Our Father

Matthew 6:9 "This, then, is how you should pray:

‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’"

"Our" = family
"Father" = relationship
We were once strangers to the promise. We were once aliens; we were once enemies of God; we were once far off, but now we have been brought near by the blood of Christ. We have been adopted as sons. We are members of His family now.

Jesus said "you must be born again."

"Heaven" seems far away, but it isn't. God is omnipresent. Heaven is the *ruling* plane of existence. It is the seat of power. Our Father is the king over every plane of existence.

"Hallowed"
Adjective
Consecrated or sanctified; sacred, holy.

Psalm 100:4
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.

We enter God's presence by giving glory and praise to His name. God inhabits the praises of His people.

Psalm 22:3
But You are holy,
Enthroned in the praises of Israel.

"Your kingdom come,
Your will be done"

In these two parallel phrases, Jesus is almost expressing the same idea in two different ways. In one sense, God's kingdom encompasses the whole idea of God's rule being unimpeded. So, for God's kingdom to *come*, that means that Satan's kingdom must necessarily *end*. So in a sense, the prayer for God's kingdom to *come* is a prayer for a sort of apocalyptic end of Satan's kingdom. But then in the very next line, Jesus gives us a hint as to another way to understand God's kingdom (not that He's saying the first understanding is incorrect, but He is offering a parallel understanding). "Your will be done"

"On earth as it is in heaven."

That understanding of the kingdom is what rules in our own hearts today and is not a reference to the Messianic post-apocalyptic kingdom. Because Satan's rule has already been overthrown in our own hearts and minds, we can be ruled by God's will, in the here and now. As God's will is done on earth as it is in heaven, right here, right now, God's kingdom is expressed on the earth right here, right now.

We have the ability to bring God's perfect will to pass on the earth and into the lives of others even if they are not believers yet.

"Give us this day our daily bread"

Jesus explains this part of His model prayer right in the same chapter of Matthew...

Matthew 6:25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

"And forgive us our debts
As we forgive our debtors"

And again Jesus explains this in the same text...

Matt 6:14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

He taught several times on this topic. The most powerful one is the parable of the unforgiving servant.

Mat 18:21 Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”

22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. 23 Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ 27 Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.

28 “But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ 30 And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. 32 Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ 34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.

35 “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”

"And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one."

James 1:12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

1 Cor 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.