Matthew 6.

7-15
Laurens Pruis

Translation
7. But when you pray, do not stammer on and on like the gentiles, for they assume that
in their many words they will be heard.
8. So, do not be like them, for your Father knows the need you have before you ask.
9. Therefore, pray like this: Our Father, who is in heaven; your name be sanctified,
10. your Kingdom come, your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.
11. Give us today our needed bread,
12. and forgive us our sins, as also we forgive those who sinned against us,
13. and do not bring us into testing, but deliver us from the evil one.
14. For if you forgive people their sins, your Father in heaven will also forgive you,
15. but if you do not forgive people, neither will your Father forgive your sins.

Textual Observations
6.7 This part of Jesus’ teaching on the mount concerns prayer. Before he instructs
his disciples about prayer positively, he gives them a negative example. They
should not be like the gentiles, who apparently stammer many words
(“βατταλογέω”), thinking that they can manipulate the deity into hearing them.
Allison and Davies observe: “the temptation to hope that the deity will hear if
supplication be sufficiently lengthy is probably built in to human nature—
whence the necessity to be reminded that before God words are neither
efficacious in themselves nor in any sense magical.”1
6.8 Remarkably, Jesus tells them to not be like the gentiles, because God, unlike the
pagan deities, already knows what their need is. Jesus also uses the familial and
quite revolutionary term ‘Father’ (Πατὴρ) to refer to God. Indeed, he even
identifies God as ‘your’ Father.
6.9-10 In contrast with the gentiles, Jesus’ disciples are to pray a simple and
straightforward prayer. They may address God as their Father, and should start
their prayer with a God-focused attitude. Also, it is significant that they are
addressing their Father ‘who is in heaven’ (ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς). Not only does it
have significance in Matthew’s narrative (see Narrative Analysis below), this
clause forms a bracket around the first three requests (see structure below).
These three requests follow the same pattern (Aorist Imperative; -θήτω/-θέτω
ending + Nominative Noun + σου), making them easy to remember and creating
a neat structure. It seems to me that the phrase “as in heaven, so on earth” (ὡς ἐν
οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς), must be interpreted as referring to all three requests. God’s
name is already holy in heaven, his Kingdom is already present in heaven, and
his will is already done in heaven; the prayer is that the earth would start
reflecting this. The first three requests, then, not only ask for something, they
also acknowledge the reality of the holiness of God’s name, the reality of his
heavenly reign and the reality of his sovereign will.
6.10-11 After starting the prayer with a heavenly/Godward focus, the model-prayer turns
its attention to earth. Verse 10 seems to neatly reflect this transition: we move
from heavenly request, to earthly ones (even though our English translation flip
the order around, the Greek reads ‘as in heaven, so on earth’). Again, we find

1
W. D. Davies and Dale C. Allison Jr., A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according to Saint
Matthew, vol. 1, International Critical Commentary (London; New York: T&T Clark International, 2004), 588.
 three requests. These three, instead of focusing on God (‘σου’), focus on our
need (‘ἡμῶν/ἡμῖν’). The first one is very straightforward and ‘earthly’: we need
food every day, and thus we should ask God for this. As Jesus already
acknowledged, God obviously already knows we need food. Yet, Jesus still calls
us to pray for this. Jesus teaches us that prayer is not about making God aware of
some need he did not know about yet. It is about acknowledging our need and
trusting in the only one who is ultimately providing for all we need.
6.12 The second ‘earthly’ request acknowledges our need once again; we are sinners
who need forgiveness. Interestingly, Jesus adds a clause here, seemingly making
our forgiveness dependent on whether we forgive others. As if he expects our
questions, he will explain and make this teaching more explicit after he finishes
the prayer (see 6.14-15 below).
6.13 The third ‘earthly’ request that Jesus instructs his disciples to address in their
prayer is for God not to lead them into testing/temptation (πειρασμόν), but rather
deliver them from the evil one (τοῦ πονηροῦ). This could either refer to ‘evil’ in
general, or to the ‘evil one’. But because of the specific connection with Jesus’
earlier testing/temptation in chapter 4 (see narrative analysis below), I believe it
should be understood as referring to the devil.
6.14-15 After wrapping up the final ‘earthly’ request, Jesus returns to the puzzling
request of verse 12. Does he really mean that God will not forgive people who
do not forgive others? Yes, he really means that. He doubles down: the Father
(who is in heaven!) will not forgive those on earth who do not forgive others on
earth. To make this point abundantly clear, he spells out the only two options:

Action: If (ἐὰν) you forgive people their sins

 Result: The Father in heaven will also forgive you.
Action: If (ἐὰν) you do not (μὴ) forgive people their sins
 Result: The Father will also not (οὐδὲ) forgive you.

Structure of the Lord’s Prayer2

Our Father, 6.9
a. Who is in heaven,
1. Your Name be sanctified
2. Your Kingdom come 6.10
3. Your will be done
b. As in heaven, so on earth,
1. Give us daily bread 6.11
2. Forgive us our sins 6.12
3. Deliver us from the evil one 6.13

Narrative Analysis
- Our text is located in Jesus’ first extended discourse in the Gospel of Matthew (5:1-
7:29), also known as the sermon or teaching on the mount. Coming out of chapters 3
and 4, we have seen both John the Baptist and Jesus himself announce the coming of
the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus has opened his ‘sermon’ by teaching on what this
Kingdom of Heaven looks like and what type of people may enter, by means of the
beatitudes. Throughout his teaching, he continues presenting and explaining the
unexpected nature of this heavenly kingdom. So also in the model-prayer. He evokes
the Kingdom of Heaven theme by locating the one to whom the disciples prays in
2
See Appendix 1.
 heaven (ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς). Also, the disciples are to pray for heavenly realities to
become visible on earth. Jesus is both announcing that the Kingdom of Heaven is near
(Matt. 4:17) and instructing his disciples to pray for its realization. Also, by calling
the heavenly Father their Father, this makes the disciples children. In other words,
they are heavenly children, children of the heavenly kingdom.
- The last request of this model prayer has an interesting aspect to it. One might say that
the request ‘proper’ here is about God delivering his saints from the evil one. But
remarkably, it starts of by asking whether God would not lead his disciples into
temptation/testing (πειρασμόν) in the first place. In context, this would potentially
make readers think back of Matthew 4, where Jesus is tempted/tested (πειρασθῆναι;
Matt. 4:1) in the wilderness by the evil one, the devil! Whereas, seemingly, Jesus had
to go through this experience ‘alone’, himself resisting and overcoming the evil one,
his disciples may pray that their Father would deliver them from such
temptation/testing.
- Potentially the most surprising part of this prayer, as discussed briefly above, is the
fact that the Father’s forgiveness seems to be dependent on whether we forgive others.
As noted, Jesus doubles down on this teaching right away: this is indeed what he was
saying. Later in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus teaches an entire parable on the subject,
with once again the same point. It is in context of Peter asking how many times Jesus
wants his disciples to forgive, to which Jesus answers: seventy-seven times (Matt.
18:21-22). Then he proceeds to compare the Kingdom of Heaven to a king who
graciously forgives a servant a great debt (18:27), after which this very servant does
not forgive one of his debtors (18:28). The result is the same as in the passage under
consideration here: the servant will still have to pay his debt (32-34). Jesus concludes:
“So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your
brother from your heart” (18:35). The point is very clear: the citizens of the Kingdom
of Heaven are forgiven themselves and thus forgive others. They reflect the nature of
the Kingdom of Heaven. They are like their Father: they forgive. If they are not
marked by this trait, they are simply not part of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Canonical Significance
Praying with few words: Ecclesiastes 5:2
Our text has a peculiar connection with Ecclesiastes 5:2, as the preacher there is also
instructing his readers to not come before God in prayer with many words. He says: “Be not
rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God”. He also gives a
reason for this: “for God is in heaven (ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ; LXX; cf. Matt. 6:9) and you are on
earth (ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς; cf. Matt. 6:10). Therefore let your words be few.” It is as if Jesus further
explains and concretizes the instructions of the Solomon. Indeed, Jesus, in many ways, is the
new and better Solomon; King of Israel, Preacher of wisdom, superior Sage. The fact that
God is in heaven in Ecclesiastes 5 seems to emphasize his sovereign and exalted state. We
ought not presume to approach him with many words and manipulative babbling. God knows
our heart and he is to be approached with humble reverence. This might give us some insight
on what Jesus means by the fact that the Father is in heaven; it is like he is saying:
Remember, “God is in heaven, and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few” (Eccl.
5:2).

God’s Holy Name: Ezekiel 36:23, Isaiah 29:23

Jesus instructs his disciples to pray that God’s name (ὄνομά) might be ‘hallowed’, ‘holy’ or
‘sanctified’ (ἁγιασθήτω; 6:9). In context of the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven—which,
as we have seen earlier in the Gospel of Matthew, goes hand in hand with the fulfillment of
the promised (spiritual) return from exile, the new Exodus and prophecies of God’s restoring
reign over the entire earth—this clause might cause one to think of texts like Isaiah 29:22-23,

“Therefore thus says the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of
Jacob: “Jacob shall no more be ashamed, no more shall his face grow pale. For when
he sees his children, the work of my hands, in his midst, they will sanctify
(ἁγιάσουσιν) my name (ὄνομά); they will sanctify (ἁγιάσουσιν) the Holy One of
Jacob and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.”

or Ezekiel 36:23,

“And I will vindicate the holiness (ἁγιάσω; LXX) of my great name (ὄνομά), which
has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them.
And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through
you I vindicate my holiness (ἁγιασθῆναί) before their eyes.”

Both of these texts speak of Israel’s return from exile and their restoration as God’s people.
Once again, then, we see that the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven coincides with the great
promises of God’s restoring reign and the definitive end of the exile as prophesied in the
Hebrew Scriptures. The citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven are to pray for these ‘heavenly’
things to become reality on earth.

God’s will on earth: Jeremiah 9:24

As mentioned above, there is a sense in which the ‘heavenly’ requests are not merely
requests, but also acknowledgments of heavenly realities. Jesus teaches his disciples to pray
that God’s will (θέλημά) might be done, as in heaven, so on earth (γῆς). This might lead
readers to think of Jeremiah 9:24, where God asserts: “I am the Lord who practices steadfast
love, justice, and righteousness in the earth (γῆς, LXX). For in these things I delight
(θέλημά), declares the Lord”. There is a sense in which ‘θέλημά’ conveys not only ‘will’ but
also ‘delight’ or ‘desire’. In Jeremiah 9, God is telling Israel that he will judge them, which is
his will/delight. He is establishing righteousness and justice on the earth. In a similar way, the
citizens of the Heavenly Kingdom are to pray for God to practice his heavenly love, justice
and righteousness on earth; to come through and manifest his will/delight. This implies an
acknowledgment that ultimately God is sovereign; his will/delight will prevail, as in heaven,
so on earth.

Daily Bread: Exodus 16

The request for daily bread seems to implicitly draw on Exodus 16, where God provides
manna for Israel in the wilderness. Allison and Davies concur: “In our judgement, the most
plausible solution will have to take into account the implicit allusion to the story of the
gathering of the manna in Exod 16, where God is the source of food, specifically bread (=
manna), where several phrases employing ἡμέρα are found (vv. 1, 4, 5, 22, 26, 27, 29, 30),
and where δίδωμι is used (vv. 8, 15, 29; cf. Ps 77:24 LXX; Jn 6:32).”3 In Exodus 16, it is
imperative that the Israelites trust God to provide for them for that day, and not take manna
for the next day. This, then, would emphasize the fact that Jesus’ disciples are not to be
anxious about tomorrow’s bread, but day by day trust God to provide what is needed for that
day; a theme he further develops in that same chapter (6:31-34).

3
Davies and Allison, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according to Saint Matthew, vol. 1,
608.
Application
Fallen Condition
- In this passage, the fallen condition of man is present in multiple senses. First of all,
there is the observation that human beings think they can manipulate the deities to
come through with blessing by using many crafty words and repetitious speech. The
reason for prayer itself is also a reminder of our fallen condition: we pray for God’s
Name to be sanctified on earth, his kingdom to come on earth and his will to be done
on earth, because we see it is not so right now! On top of that, the brokenness is not
only around us, but resides in us! We are needy people, who cannot survive if God
does not provide us with food, who would perish if God does not forgive our
transgressions, and who would be overcome by the devil if God would not deliver us.
Both the world around us and we ourselves are fundamentally broken and deeply
affected by the Fall. And it is ultimately human sin that caused this to be a reality.

Redemptive Solution
- Yet, Jesus teaches his disciples to pray! Why? Because the Father knows what we
need, and because he is willing to give us what we need! We pray for God to sanctify
his Name, do all his just and righteous will and establish his Kingdom of Heaven on
earth, because Jesus has already come to bring the Kingdom of Heaven. We pray for
God to forgive us, because Jesus has already come to be our sacrifice by means of
which we can be forgiven. We pray for God to not lead us into temptation but deliver
us from the evil one, because Jesus was led into temptation for us and has already
overcome the evil one, both in the wilderness and on the cross! These prayers would
be useless, were it not for Jesus himself, who came from heaven to earth to bring the
heavenly realities and establish them on earth. Jesus teaches us to pray like this
because Jesus made these prayers possible for us.

Virtue Formation
- This passage, very straightforwardly, also teaches us about how we ought to think
about prayer, and how we ought to pray. First of all, we should not think about prayer
as making God aware of something he did not already know. Therefore, prayer is
more about changing us than about changing God. We come to God because we
acknowledge we are needy, we acknowledge that the solution of the world’s and our
own brokenness resides in him and we should believe that God is willing to come
through for us on behalf of Christ. Allison and Davies aptly summarize: “So prayer,
the purpose of which is not to exercise the tongue, does not inform or remind God of
anything; it is instead worship, and it serves to cleanse the mind, purify the heart, and
align one’s will with God’s will (cf. 6:10); it recalls to the supplicant who God is and
what his purposes are.”4
- Secondly, the first half of the prayer is entirely God-focused. We want to be people
who pray for God’s name to be sanctified in this world, for God’s kingdom to become
visible on the earth and for God’s will to be done all around us. If we are to pray
rightly, we ought to get on board with his agenda. We ought to view the world
through the heavenly lens.
- Thirdly, even though God knows all we need before we ask, we should still ask!
- Fourthly, we should forgive others! If we truly believe God in Christ has forgiven us,
it is simply impossible for us to not forgive our neighbor. We must remind ourselves
that God has forgiven us a greater debt than anyone could ever owe us. So if we are
4
Davies and Allison, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according to Saint Matthew, vol. 1,
590.
not willing to forgive others, we have simply not experienced the gospel. Forgiven
people forgive. So, we should actively focus our attention on forgiving others, truly
reflecting our Father and the realities of our heavenly home.
Appendix 1:

Structure of The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, 6.9
a. Who is in heaven,
1. Your Name be sanctified
2. Your Kingdom come 6.10
3. Your will be done
b. As in heaven, so on earth,
1. Give us daily bread 6.11
2. Forgive us our sins 6.12
3. Deliver us from the evil one 6.13

Structure Matthew 6.9-15

9 Πάτερ ἡμῶν
ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς·
ἁγιασθήτω τὸ ὄνομά σου·
10 ἐλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου·
γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημά σου,
ὡς ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς·
11 τὸν ἄρτον ἡμῶν τὸν ἐπιούσιον δὸς ἡμῖν σήμερον·
12 καὶ ἄφες ἡμῖν τὰ ὀφειλήματα ἡμῶν, ὡς καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀφήκαμεν τοῖς ὀφειλέταις
ἡμῶν·
13 καὶ μὴ εἰσενέγκῃς ἡμᾶς εἰς πειρασμόν, ἀλλὰ ῥῦσαι ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ.

14 Ἐὰν γὰρ ἀφῆτε τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τὰ παραπτώματα

αὐτῶν,
ἀφήσει καὶ ὑμῖν ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος·
15 ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἀφῆτε τοῖς ἀνθρώποις,
οὐδὲ ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ἀφήσει τὰ παραπτώματα ὑμῶν.