1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” 2 He said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.’”~ Luke 11:1-2
Having previously emphasized the importance of listening to the Lord intently, in Luke 11, the Lord Jesus emphasizes the necessity of prayer. In Luke's account, he provides us with an abbreviated version of the "disciples prayer." In his gospel, Matthew provides us with more information which Luke chose not to include here. Matthew's input will enable us to understand more. So, we will dip into Matthew 6 here and there. This is not just a prayer to be memorized and prayed occasionally.
In v.1 we notice the Lord Jesus Himself praying. This is the fifth time in Luke's gospel that we see the Lord Jesus in prayer. This is the impetus behind the disciples request of Him to teach them to pray.
I find it quite instructive to note that the only thing the disciples asked the Lord Jesus to teach them to do was here. They did not ask Him to teach them how to witness or how to study the scriptures. No, they asked Him to teach them to pray. With this request, the disciples are illustrating if we get prayer right, all the rest will fall into place. They didn't say, "Lord, teach us how to pray." They were Jewish, they grew up praying their whole lives. They requested Him to teach them to pray.
In v.2 we read, "He said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come."
In Matthew 6:5 the Lord Jesus said, "When you pray you are not to be as the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogue and on the street corners in order to be seen by men." In order to appear righteous, holy and virtuous, the religious leaders would stand in very public places inside the synagogue or on the street corners to be seen by people. Prayer is not a means to impress man and not even God. Prayer is a means to experience personal relationship with God. The disciples wanted to know how to relate to and with God.
In Matthew 6:6 the Lord Jesus says, "When you pray, go into your inner room and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret. Your Father who sees in secret will repay you." We are to pray to God in secret. There should be no false motivations involved. We should rid ourselves of any hypocrisy. The Jews used formulaic prayers, memorized prayers that were recited over and over again in very public places to parade their supposed spirituality.
In the Old Testament there was a sense in which God was unapproachable. In the tabernacle and in the Temple a veil separated the Holy of Holies from the holy place and then the holy place separated from the area where there were the altars and the place of sacrifice and then the outer courtyard. There were degrees of separation. God was in the inner place where only the high priest could go once a year. This is why we say that in the Old Testament there was a sense of separation from God.
When we look at Old Testament praying, we find adoration, thanksgiving, the recognition of the glory and holiness of God, and the affirmation of one's desire to please and obey God. In addition, we find confession of sin and the request for cleansing. But, here in Luke 11, the Lord Jesus gives us a framework for praying. This is not a prayer to be recited, it is a model for prayer. It's a guideline for conversation with God.
This pattern for prayer begins in v.2 with, "Father." The Lord Jesus shows us that we are to approach God as our father who should be the one in our lives who makes us feel a measure of security. It is our father's love that prepares us for life best. It is our fathers' love that prepares us for life. This was the divine design from the beginning. It is in and through the Father's love that we come to Him in prayer.
This sense of security is crucial to our prayer life. We can not sustain a personal relationship with God if we believe He is angry with us or even neutral to us. Prayer is sustained by the confidence that God is our Father and He has our best interest at heart. We must pray with a sense of security in the Father's love for us.
Now, notice, it's not just "Father," but in Matthew 6, it's "Father in heaven." There is the recognition that the Father is in heaven. And heaven has a vantage point that we lack. He sees things we don't see. We have a very narrow, myopic, and limited vantage point of life. He is always working, and we must measure our difficulties by His capacity of dealing with them. And, He is so good that He uses even our irritants to accomplish what is best for us.
In v.2, the Lord Jesus prays: "Hallowed be your name." The word "hallowed" means to sanctify, to treat as holy. When God's name is made holy or complete to us, it sanctifies us. It is this understanding of His holiness which renders completeness in us. When we hallow His name, we treat Him as holy and perfect.
"Hallowed be your name" is a request, not a declaration. We are not saying, "Lord, your name is hallowed!" We are saying, "Lord, cause your name to be hallowed!" That is, cause your word to be believed, cause your displeasure to be feared, cause your commandments to be obeyed, and cause yourself to be glorified. We hallow the name of God when we trust him, revere him, obey him, and glorify him.
The next part of this pattern of prayer and the last that we will consider today is at the end of v.2: "Your kingdom come." In essence we are to pray, "Father, rule in my life. Be my king. Get the victory today over my anxiety about life's necessities." In addition, we are asking God to draw history to a close and establish his kingdom on the earth.
