09.28.2025. Sermon by Pastor Jeungbok Lee
Scripture: Matthew 6:9-13
Title: The First Part of the Prayer Jesus Taught His Disciples
**Scripture: Matthew 6:9-13**
“Therefore, pray in this way:
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 evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
Our church does not recite the Lord’s Prayer together during Sunday worship. However, in the past, churches often recited it at the conclusion of Sunday evening or Wednesday services. Back then, I thought the Lord’s Prayer was merely a formula to end worship. In fact, some pastors claim that reciting the Lord’s Prayer thousands of times led to miraculous experiences, encouraging others to treat it like a mantra.
### 1. Understanding the Background of the Lord’s Prayer
First, we must understand why Jesus taught His disciples the Lord’s Prayer. It was not given as a ritual to conclude worship or as a magical formula for blessings.
#### 1.1) The Context of Jesus’ Time
In Jesus’ day, the Jewish people viewed prayer as a religious duty and prayed diligently. Rabbis taught their disciples specific prayers, and John the Baptist did the same for his followers. Likely, Jesus’ disciples felt envious of John’s disciples. As seen in Luke 11:1-4, after Jesus finished praying, one of His disciples said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
In contrast, the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6 was not prompted by the disciples’ request. Jesus proactively taught it to them, desiring that they pray not to impress others but to meet God in secret, before the Father who sees in secret.
#### 1.2) The Purpose of the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew
What was Jesus’ purpose in teaching this prayer?
First, it was to prevent hypocritical prayers like those of the Pharisees, who prayed to appear righteous and gain human approval.
Second, it was to keep His disciples from becoming like pagans who prayed with meaningless repetition, unaware of who God truly is.
Finally, Jesus wanted His disciples to pray rightly, in accordance with God’s will.
#### 1.3) Examining Our Prayers
As Jesus’ disciples, we must evaluate our prayers to ensure they align with the right direction. Let me emphasize again: the Lord’s Prayer is not meant to be repeated verbatim as a rigid formula. Instead, it serves as a model for proper prayer.
To offer prayers that please God, we should use the Lord’s Prayer to examine our own. Personally, I realized through the Lord’s Prayer that I often began praying without deeply considering who God is. However, our faith’s predecessors, like Paul, began their prayers with a clear recognition of God as the Father of our Savior, Jesus Christ. The Lord’s Prayer starts by addressing “Our Father in heaven.” Moses began by calling on the Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth. David prayed to the Almighty God, the Rock, and the Comforter. This led me to meditate on who God is before starting my prayers.
Depending on the content of my prayers, I may reflect on various attributes of God. Some parts of the Lord’s Prayer may be longer or shorter depending on my circumstances. What is clear is that through the Lord’s Prayer, I’ve learned to pray in a richer, God-pleasing way.
#### 1.4) What the Lord’s Prayer Lacks
However, the Lord’s Prayer does not cover every aspect of prayer. Two elements are notably absent: confession of sin and thanksgiving for blessings received. Therefore, when we pray, we should include confession of our sins alongside the Lord’s Prayer. Additionally, we can offer prayers of gratitude and praise for answered prayers.
### 2. The Structure and Content of the Lord’s Prayer
Understanding the structure and content of the Lord’s Prayer helps us organize our often scattered prayers.
**The Structure of the Lord’s Prayer**:
It begins with an invocation, clearly addressing the One to whom we pray: “Our Father in heaven.”
The prayer starts by seeking God and His will:
1. “Hallowed be Your name.”
2. “Your kingdom come.”
3. “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Next, it includes petitions for our needs:
1. “Give us today our daily bread.”
2. “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”
3. “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
Finally, it concludes with a doxology of worship: “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.”
### 3. Explaining the Prayer Jesus Taught
#### 3.1) “Our Father in Heaven”
God is in heaven. This may refer to a literal spatial location above the earth, or it may not. In Jesus’ time, heaven was understood as the place beyond the rainbow where God’s throne resides. Indeed, Jesus ascended to heaven in His resurrected body. Generally, “heaven” denotes a realm distinct from the created world, a place of spiritual and dimensional difference—the divine realm where the most praiseworthy, glorious One dwells. This is why it is called God’s kingdom, heaven, or the kingdom of heaven.
#### 3.2) “Our Father”
The God who hears our prayers is the transcendent, all-powerful One in the highest place. Yet, He is our Father. This distinguishes Him from the gods of other religions, where only kings were considered divine representatives or children of the gods. Jesus, however, taught His disciples that the almighty God in heaven is their Father. This privilege is made possible through Jesus’ work of salvation. By faith in Jesus Christ, believers in Him can call the God of heaven “Father.”
**Ephesians 2:18-19**:
“For through Him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.”
#### 3.3) “Hallowed Be Your Name”
This petition may sound strange. God is holy, so why must we pray for His name to be hallowed? Simply put, it is a request for God’s name to be revealed as holy through His works in response to our prayers.
The world does not know God, but His people know Him as holy. Even if believers proclaim, “God is holy,” unbelievers cannot grasp this. Only when God answers His people’s prayers does His glory shine forth, enabling unbelievers to declare, “God is holy!”
In sequence: God is holy, but the world is unaware. Believers pray for God to reveal His holiness. God responds through works that meet our needs or bring salvation. We praise His glory and experience His holiness more deeply. Seeing this, the world declares, “God is holy!”
#### 3.4) “Your Kingdom Come”
God’s kingdom, or heaven, began with Jesus’ coming to earth. Through His death on the cross, He freed us from slavery to sin, making us citizens of God’s kingdom. Yet, the disciples still lived under Roman rule, just as we live in worldly kingdoms today. Therefore, we must pray for God’s kingdom—where His name is hallowed—to fully come to earth. Especially, we should pray for the church, God’s gathered people, to manifest His kingdom. Ultimately, when our Lord returns, the whole world will become God’s kingdom. This petition inspires us to live longing for Jesus’ return.
#### 3.5) “Your Will Be Done, on Earth as It Is in Heaven”
This petition seeks God’s sovereign rule, fully realized in heaven, to be fulfilled on earth. Many, even Christians, ignore God’s sovereign will and live according to their own desires. However, the church, above all, must be a place where God’s sovereign rule is realized. Thus, believers pray for God’s will to be done on earth, especially in the church, as it is in heaven.
This concludes the first part of the prayer Jesus taught His disciples.
Prayer must always begin with a clear recognition of who God is to us. Then, we should pray for His name to be hallowed and His kingdom to come on earth. Fulfilling God’s will on earth is our mission. As God’s children, we must pray for these things daily before presenting our own needs.
### 4. Why We Must Pray for God’s Kingdom and Will
The answer is simple: only those who pray for God’s pleasing will obey it.
**Matthew 7:21-23**:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. On that day [the day of judgment] many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and cast out demons in Your name, and do many mighty works in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness [who lived according to your own will].’”
**Matthew 12:50**:
When Jesus’ mother and brothers came to speak with Him, He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”
The core of the prayer Jesus taught is that those who know God's will, pray in alignment with His kingdom, and act accordingly are God's family. Only such people will be called God’s children, who hallow His name.
Therefore, we must examine our prayers. Do they include petitions for God’s name to be hallowed, or are they solely focused on our own or our children’s prosperity? We must reflect and adjust our prayers. Do we truly long for God’s kingdom to come quickly to earth? Do we pray daily, “Your kingdom come”? Do we earnestly seek God’s will, pray for it, and act to fulfill it? Or do we complain and throw tantrums when our desires go unfulfilled?
May you meditate deeply on the prayer Jesus taught His disciples, so your prayers align perfectly with God’s will and become prayers that God receives.
Let us pray. (End)