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think they can compel Him to do what He is unwilling to do and some call this
`prevailing prayer'!
The Lord Jesus not only condemns this, but reminds us that our heavenly Father
knows our needs before we pray to Him. He does not need any information on this point
and believers should constantly remember prayer is never presented in the Bible as a
means of bending God to our will. Rather it is the opposite; it is bringing us to leave all
to His will as the model kingdom prayer, about to be given, enjoins. And we have a
wonderful example of this in the Lord's statement in Gethsemane ". . . . . not My will, but
Thine be done" (Luke 22: 42).
If we do not do this, then such wrong praying can be dangerous as Israel learned to
their cost. They had tired of the heavenly provision of the delicious manna. We need
flesh to eat was their constant complaint and prayer. Psa. 106: 14, 15 gives us the sad
result:
"they . . . . . lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert. And He
gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul",
and the O.T. records the stern judgment that followed from the Lord. And all this is the
result of repeatedly asking God for something that they wanted, but was contrary to His
will.
The model prayer, suited to those believers who were keenly desirous of entering the
Kingdom now follows:
"This is how you should pray.
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.
Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one" (6: 9-13, N.I.V.).
There is no doubt that this is the best known prayer of the Bible, for all who profess to
be Christians are taught it from their earliest days, and it enters into practically every
church service. Did the Lord intend this? He said `after this manner' (or `in this way')
not necessarily `in these words'. Professor A. T. Robertson says:
". . . . . He gives them a model. He Himself did not use it as a liturgy (cf. John 17:).
There is no evidence that Jesus meant it for liturgical use by others. In Luke 11: 2-4
practically the same prayer is given at a later time by Jesus to the apostles in response to a
request that He teach them how to pray" (Word Pictures of the New Testament, p.52).