A Prayer for All Ages and All People
How many times has each of us prayed this prayer without really thinking about what is being said in these short verses? I would hope and pray that this short study will help you, as it did me, in focusing on its true meaning, a prayer for all ages and all people.
Did you even wonder as I have why the last portion of the prayer is not recorded in either Matthew or Luke? In my research I have found that its origin is from a non-canonical book called Didache, (Pronounced dee dah kay) a collection of Christian writings from the early second century. The book is sometimes referred to as “Teaching of the Twelve Apostles.” As an early church manual, it may be the earliest of the Apostolic Fathers. The contents of the book suggest that it may have been written in Antioch of Syria. (Source: Holman’s Bible Dictionary).
The two biblical versions use the prayer in different ways. Matthew’s version appears in the Sermon on the Mount. From one point of view, it is seen as a substitute for the wrong kind of prayer. Luke inserts his version on Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem and was a result of one of his disciple’s question, “Lord teach us to pray.”
The table below compares the two biblical versions with the Didache version.
Matthew |
Luke |
Didache |
| Our Father who art in heaven | Father | Our Father who art in heaven |
| Hallowed be thy name; Thy kingdom come | Hallowed be thy name; Thy kingdom come | Hallowed be thy name; Thy kingdom come |
|
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven | |
| Give us this day our bread for the morrow; | Give us this day our bread for the morrow; | Give us this day our bread for the morrow; |
| And forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors | And forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive every one who is indebted to us | And forgive us our debt as we forgive our debtors |
| And cause us to go not into temptation | And cause us to go not into temptation | And cause us to go not into temptation |
| But deliver us from evil | But deliver us from evil | |
| For thine is the power and the glory for ever. |
Source: Holman’s Bible Dictionary, “The Lord’s Prayer” By: Charles Talbert
The Jews of Jesus’ day had many prayers and were contained in several works. Some suggest that Jesus’ Lord’s Prayer is a synopsis of the various Jewish prayers of His time. The Lord’s Prayer is a prayer of petition. Martin Luther’s Small Catechism spends significant time in review of this special prayer, including his introduction, seven petitions and the conclusion. (Small Catechism, Part III). To petition is to ask for something from somebody. Pure and simple!
Our petitions are clearly directed to God our heavenly Father. We have access to the Father through the work of His Son, Jesus. The petition portion of the prayer is divided into two sections: “Thou-petitions and Us-petitions.”
- The thou petitions have three main points:
- Hallowed be Thy name.
- Thy Kingdom come
- Thy will be done.
The first acknowledgement of God’s holy nature. It is important that we recognize God’s holiness here. Why? Because we are petitioning for His promised Kingdom to come and His will done for us on earth.
The us petitions remind you and me that we have earthly needs; and external forces attempting to pull us from God’s grasp, and most importantly, the need for forgiving and forgiveness.
- The us petitions have four parts:
- Give us this day our daily bread
- Forgive us. . .we forgive
- Keep us from temptation
- Deliver us from the Evil One.
Jesus provided His disciples with a formula to teach others about God’s bountiful gifts – physical and spiritual.
While centuries old, the prayer is just as applicable today as it was in Jesus’ time and even before. The order is particularly important. First, we acknowledge our heavenly Father as God and His holiness. Secondly, our first petitions are spiritual in nature requesting God’s kingdom’s coming and His will for us. And finally, we have physical needs of food and drink to sustain us and in our relationship to other people. And yes don’t forget . . . deliver us from the Evil One and all his attempts to snare us from God’s sheep pen.
I particularly like the doxology as we can do nothing but sing God’s praise when we stop and think about God’s dealing with His peopleànow, then and in the future. So, what can we say but power and glory be to Him now and forever. You know, there are 18 separate doxologies in the New Testament. Perhaps the one that best relates to this closing in the Lord’s Prayer is from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans. Listen as we close:
25Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, 26but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him—27to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen. (Romans 16)