“After this manner therefore pray ye: “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” There are at least five points brought to our attention here – Our Father, Heaven, and the sanctity of God and His Name. Then here is His Kingdom and His will.
As you might imagine, the Protestant theologians, with their over-emphasis on this as the “Lord’s Prayer” have spent a great of time dissecting and analyzing every nuance of these few words. I don’t intend to dig as deeply as those people, but I must say that they have dug out some good points. For example, some of them have referred to a descending order even in these two verses – God, Heaven, earthly kingdom and then God’s manifestation on earth. Have they got it right? I’m not sure that they have, and I’m not sure how important that is.
We start out with “Our Father.”
What should we do with someone who likes to address his prayers to God the Son – or to God the Holy Spirit? Should we get ourselves all tied up in knots about that? I think that there are some Biblical principles in this. First, Christ Jesus tells us here in this model to address ourselves to God the Father. And elsewhere He tells us that the Holy Spirit does not prefer Himself over the Father or the Son. It seems to me that if we are praying under the direction of the Spirit, He will not, as a general rule, lead us to pray to Himself. It is not that we should not pray for the Holy Spirit to shower His power upon us, while we are in the midst of praying about other things, but to think about Him first and foremost, or primarily about Him, appears to be inappropriate. When it comes to addressing Christ Jesus in our prayers, I’m not quite so sure. And yet, generally speaking, I still think that it is inappropriate. Christ tells us to direct our prayers toward God the Father.
In my study, I noticed that several people commented that Jehovah is “our Father by way of Creation.” As I thought about that, it seemed to me that this, too, is a little inappropriate under the circumstances. There is no doubt but that the Creator of all things is God. But, because of several prominent scriptures, I tend to think more directly of Christ as the Creator than God the Father. “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth.” “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. And all things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” If we are to pray to God the Father, then are we praying to Him as our Creator? Yes, and no. I know that this is splitting hairs, but that is something that I am sometime prone to do?
To whom are we to pray? We are to address the God who adopted us into His eternal family – our Father. We are to pray to the One through whom we have been spiritually born (but, again, that takes us back to the Holy Spirit). We are to pray to our Heavenly parent – the one who has all authority over us through every principle of nature, law and love. And speaking of love, we are to pray to our Father who loves us with a love unequaled by anything human. Then there are those hundreds of scriptures which speak of the protection and provision that our Heavenly Father has prepared and bestowed upon us. This is the One to whom we pray – our Heavenly Father.
Should we make anything special out of the pronoun “our”? For several weeks now, whenever I turn on my computer, I open three links to videos of nesting birds. There is a pair of osprey in Sandpoint, who are still sitting on a pair of eggs. Then there is another pair outside of Longmont, Colorado, who already have two chicks. And then there is a pair of Peregrine Falcons sitting on a skyscraper in Calgary, feeding three chicks. It is obvious when the parent birds come in with fish, a mouse or a dead pigeon that the chicks don’t say, “OUR father has returned with some food,” and they don’t refer to “OUR mother.” They are thoroughly narcissistic – it is my parent, my food – my life is the only one that matters. They are not Christian baby birds. When someone is asked to pray it should be on behalf of the entire congregation, speaking to “our Father.” Sure, when in your closet, and you are addressing God, you may consider your own specific needs, but public prayer should be public. And conversely, when you are standing beside someone who is leading in congregational prayer, it is your responsibility to reach out and grasp that prayer as your own. We are as a group worshiping and beseeching our Heavenly Father.
And He is our HEAVENLY Father.
Jehovah is both near and far – He is beside us – within us – and beyond the edge of the universe. I wish that I could tell you that there is special significance in the original word translated “heaven,” but I can’t. James Strong says that the Greek word is derived from a root word which speaks of elevation. So sometimes the word is translated “heaven” “sky,” and sometimes it even means “air.” And then we have specific Biblical reference to “heaven” versus “the third heaven.” Jehovah is our Heavenly Father as opposed to any earthly or otherwise spiritual father.
Now, switching gears just a bit – where is the Holy Spirit at this moment? He is everywhere, including, in a special way, within the heart of every child of God. He indwells every Christian and is the earnest for each of us of our eternal inheritance. And where is Christ Jesus at this moment? If He is not preparing to return to earth in the next few moments, then I must assume, from a dozen different scriptures, that He is seated at the right of the Father on High. Christ is in Heaven where God the Father is now to be found. And then, where is the Father? He is in Heaven.
Obviously, there are a great many things which make Heaven special. For example, there is Biblical authority to use the word “Glory” as a synonym for “Heaven.” From what we have read in the scripture, Heaven is a glorious place, beyond comparison with any beautiful or wonderful place on the face of this earth. And there are angels of various varieties ministering around the throne of God. And of course, heaven is a thoroughly holy place, unfit for the likes of us, as we now are.
And yet, here we are, earth-bound & still in the flesh, yet with the God-given ability to address the Lord. Yes, we know that it is through the merits of Christ Jesus. Yes, we know that we have no right to approach the throne of grace in ourselves. But here we come in the Name of our Saviour. “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”
Next we are reminded of the HOLINESS of God’s NAME.
The Name of God is not the mere nomen, the cognomen or appellation by which we address Him. While the Name of God is “Jehovah,” it is much more than Jehovah. For years I have been trying to find some way to say what seems so lame in mere words, but so far I have failed miserably. God’s Name is more than a name, and it is not the same thing as a description either. The Name of God is “Who He is as actually revealed and manifested.” The theologians say things like, “The Name of God is the perfection of His righteous nature.” And that is the reason that our Saviour says that the Name of the Father is hallowed or sanctified. It is not just a unique title – something which should not be misused. The Name of God is who God is – He is “Jehovah,” the great and ever present “I am.” As I type my sermon notes, I capitalize even the word “Name” when used of the Lord.
So here we are, with the invitation and authority of the Son of God, our Saviour, to pray to the holy God. We who are saved only by grace, and yet who remain in bodies tainted with sin. We who sinned yesterday, if not a few minutes ago, are invited to call upon Him whose Name and nature are perfectly holy. We who are usually a hundred times more interested in our own will and needs than we are of God and His concerns. Here we “come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Yes, I know that we have divine invitation, but still, it is as though the Saviour wants us to never forget that we are out of our league.
Thy KINGDOM come.
Exactly how are we to understand the Lord’s use of the term “kingdom” here? There is the “kingdom of Heaven” or the “kingdom of God.” There is the rule of God in the hearts of His children. There is the rule of God in a world filled with rebels. Then there is at least one future kingdom – and I suppose in some ways even more than one. To which of these is the Lord referring?
Since He seems to be saying, “We pray for the arrival of thy kingdom” perhaps we should not think of the “kingdom of Heaven” as it exists today. It seems to be a prayer for what will eventually come to be the Millennial Kingdom. – the thousand year reign of Christ upon the earth. For us today, I think that it is a prayer which involves the return of the Saviour. “Even so come Lord Jesus.” Can there be a kingdom without the presence of the King? Does the Lord teach us here that a desire and prayer for the return of Christ should be a matter of regular, daily prayer?
Of course, according to other scriptures, there are things which go along with this kingdom. There will be the humbling and then the re-establishment of Israel as the nation of God. And there must the salvation of everyone of the Lord’s elect. Before the establishment of the kingdom there will be the translation of the saints. And along with that will be the further sanctification and glorification of the children of God. “I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.”
How much time do you spend praying “Lord, establish thy kingdom”?
The last thing about God, for which the Lord recommends that we pray, is HIS WILL to be done.
This world is filled with wilful creatures. We are wilful creatures, and Satan leads the pack. At virtually every turn of the road these days, we are urged to demand our rights or our wills. But this Creation should be a place where God’s will reigns supreme. It was created for His glory, by His will, and for His purpose. “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”
When you stop and think about it, isn’t this a rather silly prayer, since God’s will will eventually be done? We have the prophesies which speak about the end of all things – God’s will shall be supreme. And we know something about the nature of God – He is sovereign – His will will reign. And yet, this is not a silly prayer. First, it is an expression of worship, as well as Christian desire. It bears an unstated declaration that we know God’s will shall overcome all others. But there is another reason that this is not wasted prayer time. All prayer has a bearing on the person praying. This is as much an acknowledgment that we need God’s sovereignty, as much as He does. Put it in the light of other aspects of our prayer lives. Is God ignorant of our needs until such time as we tell Him about them? We pray about such things as much to submit ourselves to Him, as much as anything else. And to pray for God’s will to be done on earth is all about our submission to our will.
I won’t say that this is a thorough study of these two verses, but perhaps this will help us to keep these words in perspective. “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”