§ 6. The Sermon on the Mount (According to Matthew)

The chief concern of this episode is how to pray effectively. It is a great privilege to approach God by praying—speaking from the heart directly to our Creator! But not every prayer offered somewhere in the world is heard or answered. It's important to understand what God seeks in a prayer so that we can offer what He wants and be confident He hears and answers.

Many modern religions employ chants or mantras or otherwise claim that a trance-like state confers spiritual benefit. Such claims do not have the support of God through His word. Rather, the Bible explicitly calls for us to use the mind of understanding when we pray.

Ecclesiastes 5:1–2

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.

1 Corinthians 14:14

If I pray in a tongue [that I don't speak], my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful.

The big picture is that a prayer offered reflects upon the character of the one to whom it is offered. God does not need to have us repeat things for Him, nor is He far from our words—even if they are few. Remember that when Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal, their prayers offered to Baal made clear the true nature of that false god.

1 Kings 18:25–29

Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it." And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, "O Baal, answer us!" But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, "Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened." And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.

There is perhaps no better example of the failure that is heaping up empty phrases, hoping to be heard, than these prophets of the false god Baal.

Ecclesiastes 5:1–2 above called for a careful approach, and here the Lord reminds us that God already sees and knows our lives from His perspective in heaven. His meaning is that we should be confident God understands us! God seeks our good, and prayer is for our own benefit.

Romans 8:26–28

…The Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good….

Jesus intends for these verses to be used as a model. Every Christian ought to have this prayer memorized. Once memorized, it can be used every time we go to God in prayer.

The Lord's two-fold purpose is to remind us both

1. how to pray and
2. what to pray for.

Even while we are actively addressing God in prayer, we can bring to mind the words of this model prayer to prompt us what to say next. And when we have addressed all that it prompts us to, we know we have prayed an effective prayer.

From here we will consider each component of the model prayer individually to understand what that component is prompting us to pray about and how.

Alternatively, "Father of ours, the One in the heavens."

In the original Greek, the first word of the prayer is "Father." We have not just a God, divine above mankind, but a Father, who loves us and seeks our good. Since He is a Father, we also accord Him respect and obedience. And this Father is higher than our earthly ones.

Hebrews 12:9–10

We have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.

Addressing God as our Father reminds us to be thankful, respectful, and trusting, too.

1 John 3:1

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are….

In other words, "May Your name be held sacred."

This statement expresses our desire for people to treat God's authority (His name) with the proper reverence and respect. The commandment given in Exodus 20 means the same.

Exodus 20:7

You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

Scripture holds forth a bad example of the people's failure to uphold God's name, and we should take the warning from it:

Romans 2:24

As it is written, "The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles [i.e., the nations] because of you."

Ezekiel 36:20–23

But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, they profaned my holy name, in that people said of them, 'These are the people of the LORD, and yet they had to go out of his land.' But I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came. Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.

Praying that God's name be held sacred reminds us to seek Him according to the commandment, to help others come to respect Him, to encourage the church to set a righteous example.

Or, "May Your kingdom come."

Some would trouble us by claiming this prayer was intended only for use before the church came into existence in Acts 2, after which time, they insist, it is inappropriate to pray that it may "come." But these fail to see the big picture: at any time the kingdom of God is the spiritual nation of His people. The prayer for the kingdom to "come" is a prayer for its success, its establishment, its maturity.

Psalm 137:5

If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand forget its skill!

Psalm 122:6–9

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
"May they be secure who love you!
Peace be within your walls
and security within your towers!"
For my brothers and companions' sake
I will say, "Peace be within you!"
For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,
I will seek your good.

2 Corinthians 11:28–29

And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

Alternatively, "May Your wishes come about on earth just like they do in heaven."

This statement expresses our desire for God's purposes to come to fruition. We even seek His purposes rather than our own. We observe many things come to pass in the world, and our prayer ought to be that God's desire is accomplished, even if man's efforts are to the contrary.

The wording of the model prayer calls to attention the distance between heaven and earth; we can close this gap with our obedience to Him in the body.

Matthew 26:39

…He fell on his face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will."

Or, "Supply our bread for the day."

This verse reminds us of one later in the chapter, "Sufficient for the day is its own trouble" (Matthew 6:34).

The phrase "daily bread" reminds us of the manna God used to feed the Israelites daily in the wilderness. This manna was supplied daily, but it was limited to one day's amount for each family.

Exodus 16:14–18

And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, "It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat. This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.'" And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat.

They were limited to a single day's supply.

Exodus 16:19–20

Moses said to them, "Let no one leave any of it over till the morning." But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank.

But on the day before the Sabbath, there was a double-portion so there would be no need to gather bread on the Sabbath—and that portion kept overnight did not spoil.

Exodus 16:22–24

On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, he said to them, "This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.'" So they laid it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and it did not stink, and there were no worms in it.

All this reminds us to lean on God every day and not to borrow trouble from tomorrow. The miraculous food of the people and its rules comes down to a simple truth: God will provide for His own, even when we do not know how.

Alternatively, "Forgive what we owe in the same way we have already forgiven those who owe us."

The model prayer reminds us to think of others rather than ourselves, and to imitate God in His mercy.

Deuteronomy 24:10–15

When you make your neighbor a loan of any sort, you shall not go into his house to collect his pledge. You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you make the loan shall bring the pledge out to you. And if he is a poor man, you shall not sleep in his pledge. You shall restore to him the pledge as the sun sets, that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you. And it shall be righteousness for you before the LORD your God.
You shall not oppress a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns. You shall give him his wages on the same day, before the sun sets (for he is poor and counts on it), lest he cry against you to the LORD, and you be guilty of sin.

Philippians 2:3–4

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Romans 15:1

We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.

We have already seen the emphasis on forgiving others before approaching God to ask for His forgiveness.

Matthew 5:23-24

So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Alternatively, "And do not bring us into a test, but rather pull us away from the evil one." Or, following Job 1:8 and 2:3, "And do not nominate us to be tested, but rather shield us from the adversary."

This prayer does not intend to blame God for "leading us into temptation." As James makes clear, God does not personally tempt anyone.

James 1:13

Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.

But other places in Scripture make clear that God does sometimes allow us to be tested.

Job 1:12; 2:6

And the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand…."
And the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life."

Luke 22:31–32

[Jesus said,] "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers."

Our prayer is a request to be spared from such tests, all the while knowing tests are sometimes necessary and cannot be avoided.

James 1:2–3

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

1 Peter 1:6–7

In [salvation] you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

The theme of our own forgiveness being contingent upon our forgiving others occurs often throughout Scripture. In view of the larger arc of the model prayer, we find the thoughts expressed in Colossians 3 most harmonious.

Colossians 3:12–15

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body….

This verse comments well on Matthew 6:14–15 because it also uses the term "trespass" (παράπτωμα), which indicates a false step or slip, leading to being astray.

2 Corinthians 5:19

In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

Luke's much briefer rendition of the model prayer keeps our interpretation of the Matthew version honest. We know we have missed the point in Matthew if we have focused heavily on a matter not addressed by Luke or if we haven't covered something Luke brings out. Keep in mind, though, that Luke's version of the prayer can be seen as a summary, with Matthew's details falling somewhere beneath each of Luke's headings.