Praying to the Father (cont.)
“The message of the kingdom of God is not an escape from earth to heaven but God's reign coming down from heaven to earth.” – Jeremy Treat
Matthew 6:9–13, author’s translation:
Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom–come! Your will–let it be done as in heaven also on earth. Give us what we need, today and everyday. Forgive us of our wrongdoing, as we forgive those who have wronged us. And do not lead us into temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.
As mentioned in the previous module, praying to God as “Father” is a distinctively Christian privilege! We follow Christ’s lead in calling God “our Father.”
Whenever we recite this prayer, the words might sound like polite requests: “Give us our daily bread,” “Forgive us our debts,” “Lead us not into temptation.” But if you look under the English translation at the original Greek construction, these verbs aren’t in the form of soft petitions or suggestions. They’re imperatives—that’s the mood we use for commands.
It’s not just a casual “please, God, if you have time.” It’s a bold, confident invocation: “Let your kingdom come!” “Let your will be done!” In the original linguistic context, these are emphatic, almost urgent directives. There’s a spiritual intensity here. This Prayer teaches us to talk to God with the boldness of sons and daughters, not mere beggars. So these imperatives invite us to participate in God’s purposes with assurance—not because of our own merit, but because God Himself has invited us. The imperative mood, then, underscores both the authority we have in prayer and the certainty that God wills to answer.
As you pray these words, remember: you’re not just asking. You’re taking hold of the promises of God with faith-filled confidence. You’re not requesting in desperation; you’re releasing heaven’s power upon the domain of earth! This prayer doesn’t just shift our perspective–it releases God's power to break into our world. As we pray, our lives become living proof that God’s reign isn’t just promised—it’s arriving.
All of this contributes to the “hallowing” of God’s name. The Greek word behind the traditional (and beloved) translation “hallowed” is hagiazō, which describes the consecration or set-apart-ness of someone or something. Perhaps it is helpful to think of the picture painted by Revelation 4:8, where the four living creatures surround the throne of God, never ceasing in their praise, shouting: “Holy, holy, holy…” The "holiness" or “hallowedness” of God is not something that gets old; they never bore or lose wonder when gazing upon God! To pray for God’s name to be “hallowed” is to call upon the Father to showcase His greatness and glory. “Hallowing” the Father is not just honoring to Him, it is helpful to us. Because “hallowing” the Father expands our awe of God. And we will never pray bigger than our revelation of God (see also Paul’s words in Ephesians 1:17–18).
From the bigness of God’s kingdom, to the provision of “daily bread” and daily forgiveness, this prayer is cosmic in scope and close to home and the cares of our daily lives. Nothing is too big or too small to bring before the Father, who is eager to “hallow” His name as he responds to our seeking Him.
Let’s hone in on “God’s will.” God’s will is often presented as something mysterious–scarcely knowable–far above our pay grade. Certainly, there is a kernel of truth in this! Romans 11:33–36 records Paul praising God for “the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God” (NIV). However, Paul writes that just after explaining some intricate component and plan of God’s will. The point is: God’s will is profound and complex, but it is far more revealed than many are readily aware! Think about Christ, who came to reveal the Father to us (John 1:18; 14:8–9); who only said and did what was in perfect harmony with the Father (John 5:19; 12:49–50). The Gospels are not only a portrait of the key events and teachings of Christ (they are, indeed!); the Gospels are a portrait of God’s will being done “on earth as in heaven.” You can know the will of God and the heart of the Father as you look at Christ.
With that, it is helpful for us to pray boldly and specifically for God’s “will to be done” when we understand the parsed difference between God’s perfect will from his permissible will.
God's perfect will refers to the ultimate objectives of God’s plan that are unchangeable and cannot be thwarted by human action.
Key examples include pivotal events such as the Incarnation (God the Son becoming a human in the person of Jesus), the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, and the imminent Second Coming of Christ—events that God sovereignly ordained and that will occur regardless of human action or consent. God’s perfect will is unshakeable. History bends toward the ultimate purposes God has sovereignly set in motion. That should fill us with awe and peace: God is in control, and nothing can stop His ultimate plan from succeeding!
God's permissible will refers to the flexible aspects of God’s plan where human participation, agency, choices, and faith are permitted to influence the outcomes.
It is like God provides a "sandbox" of parameters where humans can actively take part in His ongoing work, co-laboring with Him. We cannot thwart His perfect plan or ultimate will; but we can influence and shape the realm of events within His permissible will. This means that our faith, prayers, and actions genuinely matter and can influence outcomes of our lives and the world around us! Your life is not like being strapped into a roller coaster where you are buckled in and mercilessly tossed around to and fro whether you like the ride or not! Rather, our lives have God’s sovereign direction, but like a roadtrip with a point A and B, there are many alternative routes and stops and side-adventures that are possible.
Think about it like this: there are many things that God has already permitted to say “Yes” to that require you to receive by asking for it. This is precisely what Christ tells us just one chapter later in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7:7–11, which you might want to pause to read!). Few people in Church history had a higher view of God’s sovereignty than that of the 1800’s London preacher, Charles H. Spurgeon. Even he understood the role we have in asking as it pertains to the rule of receiving answers in prayer. “Whether we like it or not,” Spurgeon says, “Asking is the rule of the Kingdom. If you may have everything by asking in His Name, and nothing without asking, I beg you to see how absolutely vital prayer is.”
An another occasion, Spurgeon said: “All heaven lies before the grasp of the asking man; all the promises of God are rich and inexhaustible, and their fulfillment is to be had by prayer.” Let’s please not miss this: Our prayers, faith, and obedience play a mysterious but indispensible role in the outcomes and the affairs of the world and our personal lives.
Just because something is part of God’s permissible will, does not mean it will happen automatically. We are called to pray, to ask, to seek, to knock, to invoke God’s name, kingdom, and will. In this prayerful participation, we see God’s will become reality! Prayer is where we access the answers God delights to give us. Prayer is the active posture that readily receives what He is ready to give so that when He gives it to us, He gets the glory and praise from us!
Prayer is not a religious duty to keep us busy until Jesus returns, but an invitation to make a tangible difference. We are to pray with expectation, believing that impossible situations will bow to the name of Jesus and the hallowing of the Father. Wouldn’t it be the strangest thing if our Lord Jesus taught us to pray like this only for the ritualistic motions without anything actually happening in response to it? In other words, why would Jesus charge us to pray this way if prayer doesn’t affect reality?
- 1 John 5:14–15 (CSB) 14 This is the confidence we have before him: If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked of him.
- Matthew 6:10 (CSB) Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
We are exhorted to pray for God’s “will to be done” followed by the traditional translation “on earth as in heaven.” Another way to translate that phrase from Greek to English is: “as in heaven also on earth.” This rendering reflects the word order the original Greek construction has of that phrase. Fronting “as in heaven” might have been a way to draw our attention heavenward before we look at the chaos and crises we have on earth. It allows us to pray with heaven’s perfect paradigm in mind first–where our inheritance and citizenship are; where we are already “seated” (according to Ephesians 2:6). After all, heaven and earth have a wedding date on the eschatological calendar of God’s final plan (see Revelation 21:1–22:5).
So, when we pray “on earth as in heaven” prayers, we are asking for the future promises of “heaven on earth” to invade the present circumstances, like appetizers before the main course! With that, we can pray boldly for God to heal (for example) because—other than rare exceptions—sickness doesn’t reflect “on earth as in heaven.” Do we see how much this challenges our status quo? Do we see how practical this prayer becomes?
This prayer is meant to be prayed—and prayed with the expectation that it will alter the fabric of reality between heaven and earth! Jesus gave us this prayer because he knows the Father and is revealing the Father to us. Pray like this, because this is the kind of prayer the Father will certainly answer! Did Jesus ever teach us to pray for the sun to rise the next day? Nope. Why? Because that doesn’t need prayer. That will happen. The prayer he gave us reveals God’s heart for our lives and world, but it takes our participation. When we pray the “Our Father” we are coming into agreement with God’s kingship and rule—receiving it for ourselves and releasing it to those around us! All of the entreaties in the “Our Father” prayer assume a positive answer, that God will respond positively to those requests! When we get THIS, we will have fresh energy to incorporate this paradigm of prayer into daily life—probably even multiple times a day! Prayer isn’t just our words rising to our Father in heaven; it’s God’s kingdom power descending into our reality and redeeming earth’s story.
Prayer is a hospitable action. God’s kingdom comes upon invitation and invocation. Through prayer, we don’t just wait for the kingdom of God—we welcome it.
Try This
This was a dense module, but foundational and vital to everything else that will be covered in this prayer pathway. So, pause for a moment. Go back through your highlights, and jot down your biggest takeaways in a way that makes sense to you. Remember, while prayer is something we grow in through practice, never overlook how understanding and insight will shape the way you connect with God. Use the discussion question prompts below to help you capture your insights.
We will make this prayer into a prayer tool in our next module. But first, let’s discuss what you are processing here.
Discuss
- If necessary, wait to move to the discussion until you have had a chance to take the action step above.
- What resonated from this lesson?
- How did your understanding of “God’s will” increase or feel challenged? How does the concept of God’s perfect will and permissive will motivate you to pray?
- How do you feel challenged to pray with greater boldness?