded by Matthew. Others consider Matthew’s wording earlier, compressed by Luke. Another possibility is that the two versions represent different traditions handed down apart from each other.
Outside the New Testament this prayer’s earliest attestation is in the Didache (8.2), a late first-century manual of Christian instruction. It prescribes the prayer’s recitation three times a day, in a form nearly identical to that in Matthew but with a closing ascription: “for yours is the power and the glory forever.” By the ninth century, “the kingdom” was added (compare with 1Chr 29:11-13). Across the centuries this appendix became even more elaborate and conspicuously Christian: “for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages” (The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, fifth century).
Let’s look at the scripture.
Luke 11 King James Version (KJV)
1 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.
2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
5 And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;
6 For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?
7 And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.
8 I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.
9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
10 For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
From the sermon on the mount
Mat 6:5 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.
6 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.
7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Mat 6:32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
King James Version (KJV)
You begin to see a pattern; Our Lord gives us a template of prayer and how we should pray. So, let’s look at that pattern then go back and deal with key scriptures.
We have who were praying too.
We have Praise and adoration.
We have Gods sovereign will.
We have and appeal for kingdom priorities
Personal petition for forgiveness , dependent on forgiving others.
And pray for strength to avoid the tempter.
Larry Stockwell former pastor of the Bethany church in Baton rouge, la. For over 30 years said it this way.
Adoration, Consecration, Supplication, Intercession, Protection.
Let’s break it down to a template we all can use.
1. Our Father
It is clear that the very word “Abba” (father) uttered by our Lord here, as in Mark 14:36, so impressed itself on the minds of men that, like “Amen” and “Hallelujah” and “Hosanna,” it was used in the prayers even of converts from heathenism and Hellenistic Judaism. “our” instead of “my” shows us that prayer should not to be selfish
2.which art in heaven,
We should not think of God being in a faraway place
3.Hallowed be thy Name.
‘Hallowed’ means ‘holy’. Worship. Keeping God’s name holy, means that he should be honored and respected and admired for who he is and what he has done
4.Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, As it is in heaven.
Asking for God’s kingdom and for God’s will to done is really surrendering to God, because his rule and his plans are the best things for our lives.
Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Thy kingdom come – The word “kingdom” here means “reign.” Note, Matthew 3:2. The petition is the expression of a wish that God may “reign” everywhere; that his laws may be obeyed; and especially that the gospel of Christ may be advanced everywhere, until the world shall be filled with his glory. Thy will be done – The will of God is, that people should obey his law, and be holy. The word “will,” here, has reference to his law, and to what would be “acceptable” to him. To pray, then, that his will may be done, on earth as in heaven, is to pray that his “law,” his “revealed will,” may be obeyed and loved. His law is perfectly obeyed in heaven, and his true children most ardently desire and pray that it may also be obeyed on the earth.
5.Give us this day our daily bread.
Daily bread’ symbolizes everything we need for our life This petition implies our dependence on God for the supply of our wants. As we are dependent on him one day as much as another, it was evidently the intention of the Savior that prayer should be offered every day.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 11. this day] In Luke, “day by day.”
our daily bread] The Greek word translated “daily” occurs only in the Lord’s Prayer here and Luke 11:3, it is not found in any classical author. The rendering of the E. V. “daily” as nearly as possible represents the probable force of the word, which is strictly (bread) “for the coming day,” i. e. for the day now beginning. Others render “bread for the future,” taking bread in a spiritual sense; others, following a different etymology, translate “bread of subsistence.” Bread, primarily the bread on which we subsist
6.And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us.
Forgive us as we forgive others.
Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
And forgive us our debts … – The word “debts” is used here figuratively. It does not mean “literally” that we are “debtors to God,” but that our sins have a resemblance to debts. Debtors are those who are bound to others for some claim in commercial transactions; for something which we have had, and for which we are bound to pay according to contract. “Literally” there can be no such transaction between God and us. It must be used figuratively. We have not met the claims of law. We have violated its obligations. We are exposed to its penalty. We are guilty, and God only can forgive, in the same way as none but a “creditor” can forgive a debtor. The word “debts” here, therefore, means “sins,” or offences against God – offences which none but God can forgive. In the parallel place in Luke 11:4, the word sins is used. The measure by which we may expect forgiveness is that which we use in reference to others See Psalm 18:25-26; Matthew 18:23; Mark 11:26; Luke 11:4.
7.And lead us not into temptation; But deliver us from evil.
asking about God for protection.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The statement of James, James 1:2, “Count it all joy when ye fall into divers’ temptations,” is not really contradictory. The Christian character is strengthened and purified by temptation, but no one can think of temptation without dread.[deliver] Lit. draw to thyself, “rescue,” as from an enemy. Cp. 1 Thessalonians 1:10, “Jesus which delivered us from the wrath to come.”
[from evil] Or, from the Evil One, Satan. The Greek bears either rendering, but the first is preferable and gives a deeper sense. We pray to be delivered not only from external evil, but from the evil within us.
8.For thine is the kingdom, The power, and the glory, For ever and ever.
This was not part of the Lord ’s Prayer as Jesus taught it; but it is a great way to end it
Praise for who he is.
Amen.
*Preached April 30th, 1884, By C. H. SPURGEON,
If the prayer of our text had not been dictated by the Lord Jesus himself, we might think it too bold. Can it ever be that this earth, a mere drop of a bucket, should touch the great sea of life and light above and not be lost in it? Our Divine Instructor would not teach us to pray for impossibilities; he puts such petitions into our mouths as can be heard and answered. Yet certainly this is a great prayer; it has the hue of the infinite about it. Can thy will, O God, be done in earth as it is in heaven? It can be, and it must be; for a prayer wrought in the soul by the Holy Spirit is ever the shadow of a coming blessing, and he that taught us to pray after this manner did not mock us with vain words. It is a brave prayer, which only heaven-born faith can utter; yet it is not the offspring of presumption, for presumption never longs for the will of the Lord to be perfectly performed.
What power when we realize it is a pattern for prayers , when amplified by the Holy ghost working in us to pray what can be without limits.
*Albert Barns is best known for his extensive Bible commentary and notes on the Old and New Testaments, published in a total of 14 volumes in the 1830’s. Said this
Overall, Jesus warns us against two mistakes when praying: making them about us and making them meaningless. Doing either (or both) will ruin their effectiveness and actually work at cross-purposes to spiritual growth. When we pray, we need to remember that it is a formal conversation with the divine Governor of the Universe. We have not entered His court for our own gratification and glory. We certainly do not want to bore Him by endlessly repeating the same five words or giving Him the expanded War and Peace version of our pitiful lives. To the contrary, we are before Him to praise Him, to thank Him, to beseech Him for help both for others and ourselves, and to praise and thank Him
Lastly:Mat6:6 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.
Alone time with God. Make it a point to remember.
Luke 11:9-10 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
10 For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Sometimes you have to keep on asking.
Mat 6:16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
Fasting the ultimate weapon as B.H.Clendenann once said.
It breaks this body and the will, and you will see and hear God.
So, as we take this pattern and find a way to use it in our lives, we will see a change.