The Disciples’ Prayer: A Model for Kingdom Living
Prayer is a fundamental aspect of faith, practiced across various religions with differing emphases and methods. In Christianity, prayer serves as a vital means of communication with God. Jesus, recognizing the importance of prayer, provided his disciples with specific guidance on how to approach God. Commonly known as the Lord’s Prayer, it is more accurately termed the Disciples’ Prayer, offering a framework for believers to commune with God and align themselves with His will.
The Context: A Disciple's Request
The Disciples’ Prayer emerged from a specific request. Observing Jesus' habit of withdrawing to secluded places to pray, the disciples were curious about the content and purpose of his prayers. Inspired by John the Baptist's practice of teaching his disciples to pray, one of Jesus' disciples asked, "Lord, teach us to pray" (Luke 11:1).
This request was not merely about learning the mechanics of prayer; it was a desire to understand the heart and focus of Jesus' communication with God. Jesus' response revealed the core elements that should characterize the prayers of his followers.
The Significance of "Our Father"
Jesus begins by instructing his disciples to pray "Our Father," emphasizing the communal aspect of Christian faith. Addressing God as "our" Father, not "my" Father, highlights that Christian piety transcends individualism. It is a collective endeavor, uniting believers as siblings in Christ. This familial relationship underscores God's loving care and willingness to discipline us for our own purity, as highlighted in Hebrews. Coming together as a family, especially on the Lord’s Day, to call on His name, learn His will, and offer thanks for His salvation. The privilege of addressing God as Father is available only to those who serve Jesus (John 1:12-13) and helps us understand our Creator’s loving care for us.
Hallowing God's Name and Seeking His Kingdom
The prayer continues with a call to "hallow" God's name, acknowledging His holiness and glory. His name, awesome and glorious is venerated in the heavens. The heavenly angels sing continually: “Holy is the LORD.” His name which reflects His holiness is not to be toyed with - not to be dragged to the mud or mentioned in vain. To hallow God's name is to treat it with reverence and respect, recognizing His supreme authority and majesty.
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Following this, the prayer implores, "Your kingdom come." This is the central theme of the Lord’s prayer is the kingdom and enforcement of the Father’s sovereign will on earth. It goes back to Eden, where God’s sovereignty was violated. Eden was God’s ideal place for man, created in His image, and defining what man’s relation to Him and His creation should be. It is a plea for God's sovereign rule to be established on earth, reflecting His will and purposes for creation. A life in His kingdom is in total submission to His will and purpose in creation. It is a life that reflects the character of His Son: A life lived in peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Having sacrificed old life with Christ on the cross, the new life has come- It is one selfless life that thinks and works for the good of others, sometimes at the price of his own comfort.
Praying for God’s will to be done and His name to be hallowed, we know that we are to be agents through whom He accomplishes this request. His will includes forgiveness, and only those who forgive can pray this prayer sincerely.
Daily Bread and Forgiveness
The prayer then turns to practical needs, asking for "our daily bread." Give us each day our daily bread,and forgive us our sins,for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. This acknowledges our dependence on God for sustenance and provision. It is a reminder to trust in Him for our daily needs, both physical and spiritual.
The request for forgiveness is intertwined with the condition of forgiving others: "Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." Only an arrogant person asks God to do for him that which he refuses to do for others, and our Father will not pardon the unforgiving person (vv. 14-15). By no means, however, do we merit God’s forgiveness. He who forgives knows his own wickedness and sees that he is no better than anyone else. He cannot hold a grudge against other sinners since the holy Creator has forgiven him, a sinner. An unforgiving person has not really seen himself as a transgressor undeserving of God’s love and in need of forgiveness. Not having truly repented, he does not really know the Lord’s pardon and is unable to forgive other sinners. Matthew Henry comments, “He who relents toward his brother thus shows that he repents toward his God.”This highlights the inseparable link between receiving God's forgiveness and extending it to others. Lack of forgiveness, we learn in today’s passage, may prove a lack of faith. No matter how hard it may be to forgive others, we simply cannot call ourselves followers of Christ if we do not forgive those who have offended us. Few of us find it easy to pardon those who have hurt us, but pardon them we must. Are you nursing a grudge or thoughts of revenge against another person this day? If so, you have not forgiven him.
Deliverance from Temptation
The final petition, "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil," acknowledges our vulnerability to temptation and our need for God's protection. It is a plea for strength to resist temptation and to be delivered from the clutches of evil.
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The Kingdom Framework: Restoring God's Original Intent
The Disciples' Prayer is rooted in the concept of God's kingdom and the restoration of His original intent for humanity. The central theme of our Lord’s prayer is the kingdom and enforcement of the Father’s sovereign will on earth. It goes back to Eden, where God’s sovereignty was violated. Eden was God’s ideal place for man, created in His image, and defining what man’s relation to Him and His creation should be.
In Eden, Adam and Eve enjoyed a perfect relationship with God, living in harmony with His will. However, their disobedience led to a separation from God and the loss of dominion over creation. Banished from Eden and from God’s presence, Adam and Eve began the slide down the hill into a life of violence, selfish ambition, wars, famine, disease and natural disasters. The first offspring of Adam, Cain was a murderer; he killed Abel his twin brother. God’s own testimony prior to wiping off the then world in a flood, was that man’s inclination is evil all the time. These were a cause for prayer - praying for mercy and forgiveness. But men were not praying right.
God intervened by calling Abram and entering into covenant relationship with him and his descendants for the purpose of delivering humanity from eternal damnation, and restoring man to his original relationship with Him. Moses became the medium through whom the covenant law was given. The covenant law was about man’s relationship to God on one hand, and man’s relationship to fellow men on the other.
God’s purpose was the restoration of Eden before the fall - a relationship characterised by love. The Ten commandments were summarised into two commands by Christ: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your mind …the second is like it, love your neighbor as yourself.” “On these two commandments hang the law and the prophets.” Jesus said.
Jesus' mission was to establish God's kingdom. He preached and taught no other message apart from the message of God’s Kingdom. His prayers were focused on the kingdom.
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Living Out the Prayer: Doing God's Will
Doing the will of God is central to being in His Kingdom. One cannot be a citizen of the kingdom without doing His will. Indeed doing His will is the marker - the hallmark of a believer in Christ and the carrier of His DNA.
The Disciples’ Prayer is not merely a formulaic recitation; it is a guide for living a life aligned with God's will. It calls us to prioritize God's kingdom, seek His provision, extend forgiveness, and resist temptation. By embracing these principles, we can embody the essence of the prayer and experience the fullness of life in God's kingdom.
Additional Teachings on Prayer
Beyond the Disciples' Prayer, Jesus offered further insights into the practice of prayer. These teachings emphasize the importance of:
- Praying for Others: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.
- Sincerity and Humility: When you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
- Avoiding Empty Repetitions: When you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.
- Faith and Belief: Whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.
- Persistence: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
- Forgiveness: Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
- Praying in Jesus' Name: Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
tags: #Jesus #teaching #disciples #prayer
