OUR FATHER WHO ARE IN HEAVEN
8 Therefore, do
not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you
ask Him. 9In this manner, therefore, pray:
“Our Father
in heaven,
Hallowed be
Your name.
10Your
kingdom come.
Your will
be done
On earth as
it is in heaven.
11Give us
this day our daily bread.
12And
forgive us our debts,
As we
forgive our debtors.
13And 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
6:8-13
COMMENTARY
In a liturgical
world that followed prescribed prayers, so much within Judaism, as well as from
pagan sources, Roman, Greek and Mesopotamian; our Lord Jesus clarified this
topic to his disciples, teaching them how to address a prayer to God in the
right manner; that means, addressing the proper etiquette we must keep when we
address our Heavenly Father, the Supreme God of the Universe; and also taught
us to cover every aspect of our existence in that prayer.
Lord JESUS gave what
we call ‘Our Father’, not as a liturgical prayer, but as an example to follow,
meaning the parts and the manner, simple and direct, and not with many empty
repetitive words, ‘as the pagans do’, but also, without dismissing liturgical
prayers, which God ordered in the OT.
(Deuteronomy
26:5-10; Leviticus 16:20-21)
(Compare with
Luke 11:1-4 and Matthew 6:7)
The prayer is as
follows:
1 - OUR FATHER
IN HEAVEN, HALLOWED BE YOUR NAME.
An open act of
recognition of the deity and power of God before we start doing anything. This
is important because it indicates that God is our priority and occupies first
place in our hearts, as well as an act of submission to Him and his will.
It is also a
recognition of our filial relationship with GOD in Christ. We address now to
God, as ‘Father’, taking conscience of our condition as Children of God.
2 - YOUR KINGDOM
COME. YOUR WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.
Affirmation of
our submission and subjection to God’s will, by claiming the coming of his
actual rule on Earth, in a direct and total manner, as it is in Heaven.
This completes
our submission to his final decision before we start asking anything from God.
He is our God and Father, NOT our servant.
3 - GIVE US THIS
DAY OUR DAILY BREAD.
First petition,
our daily necessities for our everyday lives. Even though here only food is
mentioned, it represents all our bodily necessities, like health, housing, clothing,
and food. It should be done daily, to maintain the connection with our Heavenly
Father, a daily event; that is why the Lord said: ‘Give us THIS DAY’. This help
us to acknowledge that God is our constant provider.
4 - FORGIVE US
OUR DEBTS, AS WE FORGIVE OUR DEBTORS.
We immediately
pass to ask for forgiveness for our sins. Contrary to popular teaching that
considers asking for forgiveness before directing any petition to God, so that
we can be listened; this teaching of JESUS contradicts that.
God listens to
us because HE is our Father, whether we are in sin or not, because we are
justified in Christ before Him (See Romans 5:6,8; 1John 4:10).
But still, we
ask for forgiveness because we must repent daily for our sins, which it demonstrates
that we love God. Because only those who truly love God, walk according to his
will, and resent to have departed from it any time.
‘As we forgive
our debtors’, reminds us of the obligation, as Christians, to also forgive our
fellow brothers. If we ask for forgiveness, but we hold resentment for another
human, we cannot be forgiven by our Father, and fall deeper into sin
(Matthew
6:14-15).
5 – DO NOT LEAD
US INTO TEMPTATION
After having
asked for forgiveness, we must ask God to spare us from temptation; or otherwise,
give us the necessary support to survive it.
God does not
tempt anyone. Here the words ‘Do not lead us’, refers to allowance, not the
actual action of tempting. As Jesus was guided by the Holy Spirit to the desert
to be tempted by Satan (Matthew 4:1), but it was tempted by the devil and not
by God; the same we ask to be spared from these types of testing, acknowledging
our weakness, and placing our strength in God’s assistance and not on our
capabilities.
6 - DELIVER US
FROM THE EVIL ONE.
The final
petition is to deliver us from direct or undirect attacks from Satan, the
father of temptations.
This again,
places our trust in the invincibility of God Almighty, and NOT on our own
forces.
7 - YOURS IS THE
KINGDOM AND THE POWER AND THE GLORY FOREVER.
Today, these
words has been taken from the ‘modern’ ‘updated’ versions, since it is said
that they are not in the most ancient manuscripts, neither are mentioned by the
ancient Christians.
However, it fits
into the prayer.
If Jesus had
intended to proclaim an example of prayer, in comparison to the popular prayers
of his time, especially in post Babylonian Judaism, where all prayers ended up
with a proclamation of God’s absolute rule; it is quite possible and fitting,
that Lord JESUS may have added these words to the end of his prayer, giving it
thus, the level of a sacred temple prayer.
Despite if it
was done like that or not, we will never know for sure, save what we have
received, which could be a re-institution of an ancient detail left aside by
the earliest copies.
In these words, Christians
end his supplication to God, with the same worshipping attitude the started the
prayer, by proclaiming the supreme majesty of God the Father, GOD YHWH, able to
do as we requested.
NOTE: We must
also ask this in the NAME OF JESUS (John 14:13). Like the disputed words in verse
13; we know, even it is not mentioned here, that all our prayers should be done
in the Name of Jesus.
Omar Flores.
Comments
Post a Comment