The Lord’s Prayer

How should you pray? In a recent blog post, I took a deep dive into the Lord’s Prayer and dissected each verse of Matthew 6:9-13. But we can mine even more gold from this short, simple prayer that Jesus Christ considered the model way to talk to the Father. This blog post will examine the first five words and two commas. I jest about the commas.

Here’s the entire prayer as a reminder.

9 “In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On 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 do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. (Matthew 6:9-13, NKJV)

Matthew 6:9a: In this manner

“In this manner” comes from the Greek word “οὕτω,” which means “in this way” or “so (in like manner).” The phrase refers to a pattern, a model, or an example. Jesus follows with a model prayer for believers. The Lord’s Prayer is just an example; Jesus warned us not to “babble on and on as the Gentiles do” in verse 7 (NLT).

So, in this series on the Lord’s Prayer, we will examine the prayer as a pattern for how Jesus instructed us to pray, focusing on the key elements in each passage. With a solid understanding of the Lord’s Prayer, you can apply its elements to your own adaptation. Or pray exactly the way Jesus lays it out, but a deep, intimate knowledge of the Lord’s Prayer will enable you to pray it with heartfelt sincerity.

So, Another Use of the Greek Word “Oὕτω”

You will find the Greek word “οὕτω” in another verse.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16, NKJV)

“Oὕτω” in this famous verse is the word “so.” Remember, the word means a pattern, a model, or an example. In this verse, Jesus tells us that His Father, God, set the example for what love looks like.

Love gives.

Love sacrifices.

Love puts other people’s needs before our own.

Matthew 6:9a: Therefore

“Therefore” comes from the Greek word “οὖν,” which means “then, therefore, accordingly, consequently, these things being so.”

My pastor would say, “Whenever you see “therefore” in the Bible, you need to see what it’s there for.” In other words, look at the preceding verses for context because “therefore” connects a truth with a proper response. Basically, “This is so, therefore do that.”

How Not To Pray

Notably, the immediately preceding verse 8 has another “therefore.”

“Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.” (Matthew 6:8, NKJV)

Therefore, we must go back further. Verse 5 is far enough because this is when Jesus begins His lesson on prayer.

5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.” (Matthew 6:5-7, NKJV)

Before Jesus taught us the Lord’s Prayer as a model, He set the stage by telling us how not to pray. Don’t pray like an attention-seeking hypocrite. Don’t pray like a heathen, babbling on with meaningless words. Jesus understood the power of contrast to capture the audience’s attention and to emphasize the importance of His message.

Jesus was the Master Teacher.

Therefore, when you see “therefore” in Scripture, shift into reverse and see what it’s there for.

Matthew 6:9a: Pray

Jesus gave us examples of how not to pray, and now he proceeds with how we should pray.

We Should Pray

The first point is that we should pray. Jesus wouldn’t waste his breath teaching us how to pray if He didn’t want us to do so. Prayer is a powerful privilege. Prayer gives us direct access to Almighty God. (Ephesians 2:18)

We don’t pray to Mary. We don’t need to confess our sins to priests. As Christians, we can approach the throne of God with confidence. (Hebrews 10:19-23)

The writer of Hebrews tells us we can talk directly to the Creator of the Heavens and Earth!

God Wants Us to Talk to Him

Growing up, I could talk to my father, but I can assure you, he didn’t always want to hear me. He didn’t want to hear anyone while watching The Rockford Files from his worn-out brown corduroy recliner. But our Heavenly Father does want us to talk to Him.

Jesus said our Heavenly Father is waiting on us to ask, seek, and knock. (Matthew 7:7-11)

I have lived these verses in my adult life, asking, seeking, and knocking, often over my head, in desperate situations beyond my control, but God heard my pleas. He wants to hear from us. He is a Good Father.

Prayer Moves the Heart of God

God isn’t a vending machine, dispensing the request to every prayer we submit. And we can’t use prayer as a tool to manipulate God into giving us what we want. The Apostle John gives us the secret to a successful prayer life.

“14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.” (1 John 5:14-15, ESV)

Did you catch it?

“…if we ask anything according to his will…”

Second Chronicles 6:22-40 records King Solomon praying for Israel with many “if, then” scenarios. If bad things happen because your people sin, and they repent and pray for forgiveness, then hear from heaven, stop the bad things, and bring blessings.

God answered King Solomon’s prayer.

“14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Over and over again, the Lord told Jeremiah that if Israel repented of their sins, He would hold His hand on the disaster He had planned for them. According to ESV.org, repentance is mentioned more than 100 times in Jeremiah.

These promises give me hope for our nation if we would repent.

Why Should the United States Repent?

Legalizing genocide – as of January 2022, 63,459,781 abortions have been performed in the United States since 1973
Mocking God’s standard for marriage
Kicking prayer and the Ten Commandments out of public schools

These are the big three, but the moral decay of our nation is also evident in the high divorce rates among Christians, the pornography epidemic (even among Christians), transgenderism, and child sex trafficking, to name a few sins that break God’s heart.

However, Scripture is clear – prayer moves the heart of God when they are in His will, and we have repentant hearts.

Wrapping It Up

The Lord’s Prayer is a powerful model of how we should pray to Father God, as taught by the Master Teacher. We have direct access to God to ask, seek, and knock all of our heart’s desires, and He wants to hear from us. We’ll put the remaining verses under the microscope in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!