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2025 Study of Matthew’s Gospel #3

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Matthew 6:1-18

Key Verse 6:9

1. In what ways might people practice righteousness for the wrong reasons (1)? Why do you think Jesus tells us not to make our giving to the needy a public display (2)? What attitudes or motivations is he warning us against (3-4)?
2. What do the prayers of hypocrites reveal about their hearts and focus (5)? How does Jesus want us to pray in contrast with hypocrites and pagans (6-8)? What can we learn from Jesus’ instructions about sincere and humble prayer?
3. Why do you think Jesus teaches us to begin our prayers by addressing God as “our Father in heaven” (9a)? What do the first three petitions teach us about the priorities in prayer (9b-10)? How might each of these shape the way we think and live?
4. What daily needs does Jesus include in the Lord’s Prayer, and why do you think these particular requests are important for our spiritual lives (11-13)? What does the repeated use of “us,” “we,” and “our” in the prayer teach us about our faith community? Why do you think forgiving others is such an essential part of being forgiven by God (14-15)?
5. What do the actions and attitudes of hypocrites during fasting reveal about their intentions and desires (16)? How does Jesus teach us to fast differently, and what does this suggest about the purpose and heart of true fasting (17-18)? How can we guard our hearts against hypocrisy?

2025 Matthew’s Gospel April 27, 2025

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Matthew 6:1-18

Key Verse 6:9

This, then, is how you should pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,”

I want to ask you a question: “Why should we pray? If God controls this world and everything happens according to His will, why should we bother God with our prayers? If God knows what we need before we ask him, does it make sense for us to pray?” Many people ask this question, and some might even use it as a good excuse not to pray. In fact, prayer is not just about making requests to God. Our prayer life should be much deeper and richer. One theologian introduced a simple guide for prayer using the acrostic ACTS: “A” stands for Adoration, “C” stands for Confession, “T” stands for Thanksgiving, and “S” stands for Supplication.

When we pray to God, the first thing we should do is Adoration. If you were to meet God, what would you do first? Would you immediately say, “God, please help me find a good job”? Imagine that your child didn’t contact you for a whole month and then suddenly called and said, “Dad, I don’t have money for living expenses. Please send me $3,000,” how would you feel? You would feel upset, even angry. At the least, they should ask how you’re doing, right? But because you are a good father, you would still answer your child’s request. The true purpose of prayer is to build a deep relationship with God, who is our Creator and Father. Therefore, we must recognize God’s love, patience, mercy, holiness, and justice, and praise Him first.

Next is Confession. We can make three types of confession while praying: First, the confession of our sins. When we come before the holy God, we cannot help but see our dirty sins and confess them to be cleansed. Second, the confession of our faith. We can strengthen our faith by confessing Jesus Christ as our Lord. Third, the confession of our love. When we confess our love to Jesus daily, our love for Him grows deeper.

Then, we must give Thanksgiving to God. How thankful we should be that we can eat three meals a day without worrying! How thankful we should be that after a long day of hard work, we have a home to return to and a family waiting for us! How thankful we should be that we have a church where we can serve God together, loving one another! When we start having complaints, getting angry, or falling into depression, it is because we are not thankful to God. According to Romans 1:21, the root of sin is that people neither glorify God nor give thanks to Him. As a result, their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Through daily prayer, we must learn how to give thanks to God.

Finally, we bring our Supplication before God. We ask God for the recovery of the health of our loved ones. We pray for our children to grow spiritually and also to succeed in the world. We pray for a more financially stable life. But we must always ask that everything we pray for be done according to God’s will. We pray not to change God’s will, but to discover God’s will and to obey it.

Today’s message is about The Lord’s Prayer. We know this prayer very well. Every Sunday, we sing The Lord’s Prayer at the end of our worship service. But how deeply do we really understand its meaning? Are we just memorizing and singing it out of habit? Jesus teaches us how we should pray and what we should pray for. Actually, The Lord’s Prayer is not just a simple prayer. It is about the priorities of our lives. It is about the purpose and values of our lives.

Jesus taught us about two things we must avoid when we pray. The first is praying like a hypocrite. Jesus commands us, “When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites” (5a). The word “hypocrite” originally comes from the ancient Greek word “ὑποκριτής,” which means “an actor.” Over time, the meaning changed. Today, “hypocrite” means someone who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, and principles, but does not actually possess them. The religious leaders at that time loved to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. When prayer time came, they would go to a place where people were gathered and pray in front of them. Jesus commands us, “When you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen” (6). Our prayer should be directed toward God, not toward people. When we pray in front of many people, it is easy to become conscious of the audience instead of God. It is easy to use fancy words and create a perfectly written prayer, almost as if showing off a beautiful prayer. But God is more pleased with the prayer of a tax collector who sincerely repents of his sins than with such a prayer.

The other thing we must avoid when we pray is babbling like pagans. “Babbling” means speaking quickly and unclearly, often without making sense. In those days, pagans thought of prayer like a magic spell and repeated the same words over and over again. Sometimes, we might also repeat words like “Lord, I believe” to try to have stronger faith. Some people repeatedly say, “Please give it to me” in their prayers. But what does Jesus teach us? “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (8b). Since God already knows all our needs, we don’t need to keep repeating our requests. Instead, through prayer, we need to have deep fellowship with God, discover His will, and gain His wisdom.

Then, what is the prayer that Jesus taught us? I would like to go deeply into each part of The Lord’s Prayer, but if I did, it would become too long. So instead, I will explain it in three main points.

First, Our Father in heaven. Jesus taught us to call God “our Father in heaven.” This was a shocking teaching to the Jews at that time. God had called Israel, “My son, my firstborn” (Exodus 4:22–23). But the Israelites never addressed God as Father. They considered calling God Father to be blasphemy. So when Jesus taught His disciples to call God “our Father in heaven,” the Pharisees must have been enraged. Why are we able to call God our Father? Romans 8:15 says, “The Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’” When we accepted and believed in Jesus as our Savior, we were adopted as children of God. That is why we can now call God “Abba, Father.” From the moment believers have faith in Jesus, they are given the privilege to call God “Father in heaven.” What a great blessing this is!

Some people do not have a good relationship with their fathers. Some people even hate their fathers. Some were abandoned by their fathers. Our earthly fathers are not perfect. Because of their sins, their children are often hurt and live with pain. That’s why many children do not feel much emotion when they are told to call God “Father.” For this, we, as fathers, must repent. But our Father in heaven is a perfect Father. He loves us and cares for us tenderly. He is always with us when we need Him, comforting us and giving us new strength. He is a powerful Father who can meet all our needs. When we begin our prayer by calling out “our Father in heaven,” we are entering into an intimate relationship with God. Then He fellowships with us, shows us His will, leads us in the best way, and hears our requests. Isn’t it amazing that we have such a perfect Father?

Second, the prayer for God’s name, kingdom, and will. Let’s read verses 9b–10: “Hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” This prayer teaches us that the first things we should pray for are God’s name, God’s kingdom, and God’s will. These three are deeply interconnected.

“Hallowed be your name” means that we should regard Him as holy and that this reverence and respect should mark our whole lives for God. In this secularized world, we sometimes hear people dishonoring God’s name. They boldly say that God is dead without any fear. They also look down on those who believe in Jesus and try to live according to God’s word, calling them naive or narrow-minded. Sometimes, in order to get along with them, we act as if we are not believers. But our God is not someone to be disrespected by people. On the contrary, He is the One who deserves our praise and worship. This is because He is our Creator and the Almighty God. We don’t need to argue with them. Instead, we can pray for them so that they may come to regard God as holy. We must learn how to overcome evil with good in this unbelieving world. Sometimes, it is our own wrong actions that cause unbelievers to deny God. Some even say, “Because of you, I don’t want to go to church or believe in God.” For God’s name to be hallowed, it is necessary that our lives be changed. We need to become people who are more loving and humble. We need to become people who serve others. Then unbelievers will come to praise God.

“Your kingdom come” means praying for God’s reign to come upon this earth. This world is divided between those who believe in God and those who do not. God’s rule extends over the whole world, but He has allowed the enemy, Satan, to temporarily have influence over this earth. So, Satan rules over those who do not believe in God. Those who are under Satan’s rule suffer because of the power of sin and death. “Your kingdom come” means that the gospel of salvation would be preached to them, that they would believe in Jesus, and that they would come under God’s reign. It means they would live as God’s people within God’s truth and peace. God wants us to participate in this holy mission. “Your kingdom come” is Jesus’ command for us to expand God’s kingdom on this earth through the preaching of the gospel. This prayer is the same as Jesus’ Great Commission: “Go and make disciples of all nations.”

Last Friday, we had time to share reflections on the Latin America International Conference. Grace Nam, Jacqueline Kim, Daniel Seo, and Sarah Bae Choi shared heartfelt reflections. Grace Nam was deeply touched by the missionaries who are serving faithfully in Latin America. Though they live in poverty and face many hardships, they live with the joy of serving God. Through them, Grace Nam felt ashamed and repentant for not fully carrying out her mission in the U.S. In fact, Grace Nam’s repentance may be a repentance that all of us need. It would be beneficial for us to reflect on ourselves and think about the mission we are called to fulfill in the world. Let us pray that we may participate in the holy mission of “Your kingdom come.”

What does “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” mean? Isn’t God’s will always done on this earth? Then why do we need to pray this prayer? It seems like God’s will is always done in heaven but not on earth. But that’s not the case. God’s sovereignty is perfect not only in heaven but also on earth. Jesus taught us to pray this prayer so that we may live according to God’s will. We have free will. But that doesn’t mean we should live however we want. As God’s people, we must make an effort to align our free will with God’s will. Ultimately, because God’s will is always fulfilled, our prayer should be that our will would be aligned with God’s will.

Third, the prayer for our needs. Let’s read verses 11–13: “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.”

Let’s think about “Give us today our daily bread.” This prayer is about our physical needs to sustain our lives. Bread represents the food we need and it also includes all the economic activities necessary for our daily living. America is a country that has received many blessings from God. Of course, some people in America still suffer because they lack daily bread. Some of us in our church are struggling greatly to secure our daily necessities. But for the most part, people in America do not worry about their daily bread. That’s why the prayer “Give us today our daily bread” may not feel very real to many. However, in many parts of the world, there are still many people who suffer because they do not have daily bread.

According to the 2024 Global Hunger Index, although enough food is produced to feed all 8 billion people in the world, every day 733 million people (about 1 in 11) go hungry. In Africa, 1 in 5 people suffers from hunger each day. Every year, 9 million people die from causes directly or indirectly related to hunger, and a significant portion of them are children under the age of five. One shocking fact is that 19% of the food produced globally is wasted. We need to pay attention to the word “Give US” in the prayer Jesus taught us. This prayer is not just for ourselves individually. It is a prayer for the global human community. Therefore, when we pray, “Give us today our daily bread,” we must remember our global neighbors who suffer without daily bread, especially the little children. And as Jesus’ disciples, we must take responsible actions. We need to reduce luxury and waste and have a heart to donate and serve our poor neighbors. Churches also need to allocate more offerings to help the poor.

When we pray, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors,” we may fall into deep concern. This is because we often do not fully forgive our debtors. If forgiving our debtors were the condition for being forgiven by God, we would have no right to ask for God’s forgiveness. The meaning of this teaching is that, as those who have been forgiven by God, we must make every effort to forgive others and seek reconciliation. In truth, we are not qualified to forgive others because the debt of our own sins that was forgiven by God is so great. Also, by our own strength, we cannot forgive our debtors. Only through the forgiving love of Jesus can we forgive others. We remember the message we learned last Sunday: Jesus told us to first reconcile with others before bringing our offering to God. If we do not forgive others, God will not listen to our prayers.

Lastly, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” This prayer is based on the reality that we are spiritually very vulnerable. By ourselves, we have no strength to overcome Satan’s temptations. Satan’s temptations are very sweet. We may decide that we will not look at a woman or a man lustfully, but soon after, when a sexy woman or man passes by, our eyes follow them. These days, it is so easy to access inappropriate videos through the internet, and we easily fall into sin. In addition, worldly values cause us to live chasing money and success instead of serving God. We never know when or how we might fall into temptation and drift away from God. That’s why we must pray every day, “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” As we overcome temptations each day by God’s grace and strength, we can become true disciples of Jesus.

Today, we learned about The Lord’s Prayer. This prayer is the purpose and values of our lives. I pray that we may pray and live according to The Lord’s Prayer. I pray that through this, we may live as His disciples and experience God’s kingdom on earth. Amen.