In the Matthew 6:9-13 section of the Sermon on the Mount, we encounter what has erroneously been called the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus, however, never prayed this prayer, and the real Lord’s Prayer is found in John 17. This is the model, or pattern, prayer. It is not a script on what to pray, but Christ’s teaching on how to pray. Throughout the years, Christians and churches have often repeated these words, oftentimes with little thought or understanding. Repeating the words is not the lesson; understanding and applying the pattern is.
There are six petitions in the model prayer, and the first three relate specifically and exclusively to God: His name, His kingdom and His will. Prayer, first and foremost, must be focused on God. While we may bring needs and requests to the Father, our focus must be on Him — and on our needs only secondarily.
Praying the way Jesus directs us to means praying from a sense of family or community. We are part of the body of Jesus. We are not alone. Some of the pronouns in these verses show how it is not just about the individual: our Father, our daily bread, our debts, do not lead us into temptation, and deliver us from evil.
The Greek word for father in this passage (pater) is a term of affection and intimacy. It is similar to our words “daddy” or “papa” and is used more than 70 times in the New Testament.
Romans 8:15 says, “You have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’ ” The Aramaic word abba is like the Greek word pater. Galatians 4:6 says, “Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts crying, ‘Abba! Father’!”
The phrase “who art in heaven” is a reminder not so much of the location of God but the great attributes of God: majesty, holiness, sovereignty, omnipotence, etc. The focus of our prayer is the one true, awesome and amazing God whom we are able to call Father with affection because we have a family relationship with Him through our new birth in Jesus Christ.
To hallow is to sanctify, set apart or make holy. “Hallowed be thy name” means we pray for God Himself to be honored, respected, revered and glorified in us and in others. We are asking God to grow us and our family of faith in holiness. The “name” represents who God is. There are many names given to God in Scripture — like Elohim, Jehovah and many others that identify some facet of Himself (for example, Jehovah-Jireh means “the Lord who provides”). His name here includes all His names and what they mean. In Martin Luther’s catechism, he wrote, “How is God’s name hallowed among us? When both our doctrine and our life are truly Christian.” Psalm 34:7 says, “O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.”
Some see in the phrase “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done” a reference to the rule of God in the hearts of people now and the rule of God on earth in the future. There are billions of human wills in the world today, and all of them are corrupt to varying degrees. God’s will is the only pure and perfect will. We are to pray for God’s will to be done, believing that God knows what He is doing even when we do not. When we accept Christ completely, we can obey God’s will fully, with the result that what happens for His glory will be in our best interest.
James M. Boice wrote, “Happiness and joy will come to your life only as you allow God to bend your will to his.” The teaching behind “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done” is submission to God and commitment to obey His truth.
“On earth as it is in heaven” reflects the idea that we want on earth the obedience, loyalty and honor that heaven constantly gives God.
How we are to pray is the lesson in the model prayer. We must be focused on God with an attitude that desires for Him to be exalted among the people of earth. His glory is the ultimate goal and reason for prayer, regardless of the requests or needs we bring to Him.