“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.” (Matthew 6:9)
Matthew is very specific, more so than Luke, writing “after this manner therefore pray...” Luke doesn’t specify that the Lord’s prayer is a pattern for praying, but writes “when you pray, say.” It’s curious that Luke’s version “when you pray, say” does not change one bit in various Bible translations, but Matthew’s “after this manner therefore pray” changes to “pray like this,” “this then is how you should pray” and “pray in this way.” Another difference is that Luke’s version is a shortened version. We will not be comparing the differences but will only concentrate on what the Lord wants to teach us about Matthew 6:9 from the KJV.
“After this manner...” right away shows us that this is a pattern to follow when praying and not meant to be repeated as a prayer. His directive is that prayer should be addressed to the Father Who sits on the Throne in heaven. It’s to Him Whom we pray. And we approach Him with worship. David wrote: “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.” (Psalms 100:4) David a “man after God’s heart” (1Samuel 13:14) knew how to pray. He spent many years in his youth communing with God as he cared for his father’s sheep. He learned early on that he needed God and that only God could help him. He writes in psalms, “...I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.” (Psalms 121:1-2) David is one of these people in the Bible we want to emulate in his relationship and communion with God. This came from his early years in prayer time alone with Him.
God the Father is worthy of praise. He is Yahweh, the “I Am.” He needs no other explanation. He is. He was always. He will be forever. His awesomeness is beyond our understanding. Therefore, He is worthy of praise. There is no other way to come before Him. And Jesus has made a way for us to come before Him. We can approach the Throne Room and be in His divine presence because Jesus has made it possible for us to be clean and spotless and without sin before God the Father. “And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” (1Corinthians 6:11) He has made us children of God. “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name:” (John 1:12) So we can approach God the Father as our Father because He is our father.
This is illustrated in the words Jesus spoke to His disciples. Before His death and resurrection, Jesus calls them friends. “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.” (John 15:15) But after His resurrection, when He speaks with Mary, Jesus call His disciples His brethren and His Father, their Father. “Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to My brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto My Father, and your Father; and to My God, and your God.” (John 20:17)
So, when we pray, we come before the “I Am,” to His very presence, worshipping Him because of how great He is. But we don’t go begging and in fear for our lives. He has given us life. It’s His great mercy and love that is allowing us to be in His presence. He doesn’t grant us all the privileges of sonship with Jesus to reject us. (Romans 8:16,17) He has given to us the right to come before Him. Paul says, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16) When we have a need from our earth dads, we know they will help us. We ask them knowing they will gladly help us. God the Father is a better father than the best dad on earth. He gladly wants to help us. And we can approach Him in the same way. We ask in a reverential manner, knowing He wants to help us and is well able to help us.
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