Pentecost Week 20 - The Lord’s Prayer Pt. 2

5 hours ago

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Scripture Reading

*Explain the context: “This week, we will read the next part of Jesus’ model prayer, the Lord’s Prayer.”

Matthew 6:9-10

Big Idea (For Parents)

We pray first in a Godward direction, insisting that God’s name be hallowed, God’s kingdom come, and God’s will be done.

Family Reflection

(Read aloud or summarize)

We have seen that the 10 Commandments may be grouped into two halves, the first focusing on our relationship to God and the second focusing on our relationship to man. The Lord’s prayer follows the same structure. It contains 6 main requests, and the forms of the Greek verbs used neatly group them into two halves, the first three focusing primarily Godward and the last three focusing primarily manward.

In this text, we see the three Godward requests grouped together. The verb forms used for these is uncommon for prayers (and different from the more common form used in the manward requests), probably to express urgency and insistence that God grant the requests.

We first insist that God’s name must be treated as holy (or “hallowed”), meaning in part that all people humbly acknowledge the true God to be absolutely unique and above all his creation. Second, we insist that God’s kingdom must come to earth. This means in part that all of earth’s institutions and individuals must be submitted to God’s life-giving Law. Third, we insist that God’s will must be done as fully, immediately, and gladly on earth as it is in heaven. In all these ways, we are insisting that earth become “heavenized.”

Thus, Jesus teaches us to pray first with Godward requests that insist that the glory, government and goodness of God be experienced on earth as fully as they are in heaven. And since we have been given dominion over earth, we implicitly insist that the heavenization of earth begin with us as individuals and churches. We first look up and urge God to do everything necessary for the reality of his name, kingdom and will to transform us and then, through us, the whole world.

Discussion Questions

(Choose 1-2. Adjust for age.)

1- Why do you think the three primarily Godward requests come first in the Lord’s prayer before the three primarily manward requests?

2- Although the three Godward requests deal with God’s name, kingdom and will, they are not disconnected from earth and its people. How do the Godward requests relate to earth and its people?

(Hint: Think, what would happen to earth and its people if God fully answered ‘yes’ all those requests?)

3- We previously learned in the Third Commandment that God commands us, as Christians, to carry God’s name in a way that speaks truth about him rather than lies. How does that commandment relate to the Lord’s prayer request insisting that God’s name must be treated as holy (or “hallowed”)?

Practice—In Our House as It Is in Heaven

God’s heavenization of earth comes through God’s heavenization of us first. Pray and ask God to help you think of one way your home could become more heavenized this week. Aim for concrete things that you will be able to clearly determine are or are not done. Choose one, commit to it as a family, and pray that the Lord will work inner change in your family through that heavenized outer practice this week.