Jesus shows us how to orient ourselves to the Father’s priorities
By Steve West
For many people in our society, the words of the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9–13) are well-known and familiar. When Jesus taught this prayer, however, He did not give it simply as a pre-packaged formula to repeat verbatim. Every line is designed to move us further into praise and petition. This prayer provides a structure to help us align ourselves with God’s priorities. It
allows us to recognize the things that are of eternal significance, and it gives us the perspective of heaven for our lives in this world.
To pray properly, we need to be fully and genuinely engaged. In the larger context of Matthew 6:1–18, Jesus begins by saying:
Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven (6:1).
This is a very serious and sober warning. Jesus then goes on to preach about how we can twist things like charitable giving, prayer and fasting to be about impressing others rather than about honouring God. He warns that if we do, there will be no reward from our Father in heaven (6:1, 2, 5, 16).
When it comes to prayer, Jesus starts by teaching how not to pray. He warns us not to pray like hypocrites, trying to impress other people (6:5). He teaches us not to pray thinking we will be heard because of the quantity of our words or how eloquent we are (6:7). Rather, we are to simply lay our prayers before our Father, trusting that He knows our needs before we ask Him (6:8).
Having warned us how not to pray, Jesus says,
This, then, is how you should pray:
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today 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 the evil one” (6:9–13).
Each of these thoughts can be explored at length, but we are also supposed to meditate on their arrangement. When we pray, we begin by orienting ourselves to who God is and the nature of our relationship with Him. God is to be approached as our Father. In Jesus’s time, the concept of father spoke of authority, procreation, strength, provision, protection, kindness and love. Our Abba Father is intimate and close, but He is also transcendent, infinitely glorious and ruling over all things in heaven above. When we pray, we need to remember our relationship with God our Father, and also that He is transcendent in power and glory.
We are then to pray for the hallowing of God’s name. His name is already infinitely holy, so we are not asking Him to become something He isn’t already: we are asking that His name be seen and treated as He deserves. In line with this request, we pray that God’s kingdom will come and that His will be done. Knowing that God is praised as holy, holy, holy in heaven above, we are praying that God’s holiness will be known on earth as His kingdom advances. Like the angels who praise His holy name, we want more than legalistic obedience; we want to perform our Father’s will with heartfelt gratitude, love and joy. We want people on earth to delight in God our Father. We want to prioritize His name, kingdom and will.
It is only after this that we pray for our own personal needs: daily bread, forgiveness of sins, help in the face of temptation and evil, etc. This is vitally important. Prayer is not about us; it is about God. It is not a way to try to get God to give me what I want; it is a way to put God’s priorities above everything else in my life. It is about me getting onto God’s agenda, rather than manipulating God into rubber-stamping mine!
Before I pray for the necessities of life—my daily bread—Jesus tells me to place myself under the greater priority of God’s name, kingdom and will. Jesus tells me to do this, and He also provides the perfect example: In Gethsemane, Jesus submitted himself to God, being willing to die for God’s greater purposes and glory. Like Jesus, all our requests are to be submitted to God’s will, no matter the personal cost. To do this, we need to remember we are talking to our Father in heaven! Our Father-God truly knows best. In eternity, we will see the wisdom, goodness and love of His plan, and we will live in His perfect will and love forever.
Dr. Steve West is pastor of Madoc Baptist Church and professor of theological studies and academic advisor at Heritage College & Seminary, Cambridge, Ont. He is coming to MBC for Week Seven Summer 2025.