It goes almost unnoticed when people read through the Gospel, but in His teaching regarding prayer Jesus says, “When you pray” (Matthew 6:5, 7;compare verse 9 where He says, “Pray then like this”). The Master does not say, “If you pray”; He expects those who are truly His disciples to pray! Of course, when Jesus made this point, He was talking about real prayer.
As we have discovered through the texts of Matthew 6:5-8, Jesus emphasized that prayer should not be an attempt to get God’s attention by repeating words, nor should it be an activity designed to let other people see how “pious” a person may be. Rather, the Savior detailed for His disciples the fact that prayer should be a quiet, confident expression of needs to the heavenly Father. Such genuine prayer is always offered with humility, intimacy, expectation, simplicity, and with an awareness that it is God to whom the prayer is addressed.
Jesus minced no words when He spoke about the practice of prayer for this was an area of behavior in which the Pharisees loved to perform publicly. Rather than making personal prayer a matter between the individual and God, the Pharisees had turned it into an act to be seen by men so that they might demonstrate their supposed righteousness. Their prayers were directed not to God but to other men (see the story Jesus told in Luke 18:9–11).
The point in all of this is that our attitude in prayer is important. As Jesus teaches His disciples how to pray with the elements expressed above, He is actually setting them up to learn His model of prayer that begins with the following words: “Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” (Matthew 6:9 ESV)
It is essential that we recall that this prayer is a model, not a liturgy. Jesus is not giving His followers words to repeat from memory (He had just dismissed this idea from being genuine prayer in verses 7-8. )Our Lord was providing a sample prayer of what the content of prayer should be once the right attitude was in place. And this model for genuine prayer is notable for its brevity, simplicity and completeness. And the first step of this prayer is an expression that speaks of yet another attitude: reverence.
The two major elements of prayer as Jesus taught it are adoration and petition, and these are expressed only as a person prays with true reverence. The whole concept expressed by the words Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name addresses the direction of the prayer toward God and reverence for His name and His person. In fact, the Greek word translated hallowed means to be held in the reverence and awe of holiness. That is, the person is “wowed” by the complete differentness of God!
Here, Jesus begins a new understanding of prayer for His followers, for to the Old Testament Jew the name of God was never pronounced by human lips, and they would never have addressed God as “Father.” In fact, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones rightly observed the following: “The very beginning phrase, Our Father, is completely uncommon to the prayers of the Old Testament. So when our Lord says, ‘Our Father,’ He is obviously thinking of Christian people, and that is why I say that this is a Christian prayer.”
In other words, since the prayer is directed to the spiritual Father, only a child of God who has been born again can rightly pray this type of prayer. But why does this matter? Consider this: in the first two words (Our Father) is an expression of God’s nearness to us; yet, in the next two words and the phrase that follows (in heaven, hallowed be your name) is a reminder of His rightful distance from us (see Ecclesiastes 5:2; Isaiah 66:1). Loving familiarity is suggested in the one; reverence is expressed in the other. Both are right, good and necessary in prayer.
After all, we must remember that the purpose of prayer is to glorify God’s name, and to ask for guidance to accomplish His will on earth. This prayer that Jesus taught begins with God’s interests, not ours: God’s name, God’s kingdom, and God’s will. Prayer is, indeed, a mighty tool…not for getting man’s will approved in heaven, but for getting God’s will done on earth! With this in mind, it is right to recall that genuine prayer does not beg freebies from a reluctant store owner. Prayer is a discipline that develops a trust that means it when it says, “Father, you know best.” In this matter, trust is as important part of reverence as awe.
Of course, this does not mean we simply pray with hushed tones and wait for God to dispense with every necessity of life as from a heavenly vending machine! No, our prayer for God’s will to be done is intended to be our committed surrender to be used by God to accomplish that will. John MacArthur is completely accurate when he writes, “God has sometimes provided for His children through miraculous means, but His primary way of provision is through work, for which He has given life, energy, resources and opportunity. His primary way to care for those who cannot work is through the generosity of those who are able to work. Whether he does so directly or indirectly, God is always the source of our physical well-being. He makes the earth to produce what we need, and He gives us the ability to procure it.”
A small boy asked an aged and weather-beaten sailor, “What is the wind?” The old man replied, “I don’t know, son; I can’t tell you what the wind is, but I can tell you how to hoist a sail.”
The sailor knew that it was not really necessary to know all about the wind if he knew how to set his sails to take advantage of the force. He simply made the sails ready, and let the wind come.
This is what we are doing when we pray with reverence—setting our sails for whatever gale the Lord allows to blow our way. In times of genuine prayer, as it were, we adjust the wind-catching paraphernalia of our lives so that we will be ready for life’s gentle breezes or its howling storms. Reverently, in prayer, we align ourselves with the Father’s will, set ourselves right with the reality of His rule from heaven, and then, whatever winds may blow, we can receive them and sail on.
Posted on July 1st, 2010 by Pastor Larry
Filed under: Elim Refresher Newsletter, From the Pastor’s Pen