The Lord's Prayer (An Exegetical Analysis Of Matthew 6:6-14)

          In prayer, our principal focus is to be on God. He ought to be the object of our attention and thoughts. We are in His divine presence. God answers a man's prayer based on his sincerity and faithfulness (v. 6). Christ's words are not a condemnation of public worship itself. Rather, prayer is not to be done with the intent of impressing other people. It is more so a matter of one's heart (what a person is like in the inside) than his outward posture (what a person looks like to other people).

          We are not to pray in the manner that pagans do, like the worshipers of Baal (1 Kings 18:26). Prayer should be intelligent and coherent. Repetition itself is not a problem (Matthew 26:42–46). Prayer is not to be done boisterously or in a state of unrestrained euphoria. We are not to utter rash sayings in offering up our prayers to God (v. 7). He rejects prayer tainted with self-righteousness, which infected the religious leaders of Jesus' day.

          God knows everything, which includes our prayer requests, even before we even go to Him (v. 8). We do not know ourselves as well as He does. Only pagans think that their gods need to be told about human needs. That is not the case with the living God. Therefore, the purpose of prayer is communion with Him. Christ is our spiritual food. He is consumed by us through faith.

          We acknowledge that God is the Creator and Lord of all. It follows from that premise we are to give Him rightful honor and worship (v. 9). We must approach Him in humility and respect. Jesus Christ was giving to His disciples a proper model for prayer in contrast to the empty words of unbelievers, who only wanted temporal blessings. It would also indicate who was one of His disciples. Israel had failed to properly honor God's name (Ezekiel 36:22-23).

          We pray with knowledge beforehand that God is sovereign for His kingdom to be inaugurated (v. 10). It has no boundaries in terms of depth or extent. Our wills are to be perfectly aligned with God's will. Our desire is to be that good conquers the evils of this world. God has a plan, which cannot be thwarted. It will be fully brought to fruition when Christ returns for a second time.

          We live in a world overflowing with tragedy, poverty, war, famine, and disease. Yet in the kingdom of God, only goodness endures. We pray that He will supply our needs continually and abundantly, without end (v. 11), for He provides according to His will. This reminds us that our lives must rest in constant dependence upon Him. Prayer, then, is more than a request for material things. It is the posture of trust before the one who sustains us.

          In prayer, we humbly petition God for the forgiveness of our sins (v. 12). Sin is an offense against Him. We have repeatedly violated His perfect standard of morality, the Law. We must pray for sins committed, even after conversion. This does not mean we must approach God with a list of our misdeeds because we could not possibly remember all of them or realize the degree to which we are sinful. His mercy is greater than that, knowing no limits.

          We must follow the example of God forgiving our trespasses against Him (v. 14). We ought not hold anger or resentment toward other people. We are not to hold offenses committed against us by others in the past over their heads. We must forgive the sins of other people because that is what He has done for us. We too are sinful beings. Forgiveness is the essence of the Christian message. It eliminates human pride and boasting.

          We pray to God that He protects us from succumbing to the influences of evil in this world. This request encompasses both support against attacks by fallen angels and other human beings who seek to bring harm to us. Further, temptation is inevitable as long as we live on this earth. God will bring His purposes to pass in His own timing. He is entitled to perpetual glory (v. 13).