I’ve chosen to focus this lesson on the idea of Praying as Learners.

From the cradle to the grave Jesus’ life was bathed in prayer. In fact, even before His birth we find both Zechariah and Jesus’ mother Mary offering praise to God, see Luke 1. The baby Jesus, brought into the Temple to be circumcised, was the object of thanksgiving to God as the deeply committed Simeon and Anna recognized Jesus as the long-awaited deliver of Israel, see Luke 2.

And at the other end of Jesus’ life, Jesus’ final words, uttered as He hung dying on the cross, are an anguished cry to God the Father, see Matthew 27; Mark 15; Luke 23; and John 19. Luke tells us:

Luke 5:16 NLT But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.

During much of His public ministry, Jesus was surrounded by crowds. They often pressed themselves upon Him, pushing to get closer so they could hear and see Him or be healed by Him from some disease.

At times, neither Jesus nor His disciples could find time to eat because they were so busy ministering to people’s needs. But Jesus always made time to pray! He sought out places where he could be alone and there, He poured out His heart to His Father, an act done regularly and frequently. We also learn that Jesus sought out quiet places to pray, places where He would not be interrupted or distracted. Mark wrote:

Mark 1:35 In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.

It was a Sunday morning, very early before sunrise, when Jesus went out to pray. The previous day, a Sabbath, had been extremely busy. Jesus had taught in the synagogue in Capernaum, cast out a demon from a possessed man, and then Jesus went to the home of Peter and Andrew, where Jesus also healed Peter’s mother-in-law. After sunset, that same Sabbath, the whole town gathered at the door of that home bringing the sick and Jesus healed them.

We have no idea when the last person left and Jesus was able to finally get some sleep, but it must have been late! Yet early the next morning, before anyone else was stirring in the house, Jesus was up and out the door, looking for a quiet place to pray! Jesus’ prayer life reveals the importance of individual, personal, and private prayer.

At special times during Jesus’ life and ministry prayer took on an even deeper significance.

Luke 3:21-22 NLT One day when the crowds were being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. As he was praying, the heavens opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit, in bodily form, descended on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”

It was at His baptism that Jesus committed Himself to the mission for which He had come to earth. And while He was praying the Holy Spirit came upon Him in a rich measure, and God Himself affirmed Jesus’ character and mission.

Luke 6:12-13 NLT One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. 13 At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles.

Jesus’ choice of disciples came only after praying all night long!

Luke 9:28-31 NLT About eight days later Jesus took Peter, John, and James up on a mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white. 30 Suddenly, two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared and began talking with Jesus. 31 They were glorious to see. And they were speaking about his exodus from this world, which was about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem.

Peter, James, and John had earlier fallen asleep, and they woke up only in time to hear the end of Jesus’ conversation with Moses and Elijah, where they saw and heard this:

Mark 9:7 NLT Then a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son. Listen to him.”

These events happened while Jesus was praying. I think there’s a connection there, yes?

Jesus said repeatedly that His time had not fully arrived, see John 2 & 7, but in the final week of His life, Jesus said, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified,” see John 12:21.

Some Greeks had come to Jerusalem for the Passover; these people were but a faint representation of all who would accept Jesus. But before this would occur, Jesus spoke about how a kernel of wheat must die to produce many seeds. Jesus, sensing the painful separation of Himself and God, cried out:

John 12:27-28 NLT “Now my soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray, ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But this is the very reason I came! 28 Father, bring glory to your name.”

With His words Jesus offered an anti-prayer, right? Jesus refused to pray this one prayer, but the negated prayer is still critical to understanding Jesus’ prayer life. Despite the horrors of separation from God, Jesus still asked that God’s name be glorified!

Jesus’ followers sensed that Jesus could teach them about prayer so the 12 disciples asked:

Luke 11:1 “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

There are two versions of Jesus’ model prayer, one in Matthew 6:9-13 and the other in Luke 11:2-4. These two versions show some variations, but they contain the same elements, offered in the same order. Let’s look at Matthew’s. It has an introduction and ending that we often forget about.

In essence, when you pray: do not pray so you can be admired as a religious person. Do not babble on and on. These two cautions seem to address two groups of people, the Jewish leaders and many pagans.

What comes after Jesus’ model prayer is also critical to understanding our Lord’s prayer:

Matthew 6:14 For if you forgive others their wrongdoing, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. But if you don’t forgive people, your Father will not forgive your wrongdoing.

Forgiven people have forgiveness implanted in their hearts! All three of these cautionary statements flow naturally from a correct understanding of God’s character:

1. God is friendly and giving: He loves reality; therefore, He rewards real (not fake) motives. We humans are all sinners—that is reality.
2. It is not necessary to manipulate God with flowery words or long prayers. He knows our needs, and He is kind, so arm-twisting isn’t necessary.
3. A right relationship with God leads to a right relationship with others.

Let’s turn to Jesus’ prayer itself.

Matthew 6:9-13 “Pray then in this way: 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 also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And don’t let us yield to temptation but rescue us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and power and the glory forever. Amen.

Our Father. With the word “Our” Jesus makes it clear that we too may call God our Father. God the Father loves us as much as He loves Jesus, an astonishing thought! (see John 17:23).

Jesus wants us to be assured that we too may have a close relationship to God, our Father, and in doing so Jesus also reminds us of our close relationship to each other—the pronoun is “our.” Each person we meet on earth is our brother or sister, we are family!

When Jesus calls God our Father, He refers to the intimate relationship between a child and parent. The person we pray to is someone who knows us and loves us, and whom we can know and love.

Our Father—these two words contain the entire message of the Gospel:

Galatians 4:4-7 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. 6 And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.

Romans 8:15-17 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

When Jesus taught us to pray “our Father” He taught us something with enormous consequences for our personal life, as well as for society at large. Jesus loved portraying God as Father. (In the OT the term Father is found only 14 times, yet in the 4 Gospels alone, Jesus alone used the term 170 times!)

Our Father in heaven. With “in heaven” we enter a new realm. As we pray, we enter heaven itself!

Often, when we pray, our earthly situation/environment continues to weigh us down. But with “in heaven” we discover that there are more than just our wants and needs at stake, and there are resources beyond what this planet can offer. This is why the Bible draws a distinction between our earthly fathers and our heavenly Father:

Isaiah 55:8-9 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Our earthly fathers are infinitely different from our heavenly Father. Plus, because God is not limited physically to some spot her on earth He is never beyond our range, especially when we need him most!

After this content-rich introduction: Jesus’ prayer takes on a definite structure.

The Lord’s Prayer
YOU	US
Hallowed be Your name.	Give us this day our daily bread.
Your kingdom come.	And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.	And don’t let us yield to temptation but rescue us from the evil one.

Beginning with the YOU, the God-side of Jesus’ prayer:

Hallowed be Your name: Scripture tells us repeatedly that God has so many admirable qualities that to know God is love God!

God’s name stands for His personhood, His identity, His true self, His character and being. God has made it possible for us to know Him personally. By revealing His name to us, God took the risk of its being abused and misused! Unfortunately, it would take entire libraries to contain the various ways we humans have abused and misused God’s name.

In the name of God, wars have been fought and acts of terror have been committed. In the name of God, people have been enslaved and held in bondage, oppressed and robbed of their free will, rejected, condemned, and expelled from their homes and communities. People have misused the name of God for personal profit and for gaining power and attention.

Another risk that God took by revealing His name to us is that people might simply ignore it or neglect it. We neglect or ignore his name whenever we live our lives as if God doesn’t exist; when we don’t care about what matters most to Him in this world, such as caring for the poor, preserving his creation, working for social justice, and sharing His name with others.

Everyone who prays with understanding, “Hallowed be your name,” faces the reality of his or her life in the light of God’s holiness.

We often make God’s name stink by our acts of carelessness, by our pettiness, our desire for power or money or attention, and our neglect of others.

Your kingdom come. Throughout Jesus’ life on earth, the message of “the kingdom of God” and was the core of all His teaching and actions. Jesus explained it in his parables and demonstrated it by his acts of healing and a host of other miracles. He said:

Luke 4:43 “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose.”

This good news of God’s kingdom is mentioned more than 100 times in the Gospels alone—90 times by Jesus. We see the significance and urgency of this message ringing through in Jesus’ words:

Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

When praying “your kingdom come” we are asking for God’s kingdom to be implanted in our own hearts, and in the hearts of others around us, and that Jesus would return and all the universe would be nothing but the kingdom of God.

Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Jesus said of Himself:

John 4:34 “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work.

A psalm describes the Messiah with these words:

Psalm 40:8 I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”

We are to pray that God’s will be done on earth as it is done in heaven. In heaven service to God, obedience, is never done in a spirit of legality, or a spirit of compulsion—everyone delights to do God’s will.

Though the Ten Commandments are an expression of God’s will, there is much more to consider when asking what is God’s will.

1 Timothy 2:4 God our Savior: wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.

Jesus said that He came to seek and save the lost, Luke 19:10. In Ephesians we read:

Ephesians 1:7-8 NLT He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

Ephesians 1:8-9 NLT He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding. 9 God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfill his own good plan.

Ephesians 1:10 NLT And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together in Christ—everything in heaven and on earth.

But why would we need to pray that God’s will be done on earth? What hinders God’s will here on our planet? Two groups: we do, human beings do, and so do evil angels, who now inhabit our earth as well. And because of angelic and human rebellion against God, God’s will is not done on here on earth as it is in heaven.

Even when keeping God’s laws, is it our delight to do so? Do we have God’s love written on our hearts?

Luke 18:18 NLT Once a religious leader asked Jesus this question: “Good Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”

Jesus replied: “you know the commandments: ‘You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother.”

Luke 18:21 The man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.”

When Jesus heard his answer, he said, “There is still one thing you haven’t done. Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” But when the man heard this he became very sad, for he was very rich.

The spirit of unselfish love for others had no place in this religious leader’s heart, though he boldly claimed to have kept all of God’s law his entire life, but had he?

We must never forget that God works in us; we do not, cannot, crank out obedience on our own:

Philippians 2:13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

Jeremiah 31:33 “I will put my law deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

Through Jeremiah God has made it clear that this is the only way we will ever be able to do God’s will on earth as it is done in heaven! Our job is:

Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.

Here is how the first half of Jesus’ model prayer can become a reality in our own lives. We keep our eyes on Jesus and God’s will permeates our life.

The Lord’s Prayer
YOU	US
Hallowed be Your name.	Give us this day our daily bread.
Your kingdom come.	And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.	And don’t let us yield to temptation but rescue us from the evil one.

Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well—those are Jesus’ words found in Matthew 6:33; clearly, Jesus modeled these words in the Lord’s Prayer. God and His interests came first in Jesus’ model prayer.

When we have prayed that God’s name be honored, and therefore admired, that his kingdom be established, and His will be done, because he is our Father, everything in His house belongs to us for we are His children and His heirs!

Now let’s study the US side of Jesus’ model prayer. Timeframes in Jesus’ Model Prayer:

Present—our daily needs.
Past sins—we’re not asking God to forgive us for present or future sins.
Protection from future sins.

There are three requests in the US side of Jesus’ prayer and they coincide with the three timeframes that we are familiar with: past, present, and future. Regarding the present, we read:

Give us this day our daily bread.

Give. The first word says that God is a generous person, a giver, and we are not demanding but asking God to meet our needs.

God gives according to his riches, we’re told, so why doesn’t He give us a surplus of bread? Why must we pray for bread each day?

The story of the Prodigal Son illustrates what happens when people are given more than they can manage. The boy wasted his money on loose living, lost everything and nearly starved to death. If we belong to God, then all is ours, but God holds it in trust for us lest the devil seduce us into losing it, like he did with the Prodigal Son.

Us/our It might surprise us to see that God does not give us what we need so we alone can thrive, but rather our prayer is that we want God to meet our needs so we can share what He gives with others.

It is not give me my daily bread but give us our daily bread.

Jesus said in

Luke 14:12-14: “When you put on a luncheon or a banquet, don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. For they will invite you back, and that will be your only reward. Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.”

This day/daily These two terms show us that God satisfies our need, not our greed. The story of God giving Israel daily manna illustrates this part of Jesus’ prayer very well. Manna could only be picked up each day; it would not survive the night, except on Fridays, then they could pick up enough to last two days so they could celebrate the Sabbath without having to work for that day’s food.

God does not want us to selfishly, greedily stockpile His gifts; so, He gives them to us as they are needed and as they are used, for our benefit and for the benefit of others!

The story of God giving manna also makes it clear that while God gives to meet our needs, we do not get to be lazy and just receive without actively doing what we can do. People had to actively collect manna, which was smaller in size and had fallen on the ground. Collecting manna was like harvesting food from the garden—some work was required; plus, if they wanted to cook it, that was also entirely on them to do.

Bread With the word “bread” we are taken into the world of synecdoche-a part represents the whole.

The God who sent ravens to feed Elijah will also take care of all our needs, see 1 Kings 17.
This prayer for daily bread also includes the spiritual food that will nourish our hearts for eternal life.

Jesus said more:

And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.

The key words are: as we also. This phrase has to do with forgiving others in the same manner and to the same extent as God forgives people. But it does not mean that God will only forgive us after we have forgiven others.

Jesus illustrated this clearly in Matthew 18:21-35, in the story of the two debtors. One man owed the king tons of money, more money that he could ever hope to repay, but the king forgave him the entire debt.

Unfortunately, the story goes on to say that that same forgiven man refused to forgive another man who owed him an infinitely smaller debt; in fact, he threw this much poorer man who owed him money into prison. The king heard about the first man’s unforgiving spirit and so then treated him the same way that the first man treated the second man who owed him money.

Jesus’ story clearly teaches us that forgiveness is experienced first, before it can be passed on to others, but after forgiveness is experienced, it should become the operating principle of our lives.

If forgiveness does not become part of who we are, then our refusal to forgive others reveals a disinterest and a disrespect for true forgiveness, and a disconnect with it as well. This is what the Bible reveals:

Colossians 3:12-13 NIV Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. All humans are linked to God and others in an obligatory manner. Meaning: this is how we ought to treat God and others.

We are supposed to treat God and each other well, but we don’t. When we don’t, we ask for forgiveness of our debts, for how we ought to have treated God and others, but did not.

Most of us know what it is like to owe others. And when we don’t pay, few, if any, forgive us our debts. But God’s ways are not our ways! He forgives us even though we ought to have treated Him better; we ought to have loved Him because He first loved us.

But after responding positively to God’s love and being forgiven, we now possess the spirit of forgiveness, so we extend forgiveness to others who have wronged us.

But here is where many make a huge mistake, being forgiven is not a feeling; it is taking God at His word—trusting that when He says He forgives us that He has really forgiven us.

But before we pray this part of the Lord’s prayer, that is, ask for forgiveness, God must work in our hearts in such a way that we are convicted that we are sinners.

The New Testament has five words for sin:

1. Hamartia
2. Parabasis
3. Paraptoma
4. Anomia
5. Opheilema

Hamartia means missing the target—the failure to be what we could and should have been. Who among us would claim that we are all we could and should have been, and have done all that we could and should have done?

Parabasis is stepping across—crossing the line between right and wrong. Do we always stay on the right side of the line that divides, say, honesty and dishonesty? Do we never, by word, or by silence, twist or evade or distort the truth?

Paraptoma is slipping across—being swept away by some impulse or emotion. This sin is not as deliberate as the following one, it speaks of when we lose control and slip into one sin or another.

Anomia describes lawlessness—knowing what’s right but doing what’s wrong anyway! We humans are tempted to do what we like to do, what we want to do, regardless of what laws might be in place to guard us and others.

Opheilema deals with debt—the failure to pay that which we owe, what is due. Not doing what we ought to do. This is the word found in the Lord’s Prayer. Who of us can claim that we have always done what we should have done?

These words offer us reasons why we should pray from our heart: And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.

But there is more to the Christian life than forgiveness; God implants in us a desire to not sin. And we then rely on His power to keep us from sinning. And so we read:

And don’t let us yield to temptation but rescue us from the evil one.

Here is our honest admission that when it comes to sin, we are in way over our heads and we need someone to rescue us!

Older versions of this text, Bring us not into temptation, but the Scriptures are clear: God is not and never will be a source of temptation for anyone!

James 1:13 NIV And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else.

But what about temptation? Where does it come from? Newer translations come in handy here too, since they translate the last phrase as being rescued, not just from evil, but from the evil one.

The Bible places the responsibility for evil on several sources. Here it is the devil, which agrees with Jesus’ own experience; we read in Matthew 4 about the devil tempting Jesus.

But Temptation, the Bible says, comes from: without and within. Without: from the devil, from the world we live in, from others. But temptation also comes from within:

James 1:14-15 NLT Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.

And don’t let us yield to temptation but rescue us from the evil one.

And because God loves freedom, He has given us a part to play, we can ask God to give us strength and then do everything we can do to cooperate with God in answering our prayer.

The possibility of being rescued from evil and the evil one, of allowing God to shape our character so that we might become faithful people, that is an awesome privilege and reality.

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

These words are not actually found in the oldest and best Greek manuscripts of the Bible. In fact, these words do not appear in Luke’s version of the Lord’s prayer either.

That said, they do reveal the spirit of the Scriptures regarding God and His kingdom. With these words Jesus’ model prayer ends like it begins, with a focus on God, and not on us. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

It’s possible that these words are a paraphrase of 1 Chronicles 29:11-12, which reads:

1Chonicles 29:11-12 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O LORD, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. 12 Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength.

Questions

What practical lessons can we learn from Jesus’ model prayer?

Do your prayers regularly contain both YOU and US content?

What can you do to further God’s kingdom?

How can you better deal with temptation when it comes your way?

What victories over temptation has God given you this week?

Besides your interests and your life, what else does God want you to be focused on?