Lord’s Prayer – The 4th Petition
Speaker Notes
Luke 11:1-13
Jesus’ Teaching on Prayer
11.1 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.
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.’”
5 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.
9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Matthew 6:5-15
Prayer
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’
14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Gordon’s notes: “The Lord’s Prayer” – Luke 11:2-4; Matthew 6:9-13
Opening Address: “Our Father who art in heaven.”
With respect to God:
1) “Our Father” implies intimacy and trust (Luke 11:11-13; Matt. 6:8, 32; Jeremiah 31:20).
2) Sonship is typically applied to the future (Matthew 5:9; Luke 6:35; Romans 8:23)
3) Sonship is our privilege now, however, through faith (1 John 3: 1; 5:1; Galatians 3:26) and by the Spirit (Galatians 4:6; Romans 8:14-17).
4) “In heaven” implies an intimacy with God that is consistent with respect.
With respect to ourselves:
If He is our Father, we are his sons and daughters, who owe him heart-felt obedience.
With respect to others:
If we are His children, then we are each other’s brothers and sisters.
The corporate perspective (“our” “us” “we”) dominate the entire prayer.
Each of the first three petitions, which focus on our desires with respect to God, in Greek
begins with a verb and ends with “your.”
1st Petition: “Hallowed be Thy name.”
This means “may Your name be held holy” or “vindicate the holiness of Your name” (Romans 2:24; Isaiah 52:5-6; Ezekiel 36:21-23; Philippians 2:9-11)
2nd Petition: “Thy kingdom come.”
Daniel 7; Matthew 6:33: Luke 22:18; Revelation 22:20
3rd Petition: “Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”
Our desire is not merely that all things would conform to God’s will (they do so already,
even if only reluctantly or passively – Ephesians 1:11; Psalm 99), but that God’s will
would be done on earth as it is in heaven, in other words, consciously and willingly
(Mark 14:36; 2 Peter 3:13; 1 Corinthians 15:24-28; 1 John 3:2).
This request will be finally answered with Christ’s return, but in part it is answered
Already through the work of the Spirit.
Each of the last three petitions, which focus on our needs, has an “us,” and the last two are
joined by “ands” in Greek and so form a single sentence.
4th Petition (PRESENT): “Give us this dayour coming day’s bread;”
“Our coming day’s bread” is the material and spiritual provision which awaits us in
abundance in heaven, but of which Christ now invites us to have a foretaste (Luke
11:5-8; Luke 14:15; John 6:1-14, 25-71; Luke 6:21). “The coming day” refers to the day
that is dawning (Luke 11:5), but it also points to the Day of the Lord (Romans 13:11-12).
5th Petition (PAST): “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors;”
Mark 11:25; Matthew 6:14-15; 18:21-35
6th Petition (FUTURE): “And lead us not into trial, but deliver us from the Evil One.”
Trial (James 1:13; Psalm 143:1-2; Revelation 3:10; Psalm 23:3)
Evil One (1 John 5:18-19; Matthew 13:19; Psalm 143:9; Luke 23:46; Matthew 26:42)
We ask God, who is our Judge, that our own strength and righteousness not be put on
Trial. Nevertheless we want the benefit of an innocent verdict in deliverance from the
Evil One (Romans 8:1; Revelation 12:10).
Doxology: “For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.”
These words were added to the Lord’s Prayer by the church based on 1 Chronicles 29:11-13.
Gordon Hugenberger was senior pastor, Park Street Church (1997-2017) wikipedia