Category: Bible Studies

Bible Studies

The Lord’s Prayer, Jesus’s teaching on Prayer – 2 “Our Father”

Loring Schultz

“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, ‘Abba, Father.’ For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.” Romans 8:14-16 NLT

            The first and most important step in prayer Jesus teaches us is the address, “Our Father.” Equally important is who is able to address God as “Our Father.” There is a misconception that was brought about in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through a book by German Theologian and church historian, Adolf von Harnack, entitled ‘What is Christianity?’ His thesis was the doctrine of Christianity can be reduced to two propositions; ‘The Universal Fatherhood of God’ and ‘The Universal Brotherhood of Man.’ Simply stated, since God created man, then all are God’s children, and all are brothers and sisters. But careful study of scripture does not reveal such a hypothesis. It is true in the sense of creation, God has created all of mankind. Each one of us has God as their creator.

            The term “Our Father” is not an address seen in the Old Testament, but has significate meaning in the New Testament. It is the reality of adoption into the family of God, becoming a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ, God the Son. Scripture says, “But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.” (Jn. 1:12) Having that right to become children of God, Christians have the right to claim God as their Father and the right to address Him properly as “Our Father.” Those who have not trusted in Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection for the remission of sins and have not accepted Him as Savior have no valid reason to address God as Father.   

             The Lord’s Prayer is recited mostly every Sunday in churches around the world depending on the denominations and style of worship. If your church is one of many who pray the Lord’s Prayer, are you able to truly address God as “Our Father” with those in the family of God with whom you are worshiping. God desires for you to address Him properly as His child, and you can make that happen. As Paul writes in Romans chapter 8, “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, ‘Abba, Father.’ For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.”

            If you repent of your sins and accept Jesus Christ as your Savoir as the only way of salvation, you will be saved and will be able to say along with your brothers and sisters in the family of God, “Our Father which 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.”

Bible Studies

The Lord’s Prayer, Jesus’s teaching on Prayer – 1 “How to Pray”

Loring Schultz

“Our Father which 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.” KJV

            There are many prayers recorded in the pages of scripture. Without a doubt, the most familiar prayer is the Lord’s Prayer found in the gospels of Matthew and Luke.  It is a model prayer Jesus taught His disciples when they asked Him to teach them how to pray. The disciples evidently saw something in Jesus concerning His prayer life. He would leave them for hours spending time with His Father in prayer. They realized the importance of prayer even as John the Baptist taught his disciples to pray and now they were witnessing Jesus’s prayer habits. It was a marked influence on them, for they did not ask Him to teach them to perform miracles or anything else spectacular, but they asked Him; teach us to pray.

            In Matthew’s recording of the Lord’s Prayer notice Jesus began His teaching with how not to pray. There are many bad examples in how not to pray. The key point to remember is the Lord’s Prayer is an example to follow in praying, and it is a good one. Jesus instructs His disciples and us. “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them.” (Mt. 6:5a NLT) Praying is not a spectator sport to show others how holy you are. Jesus also said, “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again.” (Mt. 6:7 NLT) This is not a condemnation towards long prayers, but of excess meaningless verbiage just to be heard. Repetition is not a bad thing when in earnest prayer, and crying out to God concerning your sorrow and needs. We need to take comfort that God knows exactly what we need. Jesus says, “Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!” (Mt. 6:8 NLT) Daniel Henderson in his book ‘Transforming Prayer’ writes the following, “Our Father is completely dialed-in and capable. He is all-knowing and sovereign. He does not need the persuasion of our words or vigorous religious performances in order to know and meet our needs.”

            Jesus’s instructions on how to pray begin with, “But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private.” (Mt. 6:6a NLT) This is a reminder that God looks on the heart and not outward appearance. He will meet with us in private and not in the public square. This is not a prohibition against public prayer. Jesus Himself prayed publicly and corporate prayer within the church is vital to its existence. “Private praying is the finest training ground for public prayer.” (Wycliffe Bible Commentary)

            As we move forward in the coming weeks being taught by Jesus how to pray may we heed the two rules of prayer by R.C. Sproul, “Remember to whom you are speaking, and remember who is doing the speaking.”