FOCUS Day Eight | Matthew 6:5-13

DAY EIGHT | Matthew 6:5-13

“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

“Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father 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 forgive our debtors.

And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.

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

The recording of the Sermon on the Mount is the longest, continuous discourse of Jesus found in the New Testament. The sermon takes place relatively early in the public ministry of Jesus and takes the entirety of three chapters in the Gospel of Matthew (5, 6 & 7). We certainly don’t know all of the details or circumstances surrounding this time of teaching, but in this time with His disciples, Jesus speaks to them on a variety of topics.

He began with the Beatitudes and then called His followers to be mindful to live in a way that impacted those around them.

You are the salt of the earth…

You are the light of the world…

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

The teaching of Jesus from Matthew 5 to live our lives in a way that puts the goodness of God on display publicly is clear and undeniable. This is followed almost immediately in chapter 6 by a call to develop a deep and secret life of prayer, fasting and giving that no one sees. The tension between living so men can see our good works, and cultivating a hidden life that no-one sees can sometimes feel confusing, but that is why it is important to look beyond the words on the pages of Scripture and into the life of the Living Word – Jesus.

His life is the ultimate example for us of how to share our lives with others, serving them, and having a secret place life of intimate communion with the Father. In fact, Jesus us tells us that all of the works and miracles that He had performed, He did by doing what He saw the Father doing. This is significant for us as we look at what we call the Lord’s Prayer.

Luke 11 records what many call the Sermon on the Plain, and in that passage the followers of Jesus ask Him to teach them how to pray. The prayer recorded in Matthew 6 and Luke 11 are nearly identical and give us an important look into the way that Jesus related to God in prayer as He walked the earth.

The first two words of the model prayer turned the religious world on its end.

Our Father…

Jesus’s claims to be the Son of God was the basis of heresy charges against Him. The Jewish Religious Rulers regarded this reason enough to capture and execute Him. But Jesus went farther than claiming to be God’s Son, He welcomes others into the relationship. – Our Father!

Consistent with other places where His gospels welcome others to come to the Father through Him, this start to the model prayer reminds us that the message that Jesus came preaching was more than a religious mantra. It was an invitation into communion with the Creator and Ruler of the universe.

He then goes on to pray, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Remember that this message was preached primarily to Hebrew people living under the empirical rule of Rome. Jesus offers a message of redemption and hope, not based on setting up an earthly kingdom, the way that the Jewish people had longed for Messiah to do, but by praying for heaven to be released on the earth.

This type of teaching and praying was difficult for many to comprehend. Their understanding of all of the prophesies of what the coming of the Promised One would look like made it hard to believe that this carpenter from Nazareth could possibly be the One that they had been waiting on. Even though this prayer was hard to understand, it was rooted in Scriptures that had been in their hands for centuries.

Listen to the beginning of Psalm 115:

Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, But to Your name give glory, Because of Your mercy, Because of Your truth.

Why should the Gentiles say, “So where is their God?”

But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases.

When Jesus prays to the Father in Matthew 6, honoring and hallowing His name, He prays for God’s kingdom to come and will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. This has been recited for two thousand years and has an epic sound to it. In the midst of reciting this passage, it is important to make sure that we do not miss the meaning of what Jesus is really praying.

God’s kingdom coming was not a sign that the Roman Empire was about to be overthrown. His will being done was not simply a legal ruling being carried out in the earth. So what was Jesus really praying?

I believe that the basis for this Matthew 6 prayer actually flows from Psalm 115:3.

But Our God is in heaven where He does whatever He pleases.

When Jesus prays for the Kingdom to come, He is inviting the royal rule and reign of God to come. When He asks for God’s will to be done, He is praying that the throne room desires of the Father would be poured out – on earth as it is in heaven, where He does whatever He pleases.

As Jesus continues on in this prayer, He petitions the Father for the provision of daily bread, the release of forgiveness, and deliverance from temptation from the evil one. These are all different expressions of what it looks like to pray for what pleases God in heaven to come to earth.

I acknowledge that there are so many different types and expressions of prayer mentioned in Scripture. I am not trying to oversimplify intercession or pretend that the words that I have written offer a comprehensive view of the topic. But that is not really the goal of this writing.

We are taking time to look at and focus our eyes on Jesus. We are inviting what we see in His life to become the new normal in our lives. I pray that as you look at the way that Jesus taught His friends to pray, that you would feel encouraged and liberated to cry out to a Good Father, Daddy, Let what pleases you in heaven come to earth. Start in my heart. As I fix my eyes on You, make me more like You.

JOURNALING QUESTIONS // LINK TO PLAYLIST

Examine – How would you describe what this passage reveals about the life of Jesus?

MindShift – Is there anything about what you read in this passage that challenges the way you think about what it means to follow Jesus?

Prayer Focus – Is there any prayer that you can pray to co-operate with Holy Spirit to see your mind renewed to become more like Jesus?