The Lord's Prayer, Good, Good Father

 

Matthew 6New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Giving to the Poor and Prayer

6 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.

² “So when you ^[a]give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honoured by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. ³ But when you ^[b]give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your ^[c]giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

⁵ “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners ^[d]so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. ⁶ But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

⁷ “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. ⁸ So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

⁹ “Pray, then, in this way:

‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
¹⁰ ‘Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ ‘Give us this day ^[e]our daily bread.
¹² ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from ^[f]evil. ^[g][For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]

¹⁴ For if you forgive ^[h]others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive ^[i]others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

Fasting; The True Treasure; Wealth (Mammon)

¹⁶ “Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they ^[j]neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. ¹⁷ But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face ¹⁸ so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your  Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

¹⁹ “Do not store up for  yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; ²¹ for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

²² “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is ^[k]clear, your whole body will be full of light. ²³ But if your eye is ^[l]bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

²⁴ “No one can serve two masters; for either  he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and ^[m]wealth.

The Cure for Anxiety

²⁵ “For this reason I say to you, ^[n]do not be worried about your ^[o]life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the ^[p]air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? ²⁷ And who of you by being worried can add a single ^[q]hour to his ^[r]life? 

²⁸ And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, ²⁹ yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. ³⁰ But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 

³¹ Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ ³² For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But ^[s]seek first ^[t]His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be ^[u]added to you.

³⁴ “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow  will ^[v]care for itself. ^[w]Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Dictionary of Bible Themes Back

8618 prayerfulness

An attitude by which a constant relationship between God and believers is developed.

Prayerfulness is a way of life

Lk 2:37 See also Ps 5:3; Ps 55:17; Ps 109:4; Da 6:10-11,13

Prayerfulness arises from a desire to be with God

Ps 130:5-6 See also Ps 42:1-4; Ps 84:1-2

Prayerfulness arises from an awareness of need that can only be met by God

1Ti 5:5 See also Ps 86:1; Ps 105:4

Prayerfulness demonstrates a continuing trust in God

Jn 15:5-8 See also Ps 63:1-8

Prayerfulness involves a heart that is right with God

Isa 1:15-17 See also Mt 6:7; Mk 12:40 pp Lk 20:47

Prayerfulness involves the need to be alert

Mt 26:41 pp Mk 14:38 pp Lk 22:40 See also Mic 7:7; Lk 21:36; Col 4:2

Prayerfulness needs to be maintained especially in difficult circumstances

Lk 18:1 See also Hab 3:16-19; Ac 16:25; 1Th 5:17; 1Pe 4:7

Examples of people whose prayerfulness proved effective

Hannah, who prayed for a child 1Sa 1:20 See also Isa 1:10-18

Elijah, an ordinary man who prayed Jas 5:17-18 See also 1Ki 17:1; 1Ki 18:41-46

Nehemiah, a man who discovered God’s plan through prayer Ne 1:4 See also Ne 1:5-11; Ne 2:4-5

David, sustained through trials 1Sa 30:6 See also 2Sa 22:1-4 pp Ps 18:1-3; Ps 3:1-8

Daniel, whose patience in prayer was rewarded Da 10:12 See also Da 9:1-19

Jesus Christ, who perfectly trusted his Father Heb 5:7 See also Lk 5:16; Jn 11:41-42

The early church, which was founded upon prayer Ac 1:14 See also Ac 2:42; Ac 4:23-31; Ac 6:4; Ac 12:5

Paul, who prayed for all the churches which he founded or visited Col 1:9 See also Ro 1:9-10; Eph 1:16; Php 1:4; 1Th 3:10; 2Th 1:11; 2Ti 1:3; Phm 4

Dictionary of Bible Themes Back

8605 prayer, and God’s will

Prayer is concerned not only with the well-being of the one who prays. A vital aspect of its purpose is to allow the will of God to be done, and to bring glory and honour to his name.

True motives for prayer

The desire that God’s name be honoured Mt 6:9-13 pp Lk 11:2-4 See also Nu 14:13-16; Jos 7:7-9; 2Sa 7:25-26; 1Ki 18:36-37; Ps 115:1; Jn 17:1

The desire that God’s will be fulfilled Mt 6:9-13 pp Lk 11:2-4 See also Mt 26:39 pp Mk 14:36 pp Lk 22:42; Mt 26:42; Heb 10:7 Submission to God’s will characterised Jesus Christ’s prayer life.

God answers prayer that accords with his will

1Jn 5:14-15

Petitioners may enquire of God to discover his will Ps 143:10 See also Ge 25:22-23; Jdg 1:1-2; 2Sa 2:1; 1Ch 14:14-15

The Holy Spirit helps believers to pray in God’s will Ro 8:26-27

God’s response to prayers allows believers to discern his will

2Co 12:7-9 See also Ex 33:18-20; 2Sa 12:15-18; Job 19:7-8; Ps 35:13-14

God does not respond to the prayers of the wicked

Jn 9:31 See also Ps 66:18; Pr 15:8; Isa 1:15; Isa 59:1-2; La 3:44; 1Pe 3:12

Encyclopedia of The Bible Back 

PRAYER (תְּפִלָּה, H9525, prayer; פָּלַל֮, H7137, to intervene, interpose, arbitrate, mediate, intercede, pray; προσευχή, G4666, prayer, place for prayer, chapel; προσεύχομαι, G4667, to pray).

The doctrine of prayer is no appendix added on after one has completed his doctrines of God and man. A view of prayer is implicit in one’s view of God’s relation to the world and man’s relation to God. Therefore a Biblical doctrine of prayer is most meaningfully integrated with an entire theology that is Scriptural.

C. S. Lewis has suggested some helpful illustrations. Ask a neighbour to feed the cat while you are away, an employer for a raise, or a woman to marry you. What is the connection between the asking and the receiving? C. S. Lewis wrote:

Your neighbour may be a humane person who would not have let your cat starve even if you had forgotten to make arrangements. Your employer is never so likely to grant your request for a raise as when he is aware that you could get better money from a rival firm, and he is quite possibly intending to secure you by a raise in any case. As for the lady who consents to marry you—are you sure she had not decided to do so already? Your proposal, you know, might have been the result, not the cause, of her decision. A certain important conversation might never have taken place unless she had intended that it should (“The Efficacy of Prayer” in His [May, 1959], 7).

What confirmation have Christians that their requests have been significant? Assurance arises, not from the manipulation of circumstances, but from knowing the persons involved. Those who best know an individual know whether their request to him was answered by coincidence or because they asked. Those who best know the God of the Bible can assess the efficacy of prayer as request to Him.

Every Blessing

Blair Humphreys

Southport,  Merseyside, England