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This does not mean that the prayer was never meant to be used, but rather to watch
carefully that constant repetition does not cause one to become too used to the
phraseology and therefore deadened to its meaning.
There is no agreement as to the number of petitions in this prayer, any more than the
number of the Beatitudes. But it seems obvious that the prayer is divided into two parts,
the first relating to God alone and the second concerning human needs. Each part
consists of three petitions, which is in line with Matthew's constant grouping in triplets.
It is important to note that the petitioner should begin with God and not his own wants or
needs. Too often prayer is only real to us when we are in desperate straits and then it
consists of our needs only.
We should remember that this prayer is addressed to Israelites who had close links
with God by covenant ties. Their favoured position is described by Paul in Rom. 9: 3-5
and thus they could look on Him as Father (see Deut. 32: 6; Isa. 63: 16; Jer. 31: 9).
The idea of the universal fatherhood of God is unscriptural and therefore untrue.
John.i.12 states "as many as received Him, to them gave He the right (power) to become
the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name". All may be related to God as
Creator, but redemption is necessary to restore the relationship as Father.
Which art in heaven. This may not convey much to us as there is little description of
it in the Bible, probably because it is beyond the power of human words to express it.
Heaven is used in the singular and the plural. We even have the phrase above all heavens
(Eph. 4: 10) which describes the Saviour's supreme exaltation at His ascension and His
going back to the glory that was His before Bethlehem.
Hallowed be Thy Name. God's Names represent His nature and character so far as
this can be known. It is a fascinating and profitable study to consider the various Names
of God which occur in His Word, each one making known some facet of His infinite
greatness.
The word `hallow' may mean "make holy" which is impossible with regard to God
Who is already holy. It can also mean "make known as holy", or "regard as holy" and
this is what is meant here. While the relationship with God to His children as Father is
true and encourages all such to come to Him, nevertheless this must be without any
irreverent familiarity. Reverence must always characterize our approach to God.
Thy Kingdom come. This shows obviously that the complete fluffiest of this great
Kingdom is yet future. We need to beware of the frequent spiritualization which makes
this mean no more than God's rule in the mind of the believer here and now. Of course it
starts here, but its great outworking goes much further than this, as the Scriptures show.
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. This tells us at least two things--(1) the
kingdom of heaven, though heavenly in origin and character, will be realized on the
earth, and (2) it will be a time when God's will is paramount as it is now in heaven. The
Beatitude had already promised that "the meek should inherit the earth", and this but