Will you please turn to the Gospel according to Matthew? Matthew chapter 6. I am going to read something that probably all of you are very, very familiar with.
We will read from verses 9 through 13.
After this manner therefore pray ye:
Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
And again, please turn to Luke chapter 11. We will begin with the first verse.
And it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, that when He ceased, one of His disciples said unto Him, Lord, teach us to pray, even as John also taught his disciples.
And He said unto them, When ye pray, say, Father, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come.
Give us day by day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins; for we ourselves also forgive every one that is indebted to us.
And bring us not into temptation.
Shall we pray?
Dear heavenly Father, we do praise and thank Thee that we can gather together here in the name of Thy beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. We do thank Thee, knowing that where Thy name is, there is Thy presence. So we are in Thy presence, and we just pray that Thou wilt speak to us through Thy Word.
We pray that Thy Word may be life and spirit to us tonight. We do commit ourselves to Thee and trust Thee to do the work that Thou hast ordained for tonight, even before the foundation of the world. And to Thee be the praise and glory, in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
As I waited before the Lord for this time with you, dear brothers and sisters, I felt led to use this opportunity to share with you on the so-called Lord’s Prayer.
I know we all know this prayer. Probably from our childhood, we have been reciting it. But even though we are so familiar with the words, do we really know what we are praying? Do we really understand what we are asking?
And do we really pray from the very bottom of our hearts, and not only from our hearts, but with understanding?
You know, this is called the Lord’s Prayer. It is recorded once in the Sermon on the Mount, and then another time we find it in Luke, when our Lord Jesus was praying. His disciples saw Him pray, and evidently they were deeply impressed. There must have been something different there.
You know, the disciples prayed. As Jews, of course, they did, and as the Lord’s disciples, certainly they did. But when our Lord Jesus was praying, there must have been something different. And because of that, they asked the Lord, “Lord, teach us to pray.” And the Lord taught them how to pray.
We call it the Lord’s Prayer. Of course, oftentimes we say it is a wrong term, because it is really the prayer that our Lord Jesus teaches His disciples to pray. So sometimes we say it is the prayer of the church. It is the prayer that our Lord Jesus teaches His church to pray.
And I think that is true. But on the other hand, I think even if we call it the Lord’s Prayer, we are not too wrong. Why? Because our Lord Jesus will never teach us to pray that which He has not Himself prayed. He always practises what He teaches.
So evidently, the prayer that our Lord Jesus teaches His church to pray is His own prayer. He must be praying that prayer Himself, and because He has been praying that prayer, He wants us to join with Him in this prayer. So it is both the Lord’s Prayer and the prayer of the church.
You know, as God’s children, we have the right to pray. Before we were the Lord’s, we were strangers to God—not only strangers, but evil enemies to Him. And of course, we would never pray to Him.
But when we are saved, the Holy Spirit enters into our renewed spirit, and He is the Spirit of sonship, of adoption. Therefore, you find immediately, at the very moment that we are saved, we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
Prayer is the right of God’s children. You know, in John chapter 1, we find that as many as received Him, to them He gave the right—the authority—to become the children of God. Now, as God’s children, we have rights.
Just like earthly children to their earthly parents: before your children were born, they had no right whatsoever. But after they were born into your family, in a sense they do have some rights. They have a right to be fed. They have the right to be clothed. Maybe they have the right to be educated, to be nurtured, and to have shelter. These are the rights of children.
And as God’s children, we do have rights. We have the right to pray. We have the right to go to our heavenly Father, to commune with Him. We have the right to ask Him to supply all our needs.
Whenever we have a need, it is all right, as God’s children, to go and ask Him for the supply. And we find our heavenly Father, who cares for us, will never refuse us. He always supplies our needs. These are the rights of God’s children.
So, as God’s children, we do not need to be told to pray. I think if we need to tell a believer that he should pray, something is wrong. Because if he is a child, or she is a child, of God, certainly he has cried out, “Abba, Father,” and following that, prayer becomes his very breath.
It is natural to him. It is spontaneous. It is his desire to go to the Father—not asking all the time, but communing all the time.
So, as God’s children, we really do not need to be told that we ought to pray. And as a matter of fact, here you find the Lord does not tell His disciples that they ought to pray. They were praying; they prayed. But what the Lord was trying to teach them was how to pray and what to pray for.
Now, brothers and sisters, I wonder if you sometimes do not feel that you do not know how to pray. You know you should pray, and you want to pray, but sometimes you do not know how to pray. And at other times, you wonder what you should pray for.
And this is a problem not only with us individually, but you find this is a problem with us together, especially. You know, maybe you know how to pray, or what to pray for, in your personal, private prayer. Well, you pray for yourself, of course. You pray for your immediate family, of course.
You know, we are self-centred, and our horizon is rather limited. And so we know how to take care of ourselves and of our immediate family. Certainly, we know what to pray for.
But even so, sometimes we do not know how to pray. You know, sometimes we may pray for ourselves and pray the wrong prayer. We may pray for our family, and we may pray amiss. And that is the reason why sometimes we find our prayers are not answered.
And thank God, sometimes He answers the opposite of what we are asking for, and that is answering our prayer. So individually, sometimes we have this problem. I do not know if any one of us has outgrown that kind of problem.
In other words, do you really know how to pray, and is what to pray for no longer a problem to you? I wonder if you have outgrown it. I have not.
But especially when God’s people come together, then you find a real problem. You know, when God’s people come together to pray, the problem is what to pray for and how to pray.
Are we simply bringing all these individual, private prayers to the prayer meeting? Instead of praying by yourself, do you ask your brothers and sisters to pray with you, and do you pray with your brothers and sisters? Is it all these individual, personal matters? Are these what we should pray for when we are together? Do you consider this as the prayer of the church?
And if you really feel that there is what is called the prayer of the church, then you begin to wonder how to pray. Now, how am I going to take up these burdens, these big things, as it were? And how am I going to pray and express them?
So no wonder we find in the book of Romans that we do not know what to pray for, nor how to pray. But we thank God because the Holy Spirit helps us. He knows our infirmities. He knows that we do not know, and that is the reason why we find the Holy Spirit is there to teach us.
Now, brothers and sisters, may I ask a question: Have we come to a point where we can pray without the help of the Holy Spirit? We know how to pray. We do not need to wait upon the Holy Spirit. We do not need to ask the Holy Spirit to show us how and what to pray for. Have we come to that point?
If we have come to that point, I think it is a very dangerous point. And maybe individually, maybe you have come to that false point. But corporately, I think most of God’s people, when they come together to pray, are very conscious of their weakness. They just do not know how to pray and what to pray for.
Now, thank God, we have the Holy Spirit within us, in the church, helping us. And on the other hand, we find that our Lord Jesus does teach us how to pray and what to pray for. So we do see that this Lord’s Prayer—or the prayer that our Lord Jesus teaches His church to pray—is very, very necessary.
We just mentioned that as God’s children, prayer is natural to us. It is our right. But when you read these two passages, do you realise that our Lord Jesus, in these two passages that record the so-called Lord’s Prayer, is not just teaching this prayer to anybody?
For instance, in Matthew chapter 6, we know that Matthew chapter 6 is one of the three chapters that we call the Sermon on the Mount. Now, if you go back to chapter 5, you find that our Lord Jesus went up to the mountain. There were so many people following Him.
So our Lord Jesus climbed the mountain, and after He arrived at a certain point, His disciples came before Him. And He opened His mouth and addressed His disciples.
In other words, you find that even though there was a multitude there, He was not talking to the multitudes. He was not teaching the crowd. He was talking to the disciples—those who had followed Him, those who had believed Him and followed Him, His immediate family, as it were.
And there you find our Lord Jesus spoke to them. The other people, the crowd, overheard what the Lord was saying, but the Lord did not speak directly to them.
And when our Lord opened His mouth, He said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Happy are those who are poor in spirit. If you are not poor in spirit, then what the Lord is going to say is not for you. Or, to put it another way, you are not able to hear it. You may hear, and yet you do not hear. It will not register. You will misunderstand.
But only those who are poor in spirit, only those who are pure in heart, only those who hunger after righteousness, only those who are merciful, only those who are peacemakers, only those who are the light of the world and the salt of the earth—only those who have committed their lives to the Lord Jesus, not only believing in the Lord but committing their lives to the Lord Jesus as His disciples.
Now, what is a disciple? A disciple is a person who has committed himself to his master. He puts himself under his master to be taught, to be trained, to be formed, to be moulded. That is a disciple.
And here you find, when our Lord Jesus was teaching the Sermon on the Mount, He was not teaching the world a new ethic. He was teaching the disciples the things of the kingdom of heaven. So you find that in that connection, the Lord teaches us the so-called Lord’s Prayer.
So the Lord’s Prayer is not the spontaneous, natural cry of a child of God. Now, as a child of God, we have a natural, spontaneous cry unto our Father. Whenever we are in need, we cry, and that kind of prayer is natural to us as children of God.
But when you come to the Lord’s Prayer, you find it is not natural to us. It is supernatural. You find that it is a prayer that, unless you are a disciple of the Lord, you are not able to pray. Or you are afraid to pray such a prayer, because if you pray such a prayer, you do not know what will happen to you.
It is a prayer that is directed to the disciples. Only the disciples are in a position to take up such a prayer.
Dear brothers and sisters, if you are not a disciple of Christ, yes, you may be a believer. Strictly speaking, you cannot be a believer without being a disciple. That is the truth. But unfortunately, sometimes we receive only half the truth.
In other words, you find that people believe in the Lord Jesus because believing in Him is all grace, it is all gift, and it is all for you. So you find that people believe in the Lord. You thank God for that, and they become the children of God. They have the right, and they exercise their right, asking for help from the Father, and the Father does help them. That is true.
But strictly speaking, according to the Word of God, you find that the moment you become a believer, you are a disciple of Christ. You have received Jesus not only as your Saviour; you must receive Him as your Lord.
The gospel is not only to be believed, but the gospel is also to be obeyed. So, as we believe in the Lord Jesus, we also give ourselves to Him. As we receive Him, we also give ourselves to Him and let Him train us, let Him mould us, and let Him transform us and conform us to His image.
Now, this is what a disciple is. And being a disciple, the Lord says, “This is one of the lessons you have to learn: how to pray the so-called Lord’s Prayer.”
Now, if you read Luke, you find the same thing. The disciples noticed our Lord Jesus was praying. Now, whether they overheard what He prayed, or whether they were at a distance and just saw how He prayed, they were impressed. They felt that they did not know how to pray as He prayed.
You know, the prayer of our Lord Jesus, in a sense, created a hunger within His disciples. “Now, we have prayed, but we have never prayed like that. Now teach us. Teach us how to pray.”
Brothers and sisters, do we have such a desire within us? Do we really think that we know how to pray and what to pray for? Or do we really feel that there is a longing within us? We want to pray as the Lord prays.
We sense our weakness. We sense our lack in prayer. And we do want to be taught in prayer. You know, prayer is one of the basic lessons the disciples of Christ must learn. And unless we learn this lesson, all the other lessons will not be learned well. It is a basic lesson that we have to learn.
So not only, as God’s children, do we pray; but as we pray, we must pray as the disciples of Christ. And in that, we have to take up the so-called Lord’s Prayer.
Now, the Lord’s Prayer, we have already mentioned, is the prayer of the church. Christ is the Head; the church is His body. And as Christ has so prayed, so He teaches His disciples, His body, to continue that prayer.
And we find that this prayer is not an individual prayer. It is a corporate prayer.
Now, that does not mean that we cannot say this prayer individually. I believe we have done that, and probably we will still do it, and I do not see anything wrong in doing that.
But when you pray that prayer, you must see that it is not a personal, private, individual prayer. It is a corporate prayer. Why? Because you find at the very beginning, it says, “Our Father, who art in the heavens.” It does not say, “My Father.” It says, “Our Father.”
“Give us our daily bread. Lead us not into temptation. Deliver us from the evil one.” You find that the prayer is a corporate prayer. It is not an individual prayer. When you pray as an individual, you are really representing the whole body. Now, that is the way you pray.
Do you realise that in our prayer life there is more than that personal, individual prayer? Do you realise that when you are praying, sometimes you pray as an individual, but at other times, when you pray, you are really taking up the whole body with you in prayer?
You are not just praying for yourself. You are praying for the whole church. You are praying for the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
It is not just a limited, narrow, self-centred, unbounded kind of prayer. You will find that when you pray that prayer, it releases you. It releases you from yourself. It releases you into the body of Christ. It releases you into heaven. It releases you into a boundless sphere.
It is a tremendous thing if we know what the Lord’s Prayer is and we know how to pray it.
I do not see anything wrong when you repeat that prayer. But of course, we know that when the Lord teaches us that prayer, He does not mean to say that we just repeat the words. He has given us the principles of prayer, and we need to pray according to such principles.
Even though we sometimes may repeat the words, brothers and sisters, if they really come from our hearts, it is not vain repetition. It can be effective.
So anyway, you find that we are not bound by any mechanical, technical ways. We are free in the Spirit to take up this prayer alone or together. And even though we do not necessarily recite the Lord’s Prayer together, yet the principles taught in that prayer are what we need to take up individually, and especially together. So that is the Lord’s Prayer.
When we go into this Lord’s Prayer, we find there are three things we would like to share during this time. Tonight, we will share on the foundation of prayer. And, God willing, tomorrow we will share on the centrality of prayer; and Sunday morning, the universality of prayer.
Prayer is based on relationship.
Maybe before we go there, let me go back a little bit. Prayer is not only the right and enjoyment of God’s people. Prayer is also the life and vocation of the disciples of Christ.
You know, oftentimes we think of prayer as our right. That is true. We do have the right. We think of prayer as enjoyment. That is true. We enjoy our Father, and we enjoy the gifts, the grace, the help, and the supplies that come from our heavenly Father. It is so.
But we need to go a step further and see that prayer is a life. It is our very life, and it is our vocation. There is more in prayer than just enjoyment. Sometimes it is a work. Other times it is a warfare. It is a responsibility as well as a privilege. Now, we need to grow into that.
You look at the life of our Lord Jesus. You will find that the life of our Lord Jesus is a life of prayer. Especially if you read the Gospel according to Luke.
Why? Because the Gospel according to Luke is a Gospel that speaks of Christ as the Son of Man. In other words, we know that the Gospel of John speaks of Christ as the Son of God, but in Luke He is described to us as the Son of Man.
Now, as the Son of Man, as a man upon this earth, you will notice that His whole life was lived in the spirit and atmosphere of prayer.
And that is the reason why you find in the Gospel of Luke, many times, that our Lord Jesus was praying. You know, when He went to be baptised in Luke chapter 3, He went to be baptised, and when He came out of the water, the Bible says, “As He was praying, the heavens were opened.”
And the Spirit of God descended upon Him, anointing Him as a dove. And there was a voice saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Now, this happened when our Lord Jesus was praying.
And then you go to chapter 4. You find that early in the morning, our Lord Jesus went out to the desert. Now, even though Luke did not mention why He went out early in the morning to the desert, if you read Mark chapter 1, you find that it says He went out praying. He was praying.
And people went out to find Him and said, “Everybody is looking for You.” You know, He was in Capernaum, and many came to hear Him, and people were healed. They needed Him. The need was great in Capernaum.
But our Lord Jesus, because He prayed in the desert, prayed to know the Father’s will. So you find that He was not governed by needs; He was governed by the Father’s will. Even though the needs were there, the Lord said, “I have to go to other cities.” That is the Father’s will.
You know, brothers and sisters, oftentimes we are governed by needs. If there is a need, surely we think that if there is a need, that is our call. But not always. Sometimes you find that the need may be there, but it may not be your call. It may be somebody else’s call. And we have to be governed by the will of God instead of by needs.
And how do you know the will of God if you do not pray? So here you find our Lord Jesus: He prayed, and He knew the will of the Father.
Then, as you read on, you will find in chapter 6 that He prayed the whole night. Why? Because He was to choose His disciples. He chose twelve disciples.
He did not choose according to what He liked or did not like. Now, if this were to be done, I wonder whether the twelve would have been chosen. So far as we know, none of the twelve seemed to be very attractive—some more, some less unattractive—but I do not think anyone was attractive.
But here you find our Lord Jesus spent a whole night in prayer. Why? Because in choosing His disciples, He was not choosing them according to His own idea. He was seeking the Father’s will. And if the Father’s will was for Him to choose a Judas, He would do that. And He did.
He prayed. He prayed.
And then when you come to chapter 9, what do you find there? There you find our Lord Jesus went to Caesarea Philippi. You know, at that time, the Jewish elite began to reject Him, so He retreated to the border city.
And there He asked His disciples, “Whom do you say that I am?” You know, before He asked that question, He prayed first. No, do not ask a question before you pray, because if you do, you may expose yourself to some answers that you are not ready to receive.
But here you find our Lord Jesus prayed before He asked His disciples, “Whom do men say that I am? Who do you say that I am?” As a result of His prayer, you find Peter said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” There was a revelation from the Father.
And then afterwards, in the same chapter, you find our Lord Jesus took three disciples and they went to the Mount of Transfiguration. And as He was praying, He was transfigured. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white, whiter than any fuller could whiten them. Why? He was praying.
And of course, in Luke chapter 11, He was praying, and the disciples saw Him pray. In chapter 18, you find He told His disciples to pray and not faint. And in chapter 22, you find our Lord going to the garden of Gethsemane. And what was He doing there? He was praying: “Not My will, Father, but Thy will be done,” three times.
And of course, in chapter 23, you find the Lord was on the cross. While He was crucified there, the first thing He did was to pray, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”
And at noontime, you find that the sun was darkened, because at that moment He became the sin offering. And He cried out, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” And then finally, you find He prayed again. At three o’clock, when He gave up His spirit: “Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit.”
Now you find the life of our Lord Jesus was saturated with prayer. His life was a prayer life. Prayer was His very breath, His very atmosphere. He was praying.
Now, these are just a few occasions we find in Scripture, but these just show us, you know, like windows, that our Lord Jesus literally lived a life of prayer. He prayed without ceasing.
In His spirit, there was always that communion with the Father. And even within Him, there was always a cry: “Thy kingdom, Thy name, Thy will be done.” Now, this is the life of our Lord Jesus.
And then when we come to the early church, you know, our Lord Jesus, after He died, was buried for three days, and then was raised from the dead to prove that He is the Son of God. And by His resurrection, we are justified.
And then, after forty days appearing to His disciples, He ascended up to heaven. And on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came, and the one hundred and twenty disciples were baptised into one body.
Now, before they were baptised—we often say that was the beginning of the church—how did the church begin? It began with prayer. The one hundred and twenty disciples were together for ten days, praying with one accord. And it was through prayer that the church was born.
You know, this is a principle. Wherever a church is born, you will find it must be preceded by prayer.
You know, we can play church. We can form what we call the church. But if it is not the result of prayer, of creative prayer, it is a human organisation. It is not the body of Christ, not the church as the Bible says.
So through the prayer of the one hundred and twenty people, you find that on the day of Pentecost the church was born. They were baptised in one Spirit. And you know, on that first day, three thousand were added to the church.
And what does the Bible say in Acts chapter 2, verse 42? It says they all persevered in the teaching and the fellowship of the apostles, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
You know, the church from the very beginning took up the prayer of our Lord Jesus. They began to pray. And throughout the book of Acts, which is the history of the early church, you find that the early church was soaked in prayer.
In Acts chapter 3, you find Peter and John went to the temple at the hour of prayer, and that is where the miracle happened. In chapter 4, when the apostles were threatened, they went to their own company, and the whole church took up the burden and prayed. As they prayed, the place was shaken, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and preached the gospel of Jesus Christ with boldness.
When you come to chapter 6, you find that the apostles said, “It is not right for us to take care of everything.” You know, the apostles not only preached, but they also served tables. And at that time, you find there were tens of thousands—more than ten thousand believers there—and many, many widows who needed to be taken care of.
And the apostles, even though they may have been supermen, could not do all the job. You find there was murmuring and things like that. Finally, they realised they were just men, not supermen. So they said, “It is not right for us to do that. We must devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word. Let seven be chosen among you to take care of the tables.”
And here you find how God’s people work together. So again, you find the importance of prayer.
And then, of course, when Peter in chapter 10 was praying—you know, it was noontime, and evidently the family probably prepared lunch a little late, and he was hungry. So I think it is good, when you are hungry, to go to pray.
And so he went up to the roof and prayed. And as he prayed, you find he was given a vision. A vision. And that is how the gospel entered into the house of the Gentiles, the house of Cornelius.
You know, it is a tremendous thing. Without such prayer, that door would not have been opened. And even if the door had been opened, Peter would not have gone. He was so bound by Jewish tradition. But thank God that he was praying, and God was able to reveal His mind to him. Even today, we as Gentiles are included in the good of it.
You know, and then in chapter 12, you find Peter was put in prison. He was kept there, and after the feast, he was going to be killed, just like James. And you find the church was praying, was praying.
And as they prayed, God sent His angel to open the iron gate and set Peter free.
And you can go on and on in the book of Acts. You find how the early church literally lived in prayer. If they were not praying, they could not live.
And when they prayed, you find it was not just a limited, narrow, self-centred, private kind of prayer. But you do find that when they prayed, they prayed that the earth would shake. They prayed that the kingdom of heaven would be manifested, and that the will of God would be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Now, brothers and sisters, we are living at the end of this age. We do not know how long, but we know that the coming of the Lord is imminent, and we are at the very close of this age. We are at the end of the church period, in a sense.
Brothers and sisters, we know that the Lord is doing a work of recovery among God’s people. He has to recover us to the original purpose. And certainly, in the recovery work of God, there is one thing needed: the recovery of the prayer of the church.
If the church does not pray, if the church does not know how to pray, then you find the kingdom of God cannot come in. The will of God cannot be done on earth as it is in heaven.
The church has to pray and to pray the prayer of the Lord, to take up that prayer. So I do feel very deeply in my heart that this is the time that we, as God’s people, as the disciples of Christ, as His church, have to know how to pray this prayer, the Lord’s Prayer.
Now we come to this matter of the foundation of prayer: “Our Father, who art in the heavens.” Prayer is based upon a relationship, and that relationship comes to us by revelation.
You know, in Old Testament times, God revealed Himself to His people as the Creator, and the Lord, the God of covenant; as the Most High; as El Shaddai, the all-sufficient God; as the great I AM. So He revealed Himself to His people as such.
But His people, as they approached God, approached God from afar. God is transcendent. He is most high, most holy, most powerful, most loving, righteous, glorious.
But you find Old Testament people approached God with a distance. They dared not approach God in an intimate way, because God is God transcendent, high and to be feared. See, that is what was revealed to them. Their relationship with God was this kind of relationship.
They did not have that intimate, close relationship, because God was not revealed to them as such. Now, though in the Old Testament you do find a few places where God is described as if He is Father.
For instance, in Psalm 68:5, He is the Father of the fatherless. Or in Psalm 103:13, you find that as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him. Or in a few places, such as Malachi, it says, “A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is Mine honour?”
Now, you do find there are a few places where God is talking to His people as if He is Father to them. But let us remember that in Old Testament times, the fatherhood of God, so far as man is concerned, is only in relation to creation.
In other words, God is the Father of mankind. Why? He is the Creator of mankind. So that fatherhood is based upon creation.
And because it is based upon creation—like all families take their names from the Father, as Ephesians chapter 3 says—it is a matter of creation. And because it is creation, you find there is a distance between the Creator and the created.
So we could only worship God at a distance. And you were at His mercy, as it were. If He wanted to show mercy, He would.
But in the New Testament, with the coming of our Lord Jesus, you find a new revelation has come into this world: the revelation of God as our Father, real Father, who begets us, who gives His life to us.
There is a living relationship of Father and children. That intimate relationship we find only comes in the New Testament through our Lord Jesus.
No one has ever seen God. It is the One who is in the bosom of the Father who declares Him. So here you find our Lord Jesus, when He was on earth, telling us about His Father.
Now, people did not understand that. People would think that was blasphemy. “How could You call God Your Father? Who are You?” But our Lord Jesus, you know, His testimony to the world was, “My Father.” He was trying to reveal His Father to us.
He represents His Father. He manifests His Father. He is declaring His Father to us. But remember, when He was living on earth, God was His Father, and He tried to describe His Father to us. He was trying to express His Father to us, but God was not our Father. He was our God. God was His Father, but not our Father.
But He told us of His Father as a preparation, because He knew that one day His Father would be our Father. So when His Father became our Father, we would not be strangers.
By His death, burial, and resurrection, He removed our sins. He released His life to us, and the Holy Spirit is able to beget us into life, into a relationship with God as Father and children.
So you remember, immediately after the Lord was raised from the dead, He said, “My Father and your Father, My God and your God.” Now there is a new revelation, a revelation that had never been upon this earth.
It came from our Lord Jesus. He revealed that to us, and He made it real to us by His redemptive work. So thank God, when we believe in the Lord Jesus today, we have an intimate relationship with God—a life relationship, a relationship of Father and children.
And that relationship, as we already mentioned at the very beginning, becomes our right. We have a right with our Father. But we cannot remain at that stage. We have to grow up.
You know, God’s purpose is for us to be sons and daughters, grown-ups. He does not want a heaven full of babies. There would be a nursery.
He wants sons and daughters. The relationship between Father and son is more than a relationship of daddy and baby. It is a relationship that develops until the son has grown to a point that the son is able to share the Father’s burden.
The children have grown so that they are able to know the Father’s will and to do the Father’s will. Now, brothers and sisters, this is what God is expecting of us as His children. Therefore, we need to grow up.
And as we grow up, then we are able to enter into the prayer that He has taught the church to pray. Now again, I say, this prayer is based upon a Father-son relationship. But it is a relationship that has developed to a point where you are able to take up that prayer.
Not all children of God are able to pray that prayer. Only those who are growing up are able to take up such a prayer. Why? Because they are concerned with the Father’s business instead of their own business all the time.
You know, as children, we are concerned only with our own business. That is all. Only when we grow up do we begin to be occupied with our Father’s business. And it is at that point that we are able to take up the so-called Lord’s Prayer in a real and living way.
Our Father. It is your Father; it is my Father. But we are so joined to Christ, not only in life but in will, that we want everything that the Father desires.
“Our Father, who art in the heavens.” Now here is a point. Maybe in some of your translations, I do not know, “Our Father, who art in heaven” is singular. But if you read the Greek original, you find that it is, “Our Father, who art in the heavens,” plural number—in the heavens.
You know, according to the Word of God, we see that the heavens have three levels. We have the first level of heaven: that is the air around us.
Now, in Genesis chapter 1, verse 6, it says God divided the waters above and beneath, and the firmament divided the water above from the water beneath, and He called it heavens. In other words, here is our first heaven. The first heaven is the air around us.
And then we have the second heaven, where the stars are. God has led out His stars by number, and He names every one of them, and not one of them fails. Now, that is the second heaven.
And then we find the third heaven in 2 Corinthians 12. You find Paul was caught up to the third heaven, and the third heaven is where the throne of God is.
And you find that our Father, who art in the heavens, is not only in the third heaven. He is in the second heaven. He is in the first heaven too.
You know, this is very, very important to understand. Why? Because you remember our Lord Jesus said, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them shall fall on the ground without your Father.”
Someone who knows Greek said this is not the exact translation. The exact translation is, “Not one sparrow will fall without the Father.” Period. Not merely the Father’s permission.
It is true, the Father’s permission must be given. That is true. But there is a difference here. You see, the Father’s permission means He permits a sparrow to fall to the ground. But “without the Father” means that when the sparrow falls upon the ground, the Father falls with him.
Together, He comes down together. See, that is the real thought behind it. Now, that is wonderful, you know? Because whatever we pass through, whether through fire or through water, the Father is always with us.
You know what the air is? The air is now serving as the headquarters of the evil spirits. He is called the prince of the air. That is his headquarters. But he has to ask the Father’s permission to do anything, even to experiment.
Now, how much more must he ask permission to do anything to us? Are we not worth more than these sparrows? Now, why should we be anxious? Why should we be afraid? Why should we worry? Without your Father’s permission, the enemy of the air cannot do anything to us. God is in charge. He is the God of the first heaven.
And even if something should fall upon us, remember, He is with us. He does not just give permission and let you go. He says, “I will go with you,” and He goes through with you. That is our heavenly Father. That is our heavenly Father.
Now, we do not realise that. We do not know our Father that well. Now, if we really know that this is our Father, what have we to fear? The enemy cannot do anything to us without His permission.
You remember the case with Peter? Our Lord Jesus said, “Simon, Simon, Satan asked to have you.” And God gave the permission, because there was a lesson there. But the Lord said, “I have also prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and do thou, when once thou hast turned again, establish thy brethren.”
You know, through the testing, you become stronger. So, dear brothers and sisters, here you find we are praying to our Father who is in the first heaven. He is in charge, not the enemy, and He is always with us.
And what about the second heaven? You know, when you read, say, the book of Judges, you find a very strange expression: “The stars fought from heaven; from their courses they fought against Sisera.”
And in the book of Joshua, you find that when Joshua prayed, the sun stood still. And in the case of Hezekiah, you find that the sundial went back ten degrees. Now, who is in charge? Who is in charge of the sun, the stars, the moon, and the second heaven? Our Father is in charge.
And He can move the heavenly forces to work for His own. This is the Father to whom we are praying.
And then the third heaven, of course. We know that our Father’s throne is set in that third heaven. All the spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus—He has blessed us.
Brothers and sisters, do we realise that we are praying to our Father who is in the heavens?
Our Father, who art in the heavens, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Now here you find “as it is in heaven.” The heaven here is singular in number. In the original, it is singular in number. It refers to the third heaven.
So people who know Greek tell us that “as in heaven, so on earth,” this phrase, is not just qualifying the last clause: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Actually, that qualifies all the three preceding clauses.
In other words, “Hallowed be Thy name on earth as it is in heaven. Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Now, what does it mean? It means that the prayer is to bring the heavenly will, the heavenly order, down upon this earth.
See, the name of God is hallowed in heaven. His name is unchallenged in heaven. But His name is not only challenged; His name is rejected and despised on earth. And that is the reason why we have to pray that heavenly order will come upon this earth, that the name of God the Father will be hallowed on earth as it is in heaven.
The kingdom of God in heaven is supreme, unchallenged. But on earth, we find that kingdom is not only resisted; it is opposed. We need to pray that the heavenly order will be brought upon this earth as it is in heaven.
The will of God in heaven is done, is carried out, without any delay, without any opposition. But not so on earth today. And this is why we need to pray to bring the heavenly order upon this earth.
Brothers and sisters, do we realise what prayer is? Prayer is bringing the heavenly order to the earth. What is in heaven shall be so on earth. Now, that is prayer. That is the essence of the Lord’s Prayer, and that is why the Lord teaches us to pray.
“Our Father, who art in the heavens. As in heaven, so on earth.”
You know, in many manuscripts, you do not find the closing, “For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” In many manuscripts, you do not find that.
But evidently the translators find that it is a very fitting conclusion, so they adopted it from somewhere else in Scripture. You find it in other places, of course. I mean, there is no problem with the fact; whether it is there or not, we do not know. But we do see this is a very natural conclusion.
Now, why do we pray such a prayer? “For Thine, Father, is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”
This prayer is a declaration. We declare to the world, seen and unseen, that the kingdom belongs to our Father. Power belongs to our Father. Glory belongs to our Father. It is a declaration of faith.
And that declaration of faith becomes our testimony.
So this is the way of the so-called Lord’s Prayer. May the Lord help us. Shall we pray?
Our Father, who art in the heavens, we do praise and thank Thee that Thou art our Father. And what a Father we have. Thou art not only in the third heaven on the throne, but Thou art in charge of the second and the first heavens. Thou art in charge of the whole universe.
We do declare that the kingdom is Thine, the power is Thine, and the glory is Thine. So, our Father, we just pray that Thou wilt teach us—teach us how to pray this prayer.
Oh, that we may join our hearts with Thee and pray, “Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
In Thy precious name we pray. Amen.