Introduction. During Jesus' earthly ministry, we received so much knowledge and wisdom, direction, instruction and revelation; His words form the core of all God has chosen to reveal to us about Himself.
Jesus' earthly ministry had the primary goal of the "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." John 1:29,36 His other priority was to preach the kingdom of God, to proclaim the "year of God's favor," in His healing and teaching ministries. He primary audience were Judeans; Jesus had encounters with non-Jews as well. The Jewish people living in Judea and Galilee and the surrounding countryside were steeped in the ways of the Mosaic Law, and burdened by the then hundreds of alterations and additions provided by the relgious authorities - lawyers and priests - over the centuries. Jewish people had been taught a mixture of the Old Law and human reasoning for a number of centuries. As Jesus taught the crowds, this fact was a nag on what Yahweh had purposed thousands of years prior. Much of Jesus' spoken ministry focused on correcting the teachings and ways that the religious priests and lawyers had skewed the Mosaic Law to make it all about self-righteousness.
When the question about how to pray was raised, again, Jesus borrowed from the principles of the Law that had been given to the Israelites. And why shouldn't He? Wasn't He God - the second in the Trinity - from whence those laws and principles came? It is a scary chuckle to hear Bible scholars debating over whether The Lord's Prayer was a spanking brand new kind of prayer or not, or if The Teacher 'stole' parts of it from the Psalms. Scary, because these are the same scholars who should be teaching the true author of scripture and instead calling Jesus the equivalent of a thief guilty of plaguerism. If I could, I would show you right now a picture of me shaking my head! Rather, Jesus' reinforces the importance of all scripture in The Lord's Prayer - He would fulfill the prophecies that parts of the prayer allude to!
Most of us learned The Lord's Prayer as found in Matthew 6 and derived from the King James Version. It is printed out here. Of note, earlier versions of the King James Version incorporates the word "trespasses" rather than "debts" as shown below.
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts [trespasses], as we forgive our debtors [forgive those who trespass against us.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil[: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever]. Amen.
The bracketed portions of the Prayer, according to some Bible scholars, were added to the text in the process of publishing the King James Version. It borrows from doxology/praise to God that occurs frequently in scripture.
As you may have deduced by now, The Lord's Prayer is Christ's example or model of how to pray. As we go through the prayer in depth, observe the order of the prayer and supplications. Prayers are found throughout the Old Testament, with possibly the larger number occuring in the Psalms. Christians still rely on the Psalms as substantive elements in their prayer lives. Prayer rides side by side with praise; this is so very evident in the Old Testament and we see it also in the New Testament. The prayer Jesus institutes is a model prayer that may be prayed as is, or the structure of which can be foundational for personal and corporate prayers. When we look at Luke's version of the model prayer in Luke 11, clearly we see how by the time of Luke's writing, how the prayer structure was being utilized, even if the words were not exactly the same.
So, shall we begin on this journey of understanding the basic structure and language of the prayer, and some of the cultural references therein? For as you know, when we read Jesus' parables and other spoken communication, He often incorporates elements familiar to His listeners to make a point or futher clarify a matter. Similarly with The Lord's Prayer. This small group study guide is being presented in a series of pages that will be linked to below.
-Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
-Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
-Give us this day our daily bread.
-And forgive us our debts [trespasses], as we forgive our debtors [forgive those who trespass against us].
-And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
A hymn and scripture-based prayer will accompany or be suggested for each lesson.
--"Ancient Words." Michael w. Smith.
Dear Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples. Teach us to pray with our whole heart, whole mind, and whole soul. Teach us to pray, Lord, so that we may hear you when you speak. In the Name above all names we offer our petition. Amen.
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