Category Archives: The Lord’s Prayer

The Lord’s Prayer – Kingdom

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The Lord telling us to pray for the Kingdom was bold then and of major importance for us today.

We have clearly addressed Who we are praying to and clarified where He is. That led us to praising Him by reminding ourselves He is holy. Our very first petition in this prayer is asking for the Father’s Kingdom to come. So, why was this a bold statement to make?

Jesus’ audience was very aware of who they were and their connection with God. They were the people God had selected, His kingdom people. Hebrews had history with God and they knew the promises that were theirs because of that history. Now, let me try to fit this prayer into the Gospels and remind us of Jesus and how we are His Kingdom.

Your kingdom come. Matthew 6:10a and Luke 11:2

In Matthew 3 and 4 (The First Block of Kingdom teaching) Jesus repeats John’s message of “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” (NIV) He tells the good news of the kingdom and reenforces His words by healing the sick. He then taught the Sermon on the Mount and shared more of His vision about His kingdom, this includes the Lord’s Prayer.

*Notes to Myself* Father was not a common way for Hebrews to speak about Jehovah God. The thought of the Father’s kingdom “to come” would have been met with very different ideas from these groups.

  • The People – This was the real power group in Israel, but I am not sure they realized that. Like now, they may have been fickle and easily swayed. There were many voices telling them different things and a common thread may have been how “we” are smarter, more holy, and stronger. Jesus went to them with the Good News, these others were just in the crowds.
  • Pharisees – They fostered the synagogues.  
  • Essenes – I know a little about this group but not a lot. John the Baptist may have been one and they did the Dead Sea Scrolls.
  • Zealots – If you hear “The Fourth Philosophy” on The Chosen, this is who they were talking about.
  • Sadducees – They controlled the Temple and did not want to lose it.
  • Herod – He definitely had his own vision and opinion.
  • Rome – They thought they were the kingdom.
  • Rebel groups – I am not sure all violent groups were Zealots.  

Could you see those three words (Your kingdom come) as a call for evangelism or mission work? Is it a form of Revelation 22:20 – Come, Lord Jesus? We could advance to the Second Block of Kingdom Teaching where Jesus has told the Twelve in Matthew 10:7 that the kingdom of heaven has come near, or Matthew 12:28 when He affirms that because demons are cast out that the Kingdom of God has come. I will be honest; those three words have made me think more the last several years than ever before. Just three words from our Savior and Lord can and should give us a lot to think about. If you do a word search/study Luke has many examples of “kingdom, come”.

We are/will be the Bride of Christ, so I will present a different look at Jesus’ first time here and His return. (A look into Hebrew wedding practices may help.)

  • Jesus came to select and call His Bride.
  • The ride into Jerusalem was Him going to claim His Bride and pay the bride price.
  • He paid the price and left.
  • Jesus is waiting on the Father to tell Him to come and get His Bride.

What does this kingdom look like? Jesus used parables and many start with “the kingdom of God is like”. Those parables talked about individuals finding the kingdom, using your talents, evangelism, and feast. There are also warnings about those who chose not to find Jesus’s kingdom.

The Father also talks about His kingdom in the Old Testament. It reflects who He is and what is important to Him. Holiness, Righteousness, justice, and forgiving are attributed to Him, but so is judgment for those who refuse to do right.  I have noticed that people like to tell God how His kingdom must work, most of this appears to be based on their emotions and poor choices.

Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10b; this phrase was apparently not in Luke in the earliest versions.

I read this somewhere and liked it (no reference), “Father rule on earth as you do in heaven”. Verse 10 has legal overtones, especially this part. The on-line Strong’s does make mention of this. The Greek word for will is thelema and this form of the word is in Matthew 6:10, 18:14, and 26:42. These are just a few times thelema is used in the Gospels

The Lord’s Prayer – Hallowed be Your Name

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The Lord’s Prayer is important. As a stand-alone prayer, it has been a source of help and comfort for millions for centuries. I believe, it is also a model of how we should pray.

Today’s post has one of the two things that require action on our part. We are to hallow the name of the Lord. The other is forgiving those who sin against us.

God is holy. He loves justice and righteousness. His Name is already holy, because He is holy. We are to show His Name holy to the world.

Hallow not hollow was topic for a post in this series, as well as the job of a translator. Some of the words involved today may also show how important this work is in understanding our God.

Leviticus 20:3 Profane Strong’s Hebrew: 2490. חָלַל (chalal) — pierce Hebrew letter #8 heth חָלַל

1 Chronicles 16:10 glory Strong’s Hebrew: 1984. הָלַל (halal) — shine Hebrew letter #5 He הָלַל

Strong’s Hebrew: 6944. קֹ֫דֶשׁ (qodesh) — apartness, sacredness   Hallow; First use was in Ex. 3:5 – Moses and the bush.

Strong’s Hebrew: 6942. קָדַשׁ (qadash) — to be set apart or consecrated   Hallow

Strong’s Greek: 37. ἁγιάζω (hagiazó) — to make holy, consecrate, sanctify  Hallow

Greek Concordance: Ἁγιασθήτω (Hagiasthētō) — 3 Occurrences

see GREEK hagios       

Strong’s Hebrew: 8034. שֵׁם (shem) — a name

Word search tools are very helpful. Just be aware of which translation you search in because key words may vary; then compare those words in other translations.

Leviticus 20 and 1 Chronicles 16 were found using “holy name” in a word search with the NASB. If you view these in context, they add another dimension into the study. Leviticus 20 is God addressing the people about offering their children to Molech and how this would profane His holy Name and the sanctuary. 1 Chronicles 16 is the polar opposite of Leviticus and comes from a praise of David to God after the Ark was brought to Jerusalem. Using that word search will show Father God is serious about His Name. Psalms and Isaiah have many positive statements about honoring His Name, while Ezekiel has many references about the people dishonoring His Name. God’s holy Name is the same but the people handled it differently.

Hallow is an important word in the Lord’s Prayer. When the Geneva and the KJV was written it was even more important. BibleGateway – Keyword Search: hallow  I was taught to say it and have said it many times, but I am not sure anyone in the church I grew up in ever taught me what it meant. To share in that comment, I never studied the word or concept growing up, my loss.

Bless the Name of the Lord o my soul and let everything that is in me hallow His holy Name.

The Lord’s Prayer – More Than One?

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“More Than One?” comes from the fact that Matthew and Luke have different versions of the Lord’s Prayer. If you extend your search, you will find translations of the Bible and denominations also have slightly different versions. My simple answer to that is – Because!

Imagine my surprise as a preteen, when I visited a different denomination and they did not know the Lord’s Prayer. Everyone stopped and did not finish it; they left the ending off.     

My post, my opinion, and my hope is that you will study so that “you can show yourself approved” if you ever choose to get into a discussion on this or any topic. I will even inject a few facts.

Not only are there variations between Matthew and Luke, but other people have done some well-meaning additions since they were written. There has been attempts in the past to make Luke sound more like Matthew, or the translators’ choice of sin or debit, and the big one of adding a line after temptation. By 1599 the Geneva Bible had – but deliver us from evil: for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever. Amen. That means by 1611 it was also in the King James. This addition to the Prayer sounds a lot like 1 Chronicles 29:11, which is part of a prayer from David.

So, was this to be the perfect prayer or a pattern of how to pray? Read Matthew 6:5 to 7:12, now compare it to Luke 11:1-13. Yes, I am contemplating learning activities, but for now, how would you defend your answer?

Did this perfect prayer pattern (see what I did there) have an effect? Analyze Colossians 1:9-14 and compare it to the Lord’s Prayer. How does Ephesians 4:32 reflect the Prayer? Do the differences and additions show a lack of competent teaching or a lot of use?  

More Than One? The Lord prayed many times, yet only one is named. John 17, the Garden, and on the cross; Jesus prayed some powerful prayers. The Our Father is important, but is it a formula or a foundation to a relationship?

The Lord’s Prayer – The Start

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The Books from Matthew and Luke record Jesus’ teaching about prayer – Matthew 6: 9 – 13 (6:5-15 + 7:7-12); Luke 11: 1-4 (11:1-13). Matthew’s version is part of the Sermon on the Mount. Luke’s comes after a prayer session and then much of the “Sermon on the Mount” is presented. The Holy Spirit directed these writers, and I feel it is important to include the whole teaching as part of this study. Actually, I have already written about bread, epiousios (daily), and hallow (more to come).

Jesus was teaching Jews who had knowledge of the Hebrew scriptures and traditions. So, as the Master Teacher He presented a prayer that has many layers and references that deserve looking into. I will get to the “support” text but the two versions of the Prayer have more than enough in them to start.

Reference materials have been important for this study, I have used The Blue Letter Bible text analysis, Bible Hub, Stong’s Concordance, Mounce Greek Interlinear, and I have viewed other translations in Bible Gateway. Lately, I have preferred the NASB version. Matthew has been my focus for a while, so bookmark both Gospels and be prepared to “flip pages”.

Our

In Matthew, I noticed that Jesus used three possessive adjectives in this section on prayer and in the Sermon: your, our, and My. He used these with Father to get the people thinking about the righteous relationship the Father has wanted with His children. In verses 6:5-8 “your Father” is used three times; then for the prayer He changes it to “our Father”. Simple and subtle but take a moment to reflect on that. In the Greek text Luke does not start with Our but uses hemon or “of us”. (G1473 – ego.)

Our Father

If you use a word-search tool you will find hundreds of times “father” is used in the Bible. So, I added “your” and looked for “your Father”, that narrowed the entries a lot and I went to the Minor Prophets and Psalms and found what I was looking for. (Yes, I may have missed some and this is NASB.)

Psalms 2:7 and 89:26 are verses where the Father and Son are talking to each other (Righteous relationship). Malachi 2:10 includes everyone in the Father/child relationship. There are not a lot of references like these, so they are precious and very informative. To show what Jesus was bring, as part of the Kingdom, Matthew 5:16 to 7:21 has many your Father, our Father, and My Father references.  

In Heaven

I see Jesus giving this phrase to not only say who He was praying to, but giving a definite location. Remember, the Jews were surrounded by countries who had many gods that were connected to geographical locations and temples. This also prepared the way for this prayer to go beyond the borders of Israel and still connect to Jehovah.

If “epiousios bread” had not been included Moses or David could have written this centuries before Jesus and it would have been a great Hebrew prayer to HaShem.