The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13): Two Sources

Posted on August 26, 2011 by Stephen Nielsen

 

Someone once said to me, “None of us really has any original thoughts.  Whatever we think and say and write, we have heard from someone else, or have read it somewhere.”  If we look at Jesus in His humanity, that is also true of Him and of this prayer He has composed.  He got it from other sources, basically from two sources: from Jewish prayers, and from the Old Testament Scriptures.

But we could also look at Jesus from the perspective of His divinity.  That is, since He is really God, He inspired all of the Old Testament writings; and since He created all people, including the Jews, He gave them the words of their prayers.  Hence, all things are really from Him, including this prayer.

It would be good for us to keep this in mind.  However, I would like to look at the prayer from the perspective of His manhood, that having laid aside His divinity (Phil. 2:7), He had to study and learn like any other man.  Hence, we will consider now the two sources of this prayer mentioned above.

1. From Jewish prayers

. There is clear evidence in The Lord’s Prayer that Jesus was quite familiar with the Jewish prayers of His time.  According to the Interpreters Bible, “Nearly every phrase is paralleled in the Kaddish and the Eighteen Benedictions” (which are Jewish prayers).

In Barnes Notes, Barnes gives us some of those parallels.  For example, corresponding to the phrase, “Give us this day our daily bread,” the Jews had a prayer like this: “The necessities of thy people are many, and their knowledge small, so that they do not know how to make known their wants: let it be thy good pleasure to give to each one what is necessary for his sustenance.”

Likewise, as Jesus taught us to pray, “Deliver us from evil,” the Jews prayed, “Be it thy good pleasure to free us from an evil man, and an evil event, from evil affections, from an evil companion and neighbor, from Satan.”

As you can see, the phrases are similar; and since Jesus being Jewish no doubt was familiar with these prayers, His composition had to be influenced by them.  The difference obviously is that the Jewish prayers are much longer.

Perhaps Jesus’ intention in composing a short prayer was so that anyone could memorize it and learn it quickly.  Also, I think He meant it to be just an outline—so that each one praying by this prayer could fill it in with his own words.  I don’t think Jesus wanted His disciples to be restricted in prayer as to always have to pray the same words.  He wanted them to pray in their own words, so He gave them this short prayer outline as a guide.

2. From the Old Testament Scriptures

Besides learning from Jewish prayers, Jesus studied and became quite familiar with the Old Testament scriptures.  His prayer shows this.  For if you examine it, you will see that each part can be cross-referenced to numerous scriptures in the Old Testament (I will bring this our later in our study).  Therefore, we know that this prayer of His was not something strange or different from the scriptures.  It supported the scriptures.  In fact, it came from the scriptures.  Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount just before He gave the Lord’s Prayer, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.  I did not come to destroy but to fulfill” (Matt. 5:17).  Therefore, this Lord’s Prayer helps to fulfill the Old Testament scriptures.

So we see clearly from Jesus’ own words that He didn’t mean to compose something different, but He meant to reaffirm what was already written about prayer in the scriptures.  He also meant to reaffirm the Old Testament traditions and prayers, which were based on the scriptures.  John MacArthur points out in His book, Jesus Pattern of Prayer that “The Jews had a great heritage of genuine prayer.”  However, sadly, something went wrong along the way: Jewish prayer was corrupted and it became hypocritical (Matt. 6:2).  Therefore in this prayer Jesus seeks to bring the Jews back to the scriptures and to the way they use to pray.  And the prayer also points us back to the scriptures.  It gives us a sound scriptural basis for our prayers.

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8 Teachings of Jesus on Prayer — Teaching #8

Posted on August 24, 2011 by Stephen Nielsen

Jesus taught that prayer must be with forgiveness (Matthew 5:23, 24; 6:14-15; Mark 11:25-26) 

In these passages Jesus seems to be teaching us that if we have not forgiven someone we may as well not pray at all.  Mark 11:26 says, “If you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”

Jesus is not saying here that if you don’t forgive others you have lost your salvation; but He is saying that in your unwillingness to forgive someone you have cut off your fellowship with God.  Why?  Because in your sin against others (in not forgiving them) you sin against God too.  Sin always separates us from God, and so this is why when we sin He will not regard our prayers (Ps. 66:18, Jn. 9:31).

Now we know that there are many different kinds of sin, and all of them, if unconfessed will separate us from God and will hinder our prayers.  So why does Jesus point out this particular sin of unforgiveness?  Well, I suggest that it is because this sin is perhaps the hardest to get rid of.  For this sin is not just with ourselves, it involves others.  So to get rid of it we must take steps toward others and with others to reconcile.  And the longer we wait the deeper the bitterness sets in, and so over time it becomes so so hard to be free of.  And Jesus knows this, and so this I think is why He has made a point of it here in these verses.  For He doesn’t want us to become bitter and therefore to be separated from Him.  He wants to be in continual fellowship with us and wants to hear our prayers.

I like what Paul said in Acts 24:16: “…I myself always strive to have a conscience void of offense toward God and men.”  Paul knew the value of having a clear conscience toward God and others and how it was so necessary for prayer.  Let us make that our goal too. 

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8 Teachings of Jesus On Prayer — Teaching #7

Posted on August 22, 2011 by Stephen Nielsen

Jesus taught that prayer must be with faith (Matthew 21:21-22; Mark 11:22-26) 

In theses verses I see three aspects of faith in prayer that Jesus teaches.  First of all…

(1) Faith must be in God.  Matthew 21:22 says, “Have faith in God.”  Prayer with faith, therefore, is prayer that believes in God and in the promises that He has given us.  Then it is prayer that expects God to answer based on those promises; it is prayer that has a continuing hope for the answer and a lasting energy to pray until the answer comes.  Secondly…

(2) Faith must be with obedience.  Prayer with faith is prayer that doesn’t just pray and then believe that God will do it by Himself without us; it is prayer that counts on God to help us do it; it is prayer that stops praying and starts obeying.

In Mark 11:23 Jesus tells us to do something, to speak to the mountain: “Whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea’…”

Therefore when we pray with faith we must go and do whatever God tells us to do.  We must act out our faith in obedience.  Hence, there is a point that when we pray with faith we will get up from our prayer position and do what God tells us—obey Him.  If we don’t then our prayers are not of faith.  Thirdly…

(3) Faith must be without doubting.  Jesus said that when we pray we must not doubt in our heart, but believe that those things we pray and ask for will be done for us (Mk. 11:23).  Then He said in verse 24, “Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive then, and you will have them.”  Here the teaching is not of positive thinking; rather it is having a strong belief and trust in God.  Thus we are to know God so well that we will just know that He will give us what we ask for—and so our knowledge will be based on what we know of His goodness and kindness.  Thus we are to have the faith of a child that thinks his or her father is the best father in the world.  This is faith so expectant, so hopeful in God that we have absolutely no doubt that God will give us what we ask for.  In fact, this faith in prayer claims the things we pray for as already being ours even before we receive them.

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8 Teachings of Jesus on Prayer — Teaching #6

Posted on August 19, 2011 by Stephen Nielsen

 Jesus taught that prayer should be in unity with others (Matthew 18:19-20) 

Sometimes when we pray we are not in unity and in agreement with others.  But we should always strive for unity—that is, unity in the body of Christ.  We can never have unity and agreement with those outside of the body of Christ, but we should always strive for unity within the body.  For the body of Christ is one, of which we are all part.  Therefore, since each of us (in the Christian church) is a part for the body of Christ it is natural that our prayers should be united and flow together in agreement by the power of the Holy Spirit.

At first it was hard for me to find in the gospels where Jesus taught this idea of unity in prayer (other then in Matthew 18:19-20); but then, as I studied it, it exploded right before me.  I found that Jesus taught unity in prayer in all of his teachings on prayer.

In John 17:22-23 we see that Jesus prayed for unity—that all believers might be one, just as He was one with His Father.

Secondly, Jesus taught unity in prayer every time He spoke of abiding in Him and of praying in His name.  And the reason I say that is because when He said to His disciples, “If you ask anything in My name…” (Jn. 14:14), and “If you abide in Me…” (Jn. 15:7), and “whatever you ask the Father in My name…” (Jn. 15:16), He was not just speaking of prayer for one person (isolated from others), or for one disciple at a time, He was talking about united prayer—prayer with and for all of His disciples together, and really for all of us too.  We see this plainly from the way it naturally reads; but we also pick it up from the Greek.  For the terms “you shall ask,” and “if you abide,” are written in the second person plural, which may be rendered “you-all,” or “all of you.”

We also see His teaching on unity in prayer in the example prayer He gave to His disciples (Matt. 6:9-16).  Here, when He said, “Our Father” (instead of “my Father”), He was teaching that we should pray together as a family. So whenever anyone (any individual) prays, he should recognize that he is one with the body of Christ, and so he should pray with that idea in mind.

In Matthew 18:19-20 Jesus teaches on group prayer. It seems that Jesus is teaching here that there is a special power in group prayer.  For He taught that when we pray in a group and ask in His name (which means to pray according to His will) three things will occur: (1) we will agree together, (2) He will be there in our midst, and (3) we will receive whatever we ask for.

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8 Teachings of Jesus on Prayer — Teaching #5

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Stephen Nielsen

Jesus taught that prayer must be in His name (John 14:12-14; 15:7, 16; 16:23, 24). 

In these verses Jesus teaches clearly that if we expect to receive what we ask for we must ask for those things in His name.  What does that mean?  Well, in the first passage (Jn. 14:10-14), Jesus shows us that praying in His name is praying in oneness or in unity with Him—that just as Jesus is one with the Father, we demonstrate that we are one with Jesus (and the Father) when we pray in His name.  For when Jesus ascended to the Father, the Holy Spirit came to us and united us with the Father and Son.  And so when we pray in His name we demonstrate our oneness with Him, because we pray in unity with the Son who is one with the Father.  And we do it by the Spirit.  Then the result will be that the Father is glorified.   Moreover, when Jesus was on earth and was one with the Father, the Father did the work in Him (v. 10).  So now when we are united to the Son (who is united to the Father), He does the work in us (by the Holy Spirit) to bring the answers to our prayers (v. 13).

In John 15:5-7 Jesus talks about abiding in Him, that if we abide in Him He will give us whatever we wish for.  Here abiding isn’t something different than praying in His name.  It is exactly the same.  Abiding is how we pray in His name.  For when we abide in Him we in effect are setting aside our own name and identity and we are receiving His name and identity.  Thus when we pray in His name we are uniting ourselves with Him and we are claiming all that is His—just as a wife does when she marries and takes on the name of her husband.  Here in these verses, the illustration of a vine and its branches has the same application.  We may claim in prayer and take all that Jesus gives us because we are united with Him just as a branch is united to the vine.

In John 15:16 Jesus continues teaching on prayer using the illustration of the vine and the branches, but here He speaks also of the fruit produced.  Now there are at least two possible interpretations here.  First, some commentators say that if we abide in Christ, which will result in bearing fruit, then God will give us whatever we ask for (as a reward).  The Second possible meaning is that if we abide in Him, then He will give us whatever we ask for, which will result in fruit.

I tend to go along with the second meaning.  I think we first must abide in Christ; then when we grow in our relationship with Him we will see more and more answers to prayer; and then the result of our growth in the Word and in prayer will be that fruit will develop.

I like the way G. Campbell Morgan has interpreted this verse in His commentary.  He says that there are two things that the Father has appointed us for: to bear fruit, and to asking.  The ultimate, he says is to bear fruit, and the secret behind bearing fruit is asking.  So he suggests that the verse should be understood as such: “I chose you in order to bear fruit, and in order that you may do so I chose you to ask, and so to get in touch with God, that fruit may abound.”

Now what is fruit?  It is a new believer.  Then it is the godly attributes of that believer.  Generally it is righteous behavior: good works, praise, thanksgiving, and obedience.  So what we are saying is that fruit is really the result of our abiding in Him and the prayers that we pray in His name.

Accordingly, I reject the NIV, which suggests the first view.  I think the NKJV is better, because this rendering tends to make the fruit the end result rather then the asking and receiving.

The last passage, in John 16:24, speaks of the joy we will get when we ask in His name and receive.  Here I think our joy is not so much in the things we receive from God when we ask in His name, but in God Himself who gives things.  Real joy never comes from things.  The fullness of joy here is in the experience of God; it is the thankfulness we feel; it is the kindness of God that we experience when we receive His answer to our prayer.

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8 Teachings of Jesus on Prayer — Teaching #4

Posted on August 13, 2011 by Stephen Nielsen

 Jesus taught that prayer should sometimes be with fasting (Mark 9:29). 

On one occasion, when Jesus cast out a demon from a boy, and His disciples earlier were not able to cast out the demon, they came to Him privately and said, “Why could we not cast him out?”  Jesus response was: “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”

So here Jesus was teaching that the most difficult things (in this case, casting out a demon) require both prayer and fasting.  Why?  Because when we fast we depend more on God, and so our prayers become stronger.  I suppose you could say that when we fast we receive an extra portion of the Holy Spirit, or perhaps we receive extra strength from the Holy Spirit.  However you want to put it, you will find that fasting will strengthen prayer.

Now we know that we should always pray about everything; or rather, we should always be in a spirit of prayer.  But here Jesus is teaching that there are some things that require a special time of prayer, or extra fervency of prayer, and that it should be accompanied with fasting.

I remember going to my pastor one time with a difficult problem.  His advice was to go on a fast.  He didn’t have the answer for me so He suggested fasting.  That was good advice.  Whenever you are stumped and can’t seem to find the answer, or you can’t seem to conquer a problem, you need extra strength in your prayers.  Fasting will do that for you.  It will deepen your spiritual roots so that you are more in tune to God and have more of the love of Christ in you.  Hence, fasting will aid you in receiving the faith of Christ so that nothing will be impossible for you.

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8 Teachings of Jesus on Prayer — Teaching #3

Posted on August 9, 2011 by Stephen Nielsen

Jesus taught that prayer must be with expectation—expecting the best from God (from Matthew 7:7-11; Luke 11:8-13; Luke 18:6-8). 

When you read these passages you will see that the emphasis of Jesus’ teaching on prayer is not entirely on the persistence of prayer, but I think it is more on the sure answers that God will give when we are persistent in prayer.  Hence, when we pray, God does not want us to be so focused on our own persistence in prayer, but rather on how loving He is and how He wants to answer our prayers quickly.  In both the Matthew passage and the Luke passage the emphasis is not so much on the asking but on the receiving, not on the seeking but on the finding; again, it is not on the knocking but on the door being opened.

The teaching Jesus uses in these three passages to emphasis this expectation in prayer is a teaching by contrast.  In the Matthew passage the contrast is between earthly parents and our heavenly father.  Here He is teaching that if our parents who are sinful naturally give us what is good when we ask them, God who is not sinful will much more give us good things when we ask Him.

In the Luke 11 story I think we also see a contrast between the friend who was asleep and our Heavenly Father who never sleeps.  Here I think Jesus is telling us that if the man got up at midnight to give his friend bread because of his persistence, surely God, who doesn’t sleep and who always loves us, will gives us whatever we need if we ask Him.  And we don’t need to ask with nearly as much persistence as that man did!

Then in the next story, in Luke 18, the contrast is with the unjust judge and God.  Here the teaching is that if the judge gave the woman justice because of her persistence, God will certainly give us what we need when we are persistent.  In verses 7-8 Jesus makes His teaching clear.  He says that God will bring about justice for His chosen ones who cry out to Him “day and night.”  Here I don’t think the emphasis is on praying “day and night”, but on the quick justice He will give.  So the teaching here I think is that God will not keep putting us off when we pray, as the unjust judge did, but He will give us what we need “quickly.”  By “quickly” I don’t think Jesus meant immediately, as if we don’t need to pray persistently, but I think it means “certainly” and that it will not take very long.  Hence, God will not keep putting us off as the judge did, but He will give us what we need as quickly as we need it, or as quickly as it fits into His good plan for us.

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Joy in the Morning

Posted on August 8, 2011 by Stephen Nielsen

 The Lord gave me some wonderful verses on this subject of joy in the morning. 

In Psalms 108 1-2, David says

O God, my heart is steadfast;

I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.

Awake, lute and harp!

I will awaken the dawn.

 

I don’t know about you, but it’s usually hard for me to get up.  Once I get up and get moving its okay, but it’s just those first minutes that are especially hard for me.  But David was eager to get up and sing songs of praise to God.  At least his heart was eager and steadfast.  But I think his body and mind needed motivation.  It seems to indicate from these verses that he had trained himself to get up.  He used self-talk.  He talked to himself and even talked to his instruments.  He said to his soul (his mind), “I will awaken the dawn.”  He said to his instrument, “Awake lute and harp.”

If we are especially close to God He will help you get up.  We will hear Him calling to us, “wake up.”  And we will get up.  We will be eager to get up and pray and praise Him.  This is how it was with Jesus.  In Isaiah 50: 4 Jesus says of His Father God, 

He awakens Me morning by morning,

He awakens My ear

To hear as the learned.

 

If God the Father woke up Jesus His Son, He will do the same for us, because we are his Children too. 

It is so important and special to seek God in prayer in the morning.  Even if you have sinned and been rebellious, know that His anger is only temporary. He loves you and wants to show you His mercy.  Every day is a new day and His mercies are new every morning.  Look at these wonderful verses:

Lam 3:22-23

Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,

Because His compassions fail not.

They are new every morning;

Great is Your faithfulness.

 

Ps 30:4-5

4 Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His,

And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.

5 For His anger is but for a moment,

His favor is for life;

Weeping may endure for a night,

But joy comes in the morning.

 

The Joy of the Lord is your strength!

 

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8 Teachings of Jesus on Prayer – Teaching #2

Posted on August 5, 2011 by Stephen Nielsen

 

  Jesus taught that prayer must be with persistence—not losing heart (from Matthew 7:7-8, Luke 11:5-10, and Luke 18:1-8)

 

Jesus taught this lesson of persistence in prayer from two different stories, on two different occasions.  One of His stories, recorded in Luke 11:5-10, is about a man who needed bread and who goes to his friend at midnight and begs for it until his friend gives him the bread.  The other story, in Luke 18:1-18, similarly, is about a widow who goes before an unjust judge and pleads for justice from her adversary; and she continues to come to him, begging for justice, until he finally gives it to her.   

We will not go into all the details of the stories (you can read the stories yourself).  However, I want to emphasize the central teaching: that when we pray we must pray with persistence and not lose heart.  To do this I will first show you from the two stories what persistence in pray means and how to pray with persistence; next we will discuss briefly the reason why we need to pray with persistence.

What Is Persistent Prayer?

 

(1) Persistent prayer is desperate prayer that is motivated by a great need.  In both stories this is true.  The man who was asking his friend for bread was desperate.  For he had a friend who had come to his house after being on a long journey, and he had nothing to feed him; he was desperate to supply him bread.  Likewise, the widow was also desperate to get justice.  Therefore, in both stories the main characters recognized that their need was great, and so they were desperate in asking for what they needed.  The first guideline then for knowing how to pray with persistence is that we must recognize that we have a great need, and we must be willing to petition the Father for help.

 

(2) Persistent prayer is shameless prayer.  We get this idea both from the context of the stories and from the Greek word in Luke 11:8, most often translated as persistence.  This word (anaideian) is correctly translated in the KJV as importunity, and it means to pray with shamelessness and with impudence.  And wasn’t that so true of the man in the story?  He went at midnight, woke his friend up, and shamelessly, with boldness, begged for bread.  And the widow acted the same way.  

Hence, our prayers are to be the same.  We are not to feel any shame or embarrassment when we come to God. No, we should feel free to come to Him with our requests at any time, day or night (Lu. 18:7) to ask for anything (as long as it is not a sinful thing).  In fact, we are to ask boldly.  And of course we can do that because we have such a merciful and graceful God, who, through Jesus, our great High Priest, has given us redemption, the forgiveness of our sins.  And so, because of that standing we have with Him (our justification, Rom. 5:1) we can come boldly by faith into His very presence to ask for anything we want, at any time.

 

 (3) Persistent prayer is prayer that has a goal to receive.  In both stories, the characters were intent on getting the things they needed because they had a goal to receive them.  The man who came for bread would not leave without it.  The woman who kept asking for justice was intent on getting it—and she would have keep coming back to the judge until she got justice.  That is what we must do in prayer too—to have in our mind the goal of the answer.  Hence we must be resolved to continue praying for a thing until we receive it.

(4) Persistent prayer is progressively intensive.  We may not see this quality in the two stories; but at the end of the story (in Luke 11 and also in Matthew 7:7-8) we have the familiar phrase that teaches it: “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you.”  

So here we have in these three words (ask, seek and knock) a progressive intensity in prayer.   Seeking is more intense than asking.  Knocking is more intense than seeking.  Asking may be seen as where prayer begins.  Seeking is intense prayer—prayer that is seeking why prayers are not answered, or just seeking to be closer to God.  Knocking is even more persistent, as if to storm the gates of heaven.

Therefore, when we pray we ought not to be content with just asking; but we must let our prayers develop to the second level of seeking, and even to the third level of knocking.  I think this is so important, because unless we knock the door will not be opened to receive the things we need.  We must proceed through all three levels of prayer.  This is what persistent prayer is.

(5) Persistent prayer takes work.  With this kind of prayer we don’t just sit and pray.  It involves listening to God and being obedient to what He wants us to do to bring the answer.  This is where the “knocking” part comes in.  In each of the two stories there was knocking: the man had to go to his friend’s house and knock on the door; and the woman had to go to the judge (go to the court house) day after day.  Hence, persistent prayer is not just a continual bowing of the head and praying words.  It is doing what ever God shows us to do. 

Now briefly, here are…

 

Four Reasons Why We Need To Pray With Persistence

(1) God wants us to be honest about our needs.  If we have a great need, God wants us to be honest about that need and to express it openly and honestly.  The degree of earnestness in our prayers should always be in proportion to the greatness of our need.  It is all about good communication with God, keeping a good relationship with Him, and about developing a healthy dependence on Him.  The more we express our needs honestly, the better our relationship with Him will be.

(2) Difficult times require persistent prayer.  The story in Luke 18 was told in the context of the last days, in an age of great difficulty (Lu. 17:20-37).  Therefore, Jesus was teaching that when times are tough we ought to pray even more persistently, and not lose heart.  These are the last days and Jesus is coming soon.  The devil is on the rampage and persistent prayers are needed more than ever.

(3) Persistent prayer builds our faith and character.  I believe it is part of God’s plan to build up our faith and character through patient, persistent prayer.  Prayer has a way of purifying our motives; it intensifies our desire for God; and it makes His gifts dearer to us.  The more we persist at prayer, the stronger our faith will become and the brighter our eyes will be toward Him and His gifts.

 

(4) God wants to give us what we need.  God loves us and wants to give us all that we need.  Therefore, in these difficult times, to receive those things, we need to prayer with persistence.

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Prayer from Genesis 45:7-28

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Stephen Nielsen

God required them to go to Egypt, a foreign land full of idols, where they would be safe—kept alive.

What do you want me to do Lord?  Show me your will. 

I may do things not knowing really why, and having doubts, but the Lord will guide me.  

I may move in a direction, which I believe is God’s will, but not know what I’m doing or where I’m going; but the Lord knows and He directs my steps; His plan is set and He will determine the outcome. 

“We may throw the dice, but the Lord determines how they fall” (Prov. 16:33). 

I followed wise advice though I had other plans; and things seemed to work out to do it. 

I am moving in that direction, though I encounter problems along the way and I fear more failure; but I move ahead—blindly.

I determine to push forward.  

I look for an open door, a ray of light, a whisper saying “come this way.” 

I plod ahead slowly, though at times gasping for air.

Little by little I am making progress, knowing that God leads me.

I have a promise and He has set my course.  I know in my heart if I trust Him and hang on to the hope He gives me that I will complete the work that he has put in me to do—though most of the time I’m not sure exactly how to do it. 

Show me what to do, Lord.

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