This is the third week of our series, “How to Pray.”
Now, to be clear this is not a comprehensive exploration of all the different kinds of prayer or a deep dive into how prayer works theologically or anything like that.
No. All we’re doing in this series is looking at what Jesus had to say about prayer in one small section of his Sermon on the Mount.
Put simply, Jesus here is addressing some bad habits that people in his day had gotten into related to prayer – like praying loudly on the street corner to get kudos for being super spiritual, or making long, wordy, repetitive prayers to try and twist God’s arm to give them what they want.
And Jesus is saying, “Look. Prayer is between you and God alone. It’s not a public spectacle. And there’s no need for you to babble on and on. He’s your Father. He knows what you need. Just pray simply, from the heart.”
That’s what he taught back then. Now, our world looks a lot different today. Not many of us are praying on street corners anymore. But you can see how these same concepts are relevant.
If we are preoccupied with what other people think when we’re praying in a group, or if we are tempted to treat prayer like some kind of code to crack, it’s helpful to remember these same things.
We’re praying for an audience of one, and all our Father wants is for us to keep it real.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
So here’s what we’re going to do today. If the last two weeks were about breaking some bad prayer habits, this week and next are about developing some good ones.
We’re going to look at what is often called “The Lord’s Prayer.”
So grab a Bible and turn with me to Matthew 6:9.
By the way, while you’re turning there, if you haven’t seen this, we’ve got the Lord’s Prayer displayed in a bunch of different languages out in the lobby.
If you’re like me you probably can’t read most of those languages, but it’s a cool reminder that this prayer is shared by Christ-followers around the world and throughout history. It’s one of those things, like Communion, that connects us with the global body of Christ.
Alright, let’s read:
Matthew 6:9-13
Pray like this:
Our Father in heaven,
may your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
Give us today the food we need,
and forgive us our sins,
as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation,
but rescue us from the evil one.
And that’s it. That’s how Jesus says we should pray.
Now there are a couple of primary ways people have interpreted what Jesus meant by “Pray like this.”
Some think that he meant, literally, “Pray exactly like this.” Pray these words. And in a lot of the global church that’s exactly what people do. This prayer is part of the liturgy. Some churches pray it together every single weekend.
There are others who think Jesus here is presenting a model of how to pray - some key ideas and concepts that we can base our own prayers off of.
So which is it? Is this an exact prayer or a model of prayer?
Well, I think the answer is both. I think there’s a lot of value in memorizing these words and repeating them.
For example, if you’re in a dry spell in your faith you can’t even think of anything to pray, just pray this. Pray these words. Repeat them a dozen times if you have to.
You’re not going to go wrong. This is a prayer directly from the mouth of Jesus himself.
And it’s possible that if you focus on these words and dwell on these ideas as you pray them, it might unlock something for you in your journey.
So, sure. This can be an exact prayer to pray. But I’m convinced it’s also a model.
The ideas that Jesus introduces in this prayer have enormous ramifications for the posture we take when we pray and even for the kinds of things we ultimately ask for.
So let’s dig into how this prayer might serve as a model. Today we’re going to look at the first two verses. Next week Maron will take us through the last three.
What does this prayer of Jesus teach us about how to pray?
THE RIGHT POSTURE
The prayer begins like this:
Matthew 6:9-10
Our Father in heaven,
may your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
Let me start with a pretty obvious observation. We often think of prayer as us asking God for stuff we want, right? But what do we see here? Everything we’ve prayed so far is focused on Him.
May your name be kept holy, may your kingdom come, may your will be done.
I think Jesus is starting us off with a really important reminder when we pray: at the end of the day: It’s not about me.
Our prayers are to a God who is far beyond us. The creator of the Universe. The one who is holy.
Now, holy just means “set apart,” different, other. So by praying this we’re acknowledging right out of the gate that our God is not like anything else. He’s not like you, he’s not like me. He’s not like anything in this created world.
And for Jesus’ original audience this was also a declaration that our God is set apart from all the other gods people worshipped back then. He’s not like them. He’s above them – beyond them. He is holy.
“May your name (your reputation, in other words) be kept that way.” Our God is set apart. So it’s not about me. God is holy.
And yet, what do we call him? “Our Father.” That is an intimate relationship. If he’s our Father we’re in his family. We’re his children. He loves us.
So the Holy One - the Set Apart one - is also our Father. The one who crafted galaxies – who invented time and life itself - has chosen to make us his children. Has chosen to be in relationship with us.
So what is Jesus teaching us about prayer by starting his prayer this way?
Well, I think he is setting up the posture we are to take when we pray - the posture of our hearts.
Here’s what I mean: “May your name be kept holy” is a posture of submission. Of reverence. “It’s not about me. It’s about you.”
If we were to take this posture physically it would look like bowing with our face to the ground.
We’re bowing down – we are humbling ourselves… That’s our posture. (And honestly maybe we should pray that way sometimes).
So Jesus is teaching us start our prayers by taking a humble posture. And yet – don’t miss this! Who are we praying to? We are praying to “Our Father.” He loves us. He has chosen us.
This is what Jesus wants us to hear: our posture of submission in prayer before the God of the universe is not out of fear or guilt or shame - it’s a posture we take out of love and freedom and gratitude.
We are throwing ourselves on the floor because we don’t deserve the love and grace we’ve received, and yet we’ve received it. It’s reverence – it’s submission – but it’s submission out of joy.
“Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.” Put simply:
When we pray let’s never forget who we’re praying to or what he has done for us.
That’s the starting point. Let’s begin our prayers with a posture of grateful submission.
YOUR KINGDOM COME
Let’s move on. Verse 10.
Matthew 6:10
May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
The image of the kingdom of God is woven throughout the entire Bible. And Jesus teaches about it a ton in Matthew. I think it’s important for us to understand what we mean when we say it.
The basic idea is this (I’m going to blow your mind): In the kingdom of God, God is the king. (Are you shocked?)
I mean, it’s obvious, but the implication is this: wherever the kingdom of God is, the king gets what he wants. That’s how kingdoms work. In his kingdom God’s “will” - his desires - are made real.
Now, heaven, in Scripture, is where God dwells. It’s his space - his realm. And of course, in his domain everything is exactly how he desires. It’s his kingdom. And in fact, in Matthew, Jesus always refers to it as the “kingdom of Heaven.”
In God’s kingdom, God is the king and he gets what he wants. His will is done.
But here’s the twist: throughout Scripture God is on a mission to do something incredible.
He is bringing his kingdom - the kingdom of Heaven - to earth. He is expanding his rule and his reign into our realm - the borders of the kingdom of God are entering our space.
But he’s not doing it by snapping his fingers. He’s not doing it by blasting all opposition in his way. He’s doing it by inviting humanity to be his co-rulers - he is establishing his kingdom on earth through you and me - his children.
This is what Jesus, the Son of God, inaugurated. Fully human and yet fully divine, Christ opened the door for us to become the princes and princesses of God’s kingdom on the earth. His representatives.
We are co-rulers with him. And it is through our lives that God expands his reign on the earth.
It’s wild, but it’s true. When we read about the “kingdom of God” or the “kingdom of heaven” that’s what the biblical authors want us to be thinking about.
So let’s get back to the prayer. “May your kingdom come…” Literally in the Greek it doesn’t say “soon,” just “may your kingdom come, may your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”
Here’s what I think: Just like verse 9, this is all a matter of posture.
Yet again we are submitting ourselves to the holy one. Before asking for anything, before telling our Father about our problems, before making any requests, we are declaring that our deepest desire is for His kingdom to be established here.
It’s like saying, “God I’ve got stuff I want. I have needs. But more than anything else I want what you want. And I want to be a part of it.”
May your kingdom come on earth, just like it is in heaven.
I don’t think we always have this mentality, do we? I know I don’t. It is so easy when we pray to jump straight in to focusing entirely on ourselves.
Especially when we fall into the bad habit of thinking of God as some kind of genie or divine Santa Claus who only exists to give us stuff instead of the king of an in-breaking kingdom.
The Lord’s prayer teaches us focus first on His desires, not our own.
It’s a posture of humility that allows us to keep God’s kingdom front and center and keep our holy Father enthroned in our hearts.
A RADICAL KINGDOM
Now, all this talk of kingdoms and kings may sound to our modern ears kind of “out there” and insubstantial. What does God’s kingdom even look like? What is his will? What does he want?
The Lord’s prayer doesn’t really spell that out. But the good news is this: we don’t have to wonder. This is exactly what Jesus taught his followers over and over again.
Even just a quick read through just the gospel of Matthew will give you a great sense of what the kingdom of Heaven looks like and what our king desires. Here’s how Jesus put it:
Matthew 25:34-36
Then the King will say to those on his right, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me."
Our King’s priorities - his desires for the earth - are very clear. And we can submit ourselves to those desires as we pray. We can bow in our hearts as we approach our father.
“God, I may want fame and success, but I know that in your kingdom,”
Matthew 20:16
Those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.
“So may your will be done. Not mine.”
“God, I may want you to give me power and heaps of wealth so I can kick back and relax in this life, but I know that”
Matthew 5:3
God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
“So may your kingdom come. Not mine.”
“God in this divided time, I may wish ‘those people’ - those terrible people on the “other side” who are making everything such a mess - I may wish they would just burn up and disappear, but I know that”
Matthew 18:14
It is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.
“So may your will be done.”
When we pray Jesus wants us to submit ourselves to God’s kingdom, not to insist on ours.
And he taught us what that kingdom looks like: justice, mercy, compassion, humility, and self-giving love.
These weren’t just idle words, either. This is exactly how Jesus himself prayed on the night of his crucifixion. He told his disciples:
Matthew 26:38-39
“My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
“May your kingdom come. May your will be done.”
Praying like this - with this posture of submission - submitting my will to God’s…
This is how we pray as the children of the King. This is how we pray like Jesus.
We humble ourselves. We submit ourselves to the king of justice, the king of mercy, the king of grace… We bow before the king whose kingdom is healing this broken world.
Matthew 6:9-10
Our Father in heaven,
may your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
AN INVITATION TO BOW
Now, next week we’re going to turn a corner and look at how Jesus teaches us to ask God for things: for food, for forgiveness, for rescue…
Because we are invited to ask. God’s will involves taking care of his children. Jesus said it himself in verse 8:
Matthew 6:8
Your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!
God cares deeply about us. And he wants to meet our needs. He wants us to ask.
But I think it’s very healthy at this point, when we’ve developed some of our own bad habits in prayer, to pause and consider the posture we’re taking before we start making our requests.
So here’s what I want to invite you to do right now.
We’re going to enter into a time of prayer and then hear a song. I want you to take a moment and focus on your posture as you enter into the presence of your Father.
In your heart, in your mind, I invite you to bow. (You’re welcome to do this physically too, if you want… to lean forward with your palms up, to get on your knees, even to bow on the ground if you want… it’s ok)
But in this moment, even though you are carrying so much, even though you have so much that you need… simply bow. Focus on your posture. The posture of your heart.
May your name be kept holy. May your kingdom come. May your will be done.
Focus on your posture and then just listen. What does your Father – your king - have to say to you as you bow in gratitude for what he has done?