The so-called "Lord’s
Prayer" (Matt. 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4; perhaps more appropriately called the
"Disicples’ Prayer"), and the way it is often used, have been
severely criticized in some quarters. Some of the criticism is deserved because
of the way people have misused it by thinking that the number of times they
recite it has as much value as the words themselves.
Some of the criticism, however, is
undeserved, in my judgment. There are some who have gone to the opposite
extreme of teaching that this prayer has absolutely no relevance to the
Christian today. Thus we hear objections such as the following:
1. Praying to "our Father who
is in heaven" suggests that He is a great distance away from us.
2. Praying "Thy kingdom
come" is cruel because vast numbers of people will perish when Christ
comes to set up His earthly kingdom.
3. Praying "give us this day
our daily bread" is totally unnecessary when our refrigerators and
freezers are well stocked.
4. Praying "forgive us our
debts as we forgive our debtors" makes God’s forgiveness of us dependent
upon our works.
5. There is no mention of praying
"in Jesus’ name" (John 14:13,14; 16:24,26).
I do not propose that we adopt
this exact prayer for our use today. There are many more themes and topics of
prayer for the Christian than are covered by this one. Also, if we understand
what it means to pray "in Jesus’ name" (that is, we are confident
that Jesus is praying the very same thing for us), it brings great value to our
prayers. But I do propose that every theme of this prayer and every
principle lying behind it can indeed be a valid topic of prayer for the
Christian today.
Let me begin by quoting two highly
esteemed authorities on this point:"Such prayer intelligently used
[my italics] is in [no] wise inconsistent with Christian position" (F.W.
Grant, The Numerical Bible, Matthew, p. 92). "There is not a clause
of that prayer, I believe, but what one might proffer now, even to ‘Forgive us
our debts as we forgive our debtors’" (W. Kelly, Lectures on the Gospel
of Matthew, p. 153).
"Our Father who art in
heaven." Does this really denote distance when it will take only "a
moment, a twinkling of an eye" (1 Cor. 15:52) for us to be raised from earth
to heaven at the Rapture? It is blessedly true that our position in Christ is
"in the heavenlies" (Eph. 2:6 JND), so as we address our Father in
heaven we are reminded of the fact that we are there too, in Christ.
"Hallowed be Thy name."
In an age when the names of God and of His Son are being trampled on and used
so carelessly, well might we desire that His name be treated with the greatest
respect and holiness—beginning with ourselves.
"Thy kingdom come."
"For this kingdom of the Father we must look beyond all dispensations to
the sabbath of God’s own rest. To confound it with the millennium whould be an
entire mistake and necessarily lower its character terribly" (F.W. Grant, The
Numerical Bible). Should we not desire the eternal state in which Christ
has "delivered up the kingdom to God" after having "put all
enemies under His feet" (1 Cor. 15:24-28)? Consistent with our desire for
the coming of our Father’s kingdom would be our desire that Christ should be
the absolute Ruler of our personal lives.
"Thy will be done in earth,
as it is in heaven." It seems that with each new generation man has more
of an attitude of doing "that which [is] right in his own eyes"
(Judg. 21:25). How much better off this world would be if its inhabitants
desired God’s will, rather than their own to be done. Again, it is well
to make it personal:"Not my will but Thine be done in all
that I say and do today."
"Give us this day our daily
bread." Let us acknowledge daily our dependence upon the grace and mercy
of our Father for our every physical, material, and spiritual need. Even if our
refrigerators, freezers, and pantries are well-stocked today, things can change
quickly with a prolonged power outage or an unexpected layoff from one’s
employment.
"Forgive us our debts, as we
forgive our debtors" (see also verses 14,15). It must be remembered that
the disciples are being taught to pray to their "Father." The prayer
is for a Father’s forgiveness of His child’s sin and waywardness, rather than
God’s judicial forgiveness of our sins when we first trust in Christ. Just as
King David could not enjoy his salvation until he had repented of his
sin concerning Bathsheba and her husband (Psa. 51:12), so we will not be able
to enjoy a sense of God’s forgiveness of our sins if we show an
unforgiving spirit toward others. Furthermore, if one who says he/she is a
believer in Christ but is steadfastly determined not to forgive one who
has deeply offended or sinned against him/her, we might well wonder if that
person has truly entered into a relationship with Christ as Lord and
Saviour.
"Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil." Let us not be like Peter who boasted,
"Lord, I am ready to go with Thee, both into prison and to death"
(Luke 22:33). This prayer expresses a proper lack of self-confidence
with regard to handling trials and temptations, as well as a proper dependence
upon God in case He should lead us into a trial or testing.
In conclusion, I am not advocating
the adoption of this prayer as something we do by rote or routine. But from
time to time it would be well to ask ourselves whether we are including the
different elements of this "Disciples’ Prayer" into our own prayers
to "our Father."