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| For some, this may be what is most familiar. |
But this is what Jesus said to his disciples, “Pray then like this:
Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
The 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,
As we also have forgiven our debtors,
And lead us not into temptation,
But Deliver us from evil.
For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
(Matthew 6:9-15)
This is one of the most familiar passages in the Bible. Today, this prayer forms part of the liturgy in every service of some churches, while at the same time this same prayer is rarely or never recited in other churches.
Have we ever pondered these words Jesus said?
Our Father who art in heaven,
Jesus said Father rather than Adonai, as Paul explains, “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father! So through God you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then an heir.” (Galatians 4:6-7)
Hallowed be thy name.
And this is what Isaiah said about God’s name hallowed, “…I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim; each had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” (Isaiah 6:1-3)
Thy kingdom come,
This is what David wrote about God’s kingdom “They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and tell of thy power, to make known to the sons of men thy mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of thy kingdom. Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endures throughout all generations. (Psalm 145:11-13)
Speaking of himself, Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Lo, here it is!’ or “There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” (Luke 17:20-21)
“Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11)
Jesus said, “Then will appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of man on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory;” (Matthew 24:30)
To this day we are waiting for this Son of man to come with his kingdom.
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven,
This is what God said, “…for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.” (Isaiah 46:9-10)
Give us this day our daily bread,
“Then the Lord said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may prove them, whether or not they will walk in my law or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” (Exodus 16:4-5)
Jesus said, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.” (John 6:51)
This what Jesus said and did, so that we might know, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass; and taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven and blessed, and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and they were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.” (Matthew 14:16-21)
And God gave them that day their daily bread, and as He does for us.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors,
Afterward, this is what Jesus said, “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:14-15)
This is what David wrote about being forgiven, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity. (Psalm 32:1-2)
One of those two men on their crosses beside Jesus was one of those blessed men to whom the Lord imputed no iniquity, when he heard Jesus say, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43)
How many persons since that day have heard these same words of forgiveness and assurance spoken to them by Jesus?
And lead us not into temptation,
“And he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, ‘Lo there!’ or ‘Lo here!’ Do not go, do not follow them.”
(Luke 17:23)
Jesus also warned, “Then if any one says to you, ‘Lo, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. Lo, I have told you beforehand. So if they say to you, ‘Lo, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out; if they say, ‘Lo, he is in the inner rooms,” do not believe it.” (Matthew 24:23-26)
Here Jesus has linked our human desires ‘to see for ourselves’ with the temptations of ignoring his warnings, ‘do not go,’ and, ‘do not believe it,’ and, ‘do not follow them.’
Today we live in a world that inundates us with temptations… and maybe more so in these days of the present age than ever before, because of our technologies we live with and gaze upon all the time.
But deliver us from evil.
Jesus said, “And then many will fall away, and betray one another, and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because wickedness is multiplied, most men’s love will grow cold.” (Matthew 24:10-12) Now we are living in these days and witnessing these things.
More than ever we are in need of deliverance from evil, because we are losing the ability to discern good from evil, right from wrong, truth from lies, and now with AI in its infancy, even the ability to discern reality from fiction.
This is what God has said about deliverance from evil, “The righteous man perishes, and no one lays it to heart; devout men are taken away, while no one understands. For the righteous man is taken away from calamity, he enters into peace; they rest in their beds who walk in uprightness.” (Isaiah 57:1-2)
This is what the Psalmist said about deliverance, “Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death, and keep them alive in famine.”
(Psalm 33:18-19)
Those words Jesus spoke to his disciples that have become what we know as the, “The Lord’s Prayer” are not words ever to be taken lightly, or without understanding and forethought to be recited as rote.
This what Jesus said prior, “And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him." (Matthew 6:8)
And then Jesus said, "Pray then like this:
Our Father who are in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
The 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,
As we also have forgiven our debtors,
And lead us not into temptation,
But Deliver us from evil.
Whenever speaking or praying these few words of Jesus, we must fear the holy God to whom these words are being addressed, and because of the true weightiness of what these words mean.
INJC
The Oddblock Station Agent
117 March 01 2026
