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Lesson 17 The Lord's Prayer Lord's Days 46-49 The Lord's Prayer The First Three Petitions In Luke 11:1, we read that the disciples asked the Lord Jesus, "Lord, teach us to pray." The Lord then tells them how they must and may pray. In the Lord's Days which follow we will learn about this. The Lord's Prayer will be discussed in them. This prayer is divided as follows: it begins with the addressee, then the six petitions, and at the end is the praise or eulogy, followed by the word "Amen." This lesson will discuss the first three petitions. In these three petitions we do not yet ask for anything for ourselves, but all are focused on the honor of God. This teaches us that we should not make a wishlist of our prayer.
Q. 120. Why hath Christ commanded us to address God thus: "Our Father"? (a) Matthew 7:9-11, Luke 11:11-13. A perfect prayer The Lord's Prayer is a perfect prayer. That cannot be said of a single prayer of any of God's children. It is perfect because the Son of God Himself has prescribed it. And what He has prescribed is never anything but perfect. Furthermore, this prayer includes everything that must be contained in a true prayer. There is not a single word too much or too few. We cannot think of a single need of which the Lord's Prayer does not speak. is no need that we have that the Lord's Prayer does not address. God's honor and the temporal and eternal welfare of the person praying and that of his neighbor are found in it. The prayer begins with an addressee. It is not just called out into space, but it has an addressee. That is proper. It is addressed to the only true God. In one of the penitential psalms, we read, "Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O Lord" (Psalm 130:1). It is important that we realize that we are speaking to God. The most tender Name The Lord Jesus chose the most tender name which may be used when calling upon God: "Our Father." What tenderness and confidentialness this indicates here! "Childlike reverence" is mentioned in answer 120. This means to say: loving respect, a holy modesty combined with upright love. It contains the same meaning as the warm expression "the fear of the Lord," which we meet with in the Word of God. It is couppled with a hearty confidence in God and an upright aversion to of sin. These things lie at the bottom of our heart when we may truly pray. This is seen by God, for we must never forget that God looks into the heart of a person who prays. How is it possible that a sinner may address the majestic and holy God as Father? Is the devil not his father by nature? Yes, but when a person is regenerated, he receives another Father. Christ becomes his eldest Brother and God's children become his brothers and sisters. Paul said, "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:26). Such a person cannot fathom such a privilege, and will, especially when his faith is still weak, just whisper "Father." Many carelessly say the name "Father," but let us remember that outside of Christ, the Father is our Judge, who will not overlook any sin. Childlike reverence and childlike confidence God's child does not have this childlike reverence and childlike confidence of himself. It is necessary that God put this in the heart. That is why we find the word "excite" in the answer. Only God can do this. How are blessed are those who may pray in this way and in doing looking alone to Christ's satisfaction! To what does this confidence refer? It refers to everything we need. God's child may pour out his heart before God, like a child before his father. This is what Hannah, the mother of Samuel, did. She said, "I have poured out my soul before the LORD" (1 Samuel 1:15). By faith, one is so honest and trusting that the heavenly Father listens and will give what he or she needs and will withhold that which is not good for him or her. The latter can best be judged by the heavenly Father. What safety this comprehends! What rest this gives! David might say, "Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from Him cometh my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved" (Psalm 62:1-2). This may be there immediately, says our answer: as soon as we close our eyes and fold our hands.
Q. 121. Why is it here added, "Which art in heaven"?
(a) Jeremiah 23:23-24, Acts 17:24-25,27; The Father in heaven The address of the perfect prayer does not only begin with "Our Father." Something more is added to it. Why the addition "which art in Heaven"? There is a reason for it. No matter how childlike, dependently, and tenderly a child of God may also associate with his heavenly Father, he may never become inappropriately familiar in his prayer. We may not think in an earthly way of the heavenly majesty of God. Childlike openness may never change to an inappropriate boldness. It is in our blood to think in an earthly way of the Lord. In Psalm 50:21 we read that the Lord says, "Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself." The person who learns to know God begins to realize that He is the holy, glorious, and majestic God in heaven, and that he cannot bow deeply enough before Him. Think of Abraham. He said, "Behold now, I have taken upon me (have been so bold) to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes" (Genesis 18:27). God's glory There is, however, another reason for the addition "which art in heaven." The fact that God is in heaven should not only make us reverential, but also expectant. In heaven God's glory and power are so clearly seen. God the Father also has all power on earth. He is able in all things. He who prays may expect that He will provide all things necessary. All things necessary! What are these necessary things? They are everything we need for body and soul, but not everything we want. An earthly father would be foolish if he gave his child everything for which he asked. We would often like to have things which are not beneficial for us.
Q. 122. Which is the first petition?
(a) John 17:3, Jeremiah 9:24, 31: 33-34, Matthew 16:17, James 1:5, Psalm 119:105; God's Name Each one of us has a name. This serves to distinguish us from others who are like us. Without names, a form of society would be impossible. The Lord also has names. These are not to distinguish Him from other beings like Him, because there are none. The poet Ethan says, "Who can be likened unto the Lord?" (Psalm 89:6). God revealed His Name to us in order to reveal something of Himself to us. His Name tells something of His Being, who and how He is. We can call upon Him. For man, a name is also important for another reason. When we know somebody's name, then we can make him known, be it positively or negatively. Solomon said, "A good name is better than precious ointment" (Ecclesiastes 7:1). A friend will watch over the good name of his friend. He will uphold him highly. This certainly applies to somebody who may love the Lord. He will be happy when there is spoken highly of his God. It will pain him when he hears that Name being dishonored, by blasphemy or swearing. He is also conscious of the fact that nobody can better care for God's good Name than God Himself. Therefore this first petition is, "Hallowed be Thy Name." But who is able to hallow that Name? This is why we ask the Lord Himself, "Grant..." Hallowing God's Name To hallow God's Name means to take care that God receives the greatest honor and that His Name is thought of and spoken of in no other way than with the highest respect. That is the upright desire of a praying child of God. How can someone have an interest in another's high esteem if he does not know him? Therefore the first petition is that we may rightly know God, not superficially, but intimately, in a very familiar manner. He who knows God in this way can do nothing but love Him, have the greatest respect for Him, and have communion with Him in a very tender way. The more someone knows God, the more he or she will seek to honor Him. That person also sees and acknowledges that God created and preserves everything. He sees God's hand in all things. God's attributes The believer sees God's omnipotence and wisdom in His creation and in the course of the history of God's Church, and in his own life. He notices this in a blade of grass and in a severe thunderstorm. A non-Christian may perhaps say, "This is very normal." But this is not so. These are wonders of God's creative powers. Read Genesis 1 and 3 and Psalm 104. The Christian sees God's wisdom in devising the way by which sinners could be saved. He sees God's goodness in His care for body and soul. He sees God's justice in punishing sinners and in rewarding those who live according to His law. The psalmist said, "The LORD reigneth" (Psalm 93:1). The Christian sees God's mercy in saving sinners who are in a miserable condition. David said, "The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy" (Psalm 103:8). He sees God's truthfulness in the fact that God keeps His Word, when He promises and when He threatens. That fills him with the greatest reverence for God. He desires that other people will also see it in this way and also think about God this way. He realizes that the world observes him and other church people. When the deeds of a religious person do not match his words, the world blasphemes God. That does not make people envious of those people who serve God. If a Christian lives in such a way that his life commands respect, then it can make people jealous. They see that it is worthwhile to know God and to serve Him. Then God's Name will be honored and hallowed. God's child wishes for nothing better than that.
Q. 123. Which is the second petition?
(a) Psalm 143:10, 119:5, Matthew 6:33; Why is This Petition Necessary? We read in Psalm 47:2, "For the Lord Most High is terrible; He is a great King over all the earth." If the whole earth is already God's Kingdom, why is this petition then still necessary? It is true that the Lord reigns over the whole universe, but does He also reign in the hearts of His creatures? Do all people acknowledge Him as King? Do you already acknowledge Him as King over and in your heart? That is the case here. This prayer is not for the coming of the Kingdom of God's power, but for the Kingdom of God's grace. That Kingdom came close when the Lord Jesus came on earth. The purpose of His coming was to institute His Kingdom on earth. He Himself says, "The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the Gospel" (Mark 1:15). Why did the Kingdom of God have to be instituted on earth? Because there is a kingdom of Satan on earth, the kingdom of sin. In heaven, a rebellion against God developed among the angels. And Satan and his accomplices dragged man along in the fall in Paradise. Man fell away from God. And thus the earth became the occupied territory of Satan, although he has no right to it! But God did not relinquish His world. He did not abandon man. The Kingdom of Satan From the beginning, God established His Kingdom against the kingdom of Satan, when He delivered Adam and Eve from the power of Satan. The advancement of God's Kingdom continues all the time. When the Lord Jesus returns that Kingdom will be complete and perfect. This is a prayer for this completion and perfection. When I pray for the coming of God's Kingdom, then I first pray that it may come in my heart. There Satan has to abandon the throne and the Lord must take possession of it. He has the first rights. When He is King in my heart, then He rules me through Word and Spirit. I will obey God's Word. The Spirit teaches me how to understand God's Word and makes me willing to live accordingly. But the power of satan and sin is still so strong in me. So I pray that I may more and more subject myself to the authority of God's Word. My whole life will be needed for that. Paul prayed in that way, "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" (Romans 7:24). A prayer for the preservation and extension of God's church is also included: That people may be converted, and that the work of the mission and evangelism may bear fruit. We read in the Psalms, "That Thy Name may be known upon earth, Thy saving health among all nations" (Psalm 67:2). Satan's Opposition Naturally, Satan will do everything to prevent the coming of God's Kingdom. He does this by deception and force. He makes use of his followers, who scheme to make God's church vanish from the earth, if it were possible. One of his weapons in this is the falsification of God's Word and faulty preaching. Another weapon is mockery, counteraction and persecution of the Church and of God's children. This petition is that all these attempts of Satan may fail. It is not hopeless to pray this petition. We know that the Kingdom of God will come in heaven and on earth, but also perfectly in the hearts of all God's children. What a glorious future to wait for! Shouldn't we often pray for that?
Q. 124. Which is the third petition?
(a) Matthew 16: 24, Titus 2: 11, 12. Luke 22: 42, Ephesians 5: 10, Romans 12: 2. God's Will In the previous Lord's Day we saw that every man for himself is a king, yes, a god. This means that he wants to have his own way in all things. That things will go as he wants them to. The petition "Thy Kingdom come" implies that I will no more be king. That I will submit myself to the great King of heaven and earth. Only one will remains to be obeyed, which is God's will. He who prays has been taught that this will is the only good one. God's will can not be different from that, which is good, though this will will be at odds with our will. This will is directed toward the honor of God. Do we always understand this? No, far from it, but love says, "Everything God wills and does is good." Then it can not be otherwise, that when we pray, we will ask, "Thy will be done." We are so shortsighted that we do not know what is good for us. God knows better than we do. Absolute Obedience "Thy will be done" indicates absolute obedience toward this will. Everywhere, always, and by everybody this will should be obeyed. That is what occurs in heaven. The angels and all those people who are already in heaven do not wish anything but to unconditionally obey the will of God. We know that it would look totally different on earth if that will would also be obeyed here - By all men, in church, in politics, in families, at work; yes everywhere and under all circumstances. But how do all those people know what God's will is? This we find in the Bible, the Word of God. Therefore this should also be the purpose in the counsel of ministers of the government. Then God will also be honored in political life. This is also a prerequisite for the prosperity and well being of a nation. Beginning in our own heart Where should this begin? It should begin within us, in our hearts. Do you know what then is necessary? The new birth or regeneration. Otherwise our heart will never comply with this obedience. Then a disagreement will remain, if not by our mouths, then certainly in our hearts. The apostle struggled with this too. He says, "For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do" (Romans 7:19). Our will and the will of God must become one will. We must abandon our will. This means that we will become disloyal to our own evil will, and not follow our own will, not to comply with it, not obey it. That will work peace in the heart. It was like this in Paradise. Then man only wanted what God wanted. We do not have this of ourselves. Therefore we have this petition, "Give...." God is so worthy to be served by everyone. Therefore we would also like it that all people, out of love toward God, would unconditionally comply with this obedience. God would receive the honor and man would receive the benefits of this compliance. Directed towards God's Honor In all our obedience toward people who are set over us, we ought to have God's honor in mind. Paul teaches us how we should serve, "Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; With good will doing service, as to the Lord and not to men" (Ephesians 6: 6,7). The angels are an example, those compliant spirits, who always, without objecting, do what God commands. Wherever we read about angels, we never hear a word of objecting out of their mouths. God's will is their will. Therefore the petition says, "As in heaven also on earth." As it happens in heaven, may it also happen on earth. What do we need for that? The fear of the Lord, which means a loving respect for the highest God. This petition will be answered, here in principle with God's children, and later perfectly on a new earth. What a blessing this is! Questions to go with Lesson 17. (Lord's Day 46-49)
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