This, then, is how you should pray:
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.”
Main idea: God wants us to pray a certain way, to address him as our heavenly father, and to pray to him as a holy God.
- God wants us to pray a certain way. v. 9a
- God wants us to address him as our heavenly father. v. 9b
- God wants us to pray to him as a holy God. v. 9c
“To be a Christian without prayer
is no more possible
than to be alive without breathing.”
Martin Luther
Are you a do-it-yourself type of person? Maybe to save money or just to learn how to do something new, you do car repairs or projects around the house yourself. If you do tend to try to fix things yourself, then you may have purchased a book to help you with the project.
Today, most people simply go online and watch how-to videos. How-to videos are sometimes better than books because you actually get to see someone do the work that you’re planning to do. How-to books and videos give a step-by-step explanation of how to do something.
In many ways, the Bible is like a how-to book. The Bible gives us instructions on many different spiritual subjects. One of these subjects is prayer. God gives us step-by-step instructions on how to pray. We find one of these how-to-pray instructions in Matthew chapter six. In Matthew chapter six, verse nine, we read that God wants us to pray a certain way: to address him as our heavenly Father, and to pray to him as a holy God. Matthew 6:9, “Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.’ ”
God wants us to pray a certain way, to address him as our heavenly Father, and to pray to him as a holy God.
First, God wants us to pray a certain way. v. 9a, “Pray then like this.”
God wants us to pray a certain way according to his specifications. God expects us to approach him on his terms, so he gives us a formula, a pattern for prayer.
God’s pattern for prayer is not to be a word-for-word repetition. We are not simply parroting or repeating the words. The pattern Jesus gives us is a guide for our prayers. God wants to lead us and guide us in prayer.
Years ago, when I was stationed in Germany with the U.S. Air Force, I went on several tours around Europe. I went to places like Paris and Venice and Barcelona. On these tours, we had tour guides who would take us to the best places and explain the sights.
In a similar way, Jesus’ prayer guides us into the best and most important things to pray about.
All the prayers in the Bible can be used as a guide for our prayers. Some prayers in the Bible are very simple prayers. Others are very elaborate prayers. The Psalms are prayers written in poetic rhyme and turned into songs to be sung accompanied by music.
The prayer Jesus gives us is a very simple guide. Jesus’ prayer is a simple, down-to-earth prayer that shows us how we can approach God. Jesus’ prayer shows us how to talk to God in a very simple, humble, and practical way.
First, God wants us to address him as our heavenly Father. v. 9b, “Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven.’ ”
God wants us to address him as our heavenly Father.
We often start our prayers by addressing God saying, “Lord,” or “God”. When we address God as “Lord” or as “God,” the idea created in our mind is of a great and powerful, majestic being who is far above us.
Jesus says we should start our prayers by addressing God as “our Father in heaven”. When we address God as “our Father”, the picture that forms in our mind is the picture of a loving, caring father to whom we are intimately connected.
When we address God as “our Father,” we create an immediate father-child bond. In our heart and mind, we picture God as our loving heavenly Father.
You want to know the reason there are so many kids out on the street at night? It’s because they’re afraid to stay home alone. We have too many part-time parents. God isn’t like that. God is a perfect father.
Notice the use of the possessive pronoun “our”. God is our Father. We are bound and tied to God by a spiritual connection. When we pray to God as our heavenly Father, we are reminded that we are intimately connected to him by cords of love and affection. The paternal bonds of God’s fatherly love bind us to him for all eternity. We are his children forever and ever; so we call on him, saying “Our Father”.
Yet, as close and intimate as God is, we can never forget that God is also the all-powerful creator God of the universe. God resides in heaven. In heaven, God sits on an eternal, glorious throne far above all creation. God rules over the whole universe. God is sovereign. In Filipino, we say, “Ang Diyos ang pinakamakapangyarihan sa lahat,” meaning God is sovereign over everything. God is our loving heavenly Father who rules over all creation.
God wants us to address him as our heavenly Father and to pray to him as a holy God. Matthew 6:9, “Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.’ ”
God wants us to pray to him as a holy God.
God’s holiness is his chief attribute. An attribute is a quality. God has characteristics and qualities. Just like we have qualities such as goodness, kindness, and wisdom, so too God has qualities and attributes such as love, kindness, and wisdom, but God’s primary characteristic is his holiness.
Adrian Rogers, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, once said: “God is holy . . . The chief attribute of God is not love; it is holiness.”
The famous Scottish theologian P. T. Forsyth wrote that “the prime thing in God is his holiness. From his holiness flows His love.”
James Montgomery Boice, pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, believed that “the Bible refers to God’s holiness more than any other attribute.”
Billy Graham once said, “As I read the Bible, I seem to find holiness to be his supreme attribute.”
The angels in heaven say: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory (Isaiah 6:3).” In the book of Revelation, we read that
“Day and night they never stop saying: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.’ ”
If God’s holiness is so important, then we need to understand what it is. What is meant by holiness?
Holiness is the quality of being distinct from impurities. God alone is holy. Everything else in the universe is susceptible to corruption and decay. But God is not part of his creation. God is distinct from and separate from the world and everything else. God is holy.
Holiness is a value we ascribe to God by which we recognize God’s moral perfection. When we say that God is holy, we mean that he is completely free from and separate from imperfections. God is holy. God makes no mistakes. God has no flaws. God is good all the time and perfectly wise.
God is not like us. We make mistakes. We have problems. We do things that are wrong, but God, in his holiness, is incapable of making mistakes or doing anything wrong.
What are the implications of God’s holiness? What significance or meaning does God’s holiness have for us?
One implication of God’s holiness is that because God is holy, we must be holy. The Bible says: “Just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15-16).”
God is holy, and he wants us to be holy. How do we achieve holiness?
The Apostle Paul says that the path to holiness is obedience. Romans 6:18, 19c, 22
The path to holiness is obedience, but unless God works in our hearts, we simply cannot obey God. We cannot achieve holiness on our own. The Bible says that we are “sanctified by the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:16).” God’s Spirit must work in our heart to cleanse and purify us.
How does the Holy Spirit make us holy? The Holy Spirit uses the power of God’s word to cleanse us and make us holy. Jesus prayed for us, saying: “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth (John 17:15-17).”
When we read the word of God, the Holy Spirit opens our heart and mind to understand and believe the truth of God’s word. Without the Holy Spirit working in our lives, we cannot understand God’s word, and neither can we believe it. So the Holy Spirit works faith in us.
God, through his Spirit and his word, brings us to saving faith in Jesus, and when we believe in Jesus, we are made holy.
We must be willing participants in the process of sanctification. We must be open to the work of God. We also need to read God’s word so that the Holy Spirit has something to work with. If we are open to God’s leading and we are reading the word of God, God will work in our lives and help us to believe in Jesus, and through faith in Jesus, God cleanses our soul and makes us to be more and more like Jesus.
So, when we pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,” remember God is holy, and he wants us to be holy.
The goal of holiness is to be more like Jesus. Isn’t that what you want for your life? Don’t you want to be like Jesus? You can be if you allow God to work in your life.
In prayer, we enter a special place. A place where we meet with a loving heavenly Father who rules over all creation and who is holy, and because he is holy, he wants us to be holy.