Lord, Teach us to Pray

It is very likely you have recited the Lord's Prayer more times than you can count. While memorization and liturgy allow us to keep His Word hidden in our hearts, it can easily become commonplace. So let's look closely at the many layers of depth to Jesus's words when the disciples asked, "Lord, teach us to pray." (Luke 11:1 NASB)

The Lord's Prayer is recorded in two passages, Luke 11 and Matthew 6:9-13. In the Gospels, it is common to see stories and parables repeated; however, these two accounts appear to occur at different times. We should always look for context when reading the Word. The context for Luke 11, Jesus is talking with His disciples and the passage in Matthew 6 appears in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew 6:9-13  “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]’"

Studying the Lord's Prayer in the context of the Sermon on the Mount takes on a whole new meaning. In Matthew 4:25- 5:3 we learn that, "Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan. When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain, and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying..." Jesus begins the sermon with "The Beatitudes," describing the qualities of people in the kingdom of God and, using progressive revelation, He explains that He did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. He goes through a series of examples saying, "you have heard," followed by the phrase, "but, I say..." teaching the crowds the new covenant of faith Christ brings. Some scholars believe Jesus introduces new terms to them, such as the intimacy of calling God “Father” and the term of calling other believers “Brother” (Matthew 5:23)

Looking at Matthew chapter six, before Jesus tells us how to pray in verse nine, He spends verses one through eight giving us the do's and don'ts of prayer. Matthew 6:1-8 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him."

In The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, theologian Walter L. Liefeld, says, "The Lord’s Prayer in Luke appears in connection with Jesus’ own practice and teaching on prayer. Matthew presents the prayer in somewhat different form as part of the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 6:9–13). The prayer fits each context, and the differences indicate separate traditions. It would be difficult to prove that either Matthew or Luke had significantly changed the prayer from the form in which he knew it. The Matthean form is undoubtedly more “liturgical” in that the successive petitions are parallel, are balanced, and in Aramaic may even have rhymed at points. In Matthew 6 the prayer has petitions that may supplement or substitute for some feature of the Jewish prayers of that day. Luke offers a basic prayer to say what is characteristic of Jesus’ teaching." Walter L. Liefeld, “Luke,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 8 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984), 946. Luke 11:1-4 It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.” And He said to them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.’  

Then He said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and from inside he answers and says, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’

I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs. So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

We find the context for the Luke 11 account slightly different from Matthew. Verse one tells us that Jesus was praying and His disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray. In Luke 11:5, Jesus ends the prayer with a parable teaching them to pray with persistence and faith.

Luke 11:5-13 Then He said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and from inside he answers and says, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut, and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’

“I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs. So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

We see similar concepts bookending the Matthew 6 prayer, where Jesus says in Matthew 6:8, "Your Heavenly Father knows what you need before you ask Him," and Matthew 6:31-34, “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Now that we have thoroughly studied the Lord's Prayer, we will take a look at the heart of it...stay tuned for part two of Lord Teach us to Pray.

Scripture quoted from: New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995)