Matthew 6:9-13. “After this manner, therefore, pray ye: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.”
We come this morning to the final point in the series; “To what kinds of prayer does God answer “yes.” We’ve mentioned humble prayers, Scriptural prayers, the prayers of the righteous, fervent prayers, and now we come to God-exalting prayers. And it is fitting that we end with this one, because exalting God is our ultimate purpose.
If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to My Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My disciples" (John 15:1-8).
It is my prayer that you be . . . filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God (Philippians 1:9–11).
And to the church in Thessalonica,
We always pray for you, that our God may . . . fulfill every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you (2 Thessalonians 1:11–12).
Why do we need to praise God in our prayers? Is God deficient in His self-esteem? I remember a story about a little boy and his dad.
Everyone needs recognition for his accomplishments, but few people make the need known quite as clearly as the little boy who said to his father: "Let's play darts. I'll throw and you say "Wonderful!'"
Bits & Pieces, December 9, 1993, p. 24.
The brilliant physician and writer Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., and his brother John represent two radically different views on the subject of flattery. Dr. Holmes loved to collect compliments, and when he was older he indulged his pastime by saying to someone who had just praised his work, "I am a trifle deaf, you know. Do you mind repeating that a little louder?"
John, however, was unassuming and content to be in his older brother's shadow. He once said that the only compliment he ever received came when he was six. The maid was brushing his hair when she observed to his mother that little John wasn't all that cross-eyed!
Source Unknown.
We don’t praise God as a part of effective prayer because God needs our praise. But rather, God deserves our praise. And until we come to that realization, we are approaching Him from a messed up mental framework. We don’t have our brain right, so our prayers are ineffective.
So, we were looking at the Lord’s prayer. This is how Jesus said to pray. And the focus of this prayer is on the exaltation of God. Three different vantage points; God in heaven, God in us, God in the world.
I. Putting God in His Rightful Exalted Position
A. God in Heaven
When we pray, we need to start off on the right foot. God is “our Father in heaven.” There are really two things going on here. He is Father, and He is in heaven.
The first recognition is that God is our Father, pater. He is our Father. The Aramaic would have been Abba. Abba is commonly understood to be the Hebrew form of our word, daddy.
It is a term of a close relationship with a male figure who embodies not only care for a child, but protection, direction, and sometimes stern direction. And it is a term expressing a familiar and familial relationship with God.
That’s why this is the term for God. We come to Him like children for love, protection, direction, and even correction. It is a term of great intimacy, a term of personal warmth.
But it doesn’t just say that He is our Father. It says, “Our Father, which art in heaven.” But declaring that He is in heaven is also an acknowledgement that He is in one sense, removed from us. Saying God is our Father shows He is with us, in presence and care, but His being in heaven describes a separation. He is “holy other.” He is “King of Kings and “Lord of Lords.” He is God Almighty. As the angels said at Jesus’ birth. “Glory to God in the highest.”
So, we start our prayer mixing those two ways of viewing God; loving and near, holy, separate and far-removed. We have to have both.
So, we pray to God who is Father, but also in heaven, high and lifted up. But in addition to being Father in heaven…
B. God in Us
Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
It’s in the phrase in verse 9, “Hallowed be Thy name.” “Our Father in heaven” is a statement of positional fact. He is in heaven, He is our Father, He is exalted.
But “Hallowed be thy name” is a petition that He be exalted in me, and us. He is exalted, now we desire that He rule in us as King.
“Hallowed be Thy name,” puts God in the proper place in us. At first, we are stating the fact that God is our Father in heaven. Now we are expressing a desire that God’s name be holy, set apart. We are not saying that God is not holy, and we want Him to be. We are acknowledging His holiness, His Otherness and desiring that He be Holy and set apart in us.
Practically, what does hallowing His name mean? Let me illustrate. Isaac Newton was doing an experiment. In the experiment he stared at the reflection of the sun in a mirror. Well, the brightness of the sun, even in reflection, temporarily blinded him. Even after 3 days of hiding in darkness. He closed his shutters. He still had this bright spot that would not fade from his vision. If he had kept staring at the reflection, he would have gone completely blind.
I think that’s what “Hallowed be thy name” means. You are saying to God, “Lord, I want to understand you. I want to see you for who you are. Burn that knowledge into my spiritual vision so that even in this dark world, even when I try to hide from your face, your image is imprinted on my sight.”
This is God-exalting prayer.
So, we open our prayer with an acknowledgement of who God is, our Father in heaven, then we pray that who He is will be given the honor it deserves in me.
But it doesn’t stop there. Before we ever bring a request to God, we express the desire that God have His exalted place in the world.
C. God in the World
The next part of the prayer says, “Thy kingdom come, they will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
This is a progression. The prayer begins with us acknowledging the fact of God’s exaltation; “Our Father in heaven.” It then moves to our desire for Him to have an exalted place in our hearts; “Hallowed be thy name.” Now it moves to a prayer that He be exalted in the world. “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done.”
“Thy kingdom come” is such an incredible statement. It’s just three little words in English, and it is just three simple words in Greek. But the request that we are making when we say them is huge. We are asking for nothing less than that all of God’s will for His reign in the world to be fulfilled. We are asking that God rule, through His Son. Immediately, now. All that God wants in the world, all that He will ultimately do in His millennial kingdom, “Come now.”
I can’t help but wonder how many Christians have recited this prayer in their church setting. They say with their mouths, “Thy Kingdom Come.” But if they were to get a glimpse of what His kingdom was going to be, they probably wouldn’t pray this prayer.
What is His Kingdom going to bring? Let me mention a few things that might ruffle your feathers.
1. You won’t get to vote on who is in charge or remove them from office after 4 years.
“Thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” Luke 1:31-33
That’s anti-democratic. Yes it is. And incidentally, there will be no more church business meetings where we vote about what we believe or the spiritual direction of the church.
2. The first thing that Jesus does at His return is make war.
Revelation 19: 11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords.
The first time Jesus came He came as the Lamb of God, the second time He comes as the Lion of the tribe of Judah. It reminds me of what was said about Aslan in “The Chronicles of Narnia.” “The Chronicles of Narnia” is a book series that was an analogy about Jesus in His first and second coming. He is portrayed as a Lion named “Aslan.” The children who are central characters in the story, before they meet Aslan, when they hear that He is a lion, ask, “Is He safe?” And the answer is, “Of course He’s not safe. But He’s good.”
3. Jesus will establish the rule of law, and those laws will include things we now consider “personal choices.”
“Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgement. And the work of righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance for ever.” Isaiah 32:1, 17
Isaiah 2 Now it
will be that In the last days The mountain of the house of Yahweh Will be
established [a]as the head of the mountains, And will be lifted up above the
hills; And all the nations will stream to it. 3 And
many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh, To
the house of the God of Jacob,
That He may instruct us [b]from His ways And that we may walk in His paths.” For from
Zion the [c]law will go forth And the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem. 4 And
He will judge between the nations, And will [d]render decisions for many peoples;
“Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for the law will proceed from me, and I will make my judgement to rest for a light of the people. My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms will judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm they will trust” (Isa 51:4-5) “And David my servant will be king over them; and they all will have one shepherd: they will also walk in my judgements, and observe my statutes, and do them” (Ez 37:24)
Rights, rights, rights, will be gone. Right to free speech ends with blaspheming God. Right to no search of my private property; Christ will rule who can search your very heart, and your thoughts.
4. There will not be freedom of religion in the millennial kingdom.
Zechariah 14:16-19 And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, on them there shall be no rain. And if the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague with which the Lord strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.
So, when we pray “Thy Kingdom come,” we have to remember that we are praying for the Lord Jesus Christ to reign as Sovereign over all the earth.
That means Christ rules. It’s the rule of Christ, it is the reign of Christ, it is the sovereignty of Christ for which we are to pray. And then the verb elthet, which is an aorist active imperative form of erchomai, which means “to come” – it means let it immediately and suddenly come. Let it come and let it come now, and let it come suddenly. Let it come actually, and let it come completely.
We might say, “Yes, I want it, but, I haven’t had kids or grandkids yet. I haven’t accomplished my goals. I haven’t finished all the episodes of my favorite series. There is so much of this world that I have yet to do. So, we say, “Thy kingdom come…down the road a bit. When I’m tired and worn out.
Listen to what God says about His Son reigning; I can’t help but think of what is happening in Israel right now. That enhances my desire to see Jesus return and set foot in that nation and set everything right.
Psalm 2 6 “But as for Me, I have [d]installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.” 7 “I will surely tell of the [e]decree of Yahweh: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. 8 Ask of Me, and I will surely give the [f]nations as Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth as Your possession. 9 You shall [g]break them with a [h]rod of iron, You shall shatter them like a potter’s vessel.’” 10 So now, O kings, show insight; Take warning, O [i]judges of the earth. 11 Serve Yahweh with fear And rejoice with trembling. 12 [j]Kiss the Son, lest He become angry, and you perish in the way, For His [k]wrath may [l]soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!
You see, God wants to give the kingdoms of the world to the Son. God desires to set His Son, His King, on the holy hill of Zion to reign on the throne of David.
Therefore, to pray, “Thy kingdom come,” is nothing more or less, nor could it be more or less, than “Christ reign, here and now.”
Frances Havergal has beautifully written the following verse to Jesus Christ, and I think in that verse expresses something of the meaning of that phrase: “Oh, the joy to see Thee reigning, Thee my own beloved Lord. Every tongue Thy name confessing, worship, honor, glory, blessing brought to thee with one accord. Thee my Master and my friend, vindicated and enthroned, unto earth’s remotest end glorified, adored and owned.”
This is praying a God-exalting prayer. If you want more “yeses” to your prayers, start looking at who you are exalting in your prayers. Are your prayers all about yourself, your people, your priorities, your comfort, and your life? Or are they for Christ’s kingdom to come.
We are to pray for God’s causes. How can we call ourselves Christians, how can we say we have affirmed the Lordship of Christ, how can we say we have crowned Him King of our lives, when we are not preoccupied with His causes, but with our own?
Then Jesus goes a step further in this modal prayer. “Thy Kingdom Come,”
Thy Will be done,
This is an extension of “Thy Kingdom Come.”
This gets a little more personal. We can pray for His Kingdom, because that’s a long way away. And, we know that when His kingdom comes, not only will we have a World Sovereign, and new laws, but we also know that the earth itself will be transformed. The desert will blossom like a rose. Disease will be vanquished. Crime will disappear because it will be punished swiftly. Even dangerous animals will be subdued. We want that.
But to say, “Thy will be done,” now, in the present, when sin, misery, disease, death, violence, and confusion reign in our world is more difficult for us.
“Thy will be done.” What is God’s will?
We often pray as though God is a divine Santa Claus, and we pray that everyone will get all the things that they desire. But we forget.
Deuteronomy 32:39 See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.What is God’s will? Let’s just speak in a general sense. There are two kinds of people in the world; saved and unsaved. What is God’s will for the unsaved?
That you, and everyone else be saved.
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some consider slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
First priority-the unsaved get saved.
We are to pray for that as first priority. We pray, bring them to salvation. What happens? They get sick, they lose their job, their marriage falls apart. Suddenly our prayer shifts to, heal them, get them a job, fix their marriage. But do you think it’s possible that God is bringing them to repentance by helping them realize their spiritual bankruptcy?
Do we sometimes pray for people in a way that may be contrary to His Will? Think about this; In the Bible, God wanted everyone to be saved. So, what did He do to move people to repent? He struck Saul blind. If a prayer request had come through our prayer line for Saul of Tarsus. “I have a friend who was struck blind.” We need to pray that God will heal him. No! God struck him blind to bring him to repentance. We need to pray that God will continue to humble him to the point of repentance.
But how often are we praying for people we know and love, who have rejected Christ, or walked away from the Lord, and they get sick, and we quickly jump on the bandwagon, “Lord, heal them?”
What else is God’s will?
That Christians be made holy or sanctified.
1 Thessalonians 4:3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;
When we pray for Christians, we need to remember that God is their Father. And that means that if they are living in sin, they are under the Fathers disciplinary hand. So, to pray for His will, is to pray that the discipline will accomplish what He intends; to break their stubborn disobedience and return them to His fold.
What else is God’s will?
1 Thessalonians 5:18 in everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
The long and short of it is that God is working all things together for good to those who are His. He is using all things; poverty and riches, health and sickness, joy and sorrow, to make us people who manifest the fruits of His Spirit.
He is making us loving, joyous, peaceful, patient, gentle, meek, self-controlled.
So, to exalt God in our prayers is to seek His will for ourselves, and everyone else. It is not to fill our prayers with generic petitions that everyone be healthy, prosperous, and without trouble.
Thy will be done…
1. on earth as it is in heaven”
How is God’s will done in heaven. I think it is best illustrated by the words of the centurion to Jesus about his belief in Jesus’ power.Matthew 8:7-9 Legacy Standard Bible 7 And Jesus *said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion said, “[a]Lord, I am not good enough for You to come under my roof, but just [b]say the word, and my [c]servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this man, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”
In heaven, God says to an angel, go deliver this message, and the angel goes. God says to another, give this gift, and it is taken. You are praying that everything that God wills, will happen in the world, in your life, in your family, immediately, without delay or obstacle.
Even our prayers are for His glory.
Scriptural example of a God-exalting prayer next week.
I hear these preachers saying that we’re to go to God and demand certain things, and we’re to claim certain things, and affirm certain things, and force God to do certain things. That’s a total miscomprehension of all that God has ever designed to do in human history, and that is to glorify His own name, His own cause, and His own will, and His own Son, Jesus Christ.
A true child of God will concern himself not so much with his own plans, and his own desires, as he does with the determinate program and plan of God, revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. Praying right is not letting God in on your plans; it is calling for God to fulfill His own.