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Scripture Reading: Matt. 6:9-13
The Bible shows us what prayer is. First, God has a need; He has a purpose. Second, He puts this purpose within man through the Holy Spirit so that man feels this need as well. Third, man responds by uttering this purpose back to God through prayer. Fourth, God does His work and accomplishes this purpose. This is the meaning of prayer.
Let us read a few passages. Matthew 9:36 through 10:1 says, “And seeing the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and cast away like sheep not having a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, The harvest is great, but the workers few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest that He would thrust out workers into His harvest. And He called His twelve disciples to Him and gave them authority over unclean spirits, so that they would cast them out and heal every disease and every sickness.” According to this passage, (1) God is moved with compassion to save, (2) He wants man to pray, (3) man prays, and (4) God sends men to work and to save.
Ezekiel 36:37 says, “Thus saith the Lord God; I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock.” According to this verse, (1) God will increase Israel with men, (2) God wants men to pray for this matter, (3) men pray for this matter, and (4) God accomplishes it.
Isaiah 62:6-7 says, “Upon your walls, O Jerusalem, / I have appointed watchmen; / All day and all night / They will never keep silent. / You who remind Jehovah, / Do not be dumb; / And do not give Him quiet / Until He establishes / And until He makes Jerusalem / A praise in the earth.” According to this verse, (1) God wants Jerusalem to become a praise in the earth, (2) He has appointed watchmen, (3) the watchmen pray, and (4) God fulfills their desire.
From these passages we see that all proper prayers issue from God’s heart and express God’s desire. Prayer implies that God has a desire. He wants to fulfill such a desire, yet He does not want to do it directly; He wants man to cooperate with Him on earth. For this reason He unveils His desire to man and charges man to pray. Only after man prays will He fulfill His desire. This is the meaning of prayer.
The prayer the Lord taught the disciples in Matthew 6 touches God’s will. God’s eternal will is expressed through it. From this prayer, we can see God’s heart’s desire. We can also see what He wants to accomplish and how it is being accomplished.
We can divide Matthew 6:9-13 into three sections. Verses 9 through 10 form the first section. Verse 11 to the end of the first sentence of verse 13 forms the second section. The second sentence of verse 13 to the end of the verse forms the third section. The first section is related to God, the second section is related to man, and the third section again relates to God and points out the underlying basis.
Verse 9 says, “Our Father who is in the heavens.” “Our” denotes something corporate. In this prayer the words our, us, and we are used nine times. Although one prays this prayer alone in a “private room” (v. 6), its tone is not individual but corporate. “Who is in the heavens” denotes that our prayers have to reach the Holy of Holies (Heb. 10:19). In order for our prayers to reach the Holy of Holies, we cannot trust in our feelings; we must trust in the precious blood of the Lord Jesus. Furthermore, we must come to the Father in faith (v. 22). “Father” denotes that we have a life relationship with God. We pray in this way because we stand as sons. Only when we stand in such a position can we fulfill God’s heart’s desire.
Following this there are three things that we have to ask for: “Your name be sanctified,” “Your kingdom come,” “Your will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth.” First we ask, “Your name be sanctified.” In the Bible, the words sanctification, holiness, and separation are the same word in Greek. It means to set apart a person or a thing unto God. Whether we set ourselves apart or are set apart by someone, being set apart means to be sanctified.
There are two aspects to our sanctification. The first is positional and objective. For example, men can be sanctified:
(1) Aaron and his sons. Exodus 28:41 says, “And shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office.” Here we have the sanctification of Aaron and his sons.
(2) The firstborn. Exodus 13:2 says, “Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine.” Here we have the sanctification of the firstborn of Israel.
(3) The saints. Acts 9:13 says, “Lord, I have heard from many concerning this man, how many evil things he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem.” The term “saints” shows that the disciples are sanctified.
(4) The wife, the husband, and the children. First Corinthians 7:14 says, “For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the brother; otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy.” Here the husband and the wife are sanctified.
The Bible also mentions things being sanctified.
(1) Food. Leviticus 21:8 says, “You shall sanctify him, for he offers the food of your God.”
(2) Every creature of God. First Timothy 4:5 says, “For it [every creature of God] is sanctified through the word of God and intercession.” The above verses show us that both food and every creature of God can be sanctified.
Furthermore, the Bible also mentions places being sanctified.
(1) Jerusalem. Matthew 4:5 uses the phrase holy city, showing that Jerusalem is sanctified.
(2) The temple. Matthew 23:17 refers to the temple being sanctified.
(3) The altar. Matthew 23:17 and 19 say, “The temple which sanctifies the gold...the altar which sanctifies the gift.” This speaks first of the temple and altar being sanctified, and then of the gold and gift being sanctified through the sanctification of the temple and the altar.
The second aspect of sanctification is experiential and subjective. It is sanctifying God’s name through one’s life.
(1) The Lord Jesus. Matthew 4:10 says, “Then Jesus said to him, Go away, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.” God’s name is sanctified before Satan through the Lord Jesus.
(2) Enosh. Genesis 4:26 says, “And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enosh: then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.” God’s name was sanctified before men through Enosh.
(3) Abraham. Genesis 14:22 says, “And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted up mine hand unto the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth.” God’s name was sanctified before the king of Sodom through Abraham. He called God the most high God.
Genesis 21:32-33, “Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba: then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines. And Abraham planted a grove in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God.” In verse 33 God’s name was again sanctified through Abraham. He called God the everlasting God.
(4) Isaac. Genesis 26:28 says, “And they [Abimelech, his friend Ahuzzath, and Phichol the chief captain of his army] said, We saw certainly that the Lord was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee.” God’s name was sanctified before Abimelech through Isaac.
(5) Jacob. Genesis 30:27 says, “And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favor in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake.” God’s name was sanctified before Laban through Jacob.
(6) Joseph. Genesis 39:9 says, “There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he [Potiphar] kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” God’s name was sanctified before Potiphar through Joseph.
(7) David. First Samuel 17:46 says, “This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.” God’s name was sanctified before Goliath through David.
(8) Samson. Judges 16:28 says, “And Samson called on Jehovah and said, O Lord Jehovah, remember me, I pray; and strengthen me, I pray, this one time only, O God, that I may be avenged of the Philistines at once for my two eyes.” God’s name was sanctified before the Philistines through Samson.
(9) Elijah. In 1 Kings 18:37 Elijah said, “Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.” God’s name was sanctified before the priests of Baal through Elijah.
(10) Paul. In Acts 27:22-23 Paul stood and said, “And now I advise you to cheer up, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood by me.” The Lord’s name was sanctified before Paul’s companions through Paul.
Hence, sanctifying God’s name is making God’s name distinct in the ear of the hearer from all other names who are not God, such as the devil (John 8:44), the stomach (Phil. 3:19), and idols (Isa. 36:19). Sanctifying God’s name is to make His name distinct whenever it is mentioned.
God’s goal is to rule over the universe. His desire is to have a kingdom. “Your kingdom come” shows God’s goal and desire. God wants to see His kingdom come soon. Once His kingdom comes, Satan will be overturned (Matt. 12:28). In the age of the kingdom, the overcomers will share Christ’s glory, and Satan will be cast into the abyss and suffer shame. This is God’s goal and desire. God wants man to pray according to this goal and desire. The Lord wants men to pray for God’s kingdom to come to earth, which means for God’s rule to come to earth and for God to gain His kingdom on earth.
God’s will is never hindered in heaven. His will is frustrated from being executed on earth because the earth has been corrupted by Satan. It has been usurped by God’s enemy. However, when the kingdom comes, the earth will be completely recovered, and God’s will and desire will be executed on the earth as it is in heaven. Satan will be bound in the abyss (Rev. 20:3; cf. Luke 8:31, Dan. 10:13) and will no longer be able to frustrate God’s will. Today the Lord wants men to pray for this and to hasten the manifestation of His will.
When a man stands on God’s side to contend for His name, His kingdom, and His will, the enemy will attack him constantly. Everyone who makes a stand for God will come under the enemy’s attack. This is why there is the need for protection. If there is no protection from God, we would fail. God protects us in four areas.
“Give us today our daily bread.” Without food, man cannot survive, and he cannot live for God’s will. Man cannot give up ground to the enemy through the matter of food. It says, “Our daily bread.” An individual may not be lacking in anything, but God wants the corporate “us” to be without want.
“Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” “Debts” here does not refer directly to the offenses we have committed against others. Our sins are forgiven through the Lord’s blood, yet our debts are forgiven through our forgiving our debtors.
“Do not bring us into temptation.” We should not anticipate temptation; rather, we should ask God to not bring us into temptation.
“Deliver us from the evil one.” This is an opposing prayer that deals with Satan.
“For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” This section mentions three things that are God’s: the kingdom, the power, and the glory. All three things belong to God forever. Satan will eventually be removed. The word “forever” signifies that Satan can never prevail. “Amen” means “yes.” It is like signing a signature; everything is sealed.
God’s Word repeatedly shows us that He wants man to pray. Isaiah 45:11 says, “Thus says Jehovah, / The Holy One of Israel and the One who formed him, / Ask Me about the things to come concerning My sons, / And concerning the work of My hands, command Me.” Jeremiah 29:12 says, “Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.”
Many people do not want to pray. God even wonders why men do not intercede. Isaiah 59:16 says, “And He saw that there was no man, / And He was appalled that there was no intercessor. / Therefore His arm brought salvation to Him, / And His righteousness sustained Him.”
