Matthew 6:5 – 14

5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.

9 In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.

10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.

13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Verse 5 continues the thought of doing things with the motive of being seen by other people. Like doing good, prayer is not condemned for doing it in a public place. It is the reason for the prayer which is condemned by Jesus. If you pray to be seen by others, then their belief that you are a “Christian” is your reward.

Your prayer is not condemned for being done in a public place, because at times a public prayer is not only appropriate but it is also necessary, but your motive for prayer is to communicate with God. God is in a secret place where man's eyes cannot see, even if you are a strong believer, you cannot see God and where He is.

A prayer with vain repetitions(saying the, same things over and Over again for the sake of taking up time, or for the purpose of making a favorable impression.) is not approved of by Jesus. Our prayers should be brief and simple yet worded to apply to the occasion which caused the prayer be needed. Our prayers are not a memorized prayer, which chanted out because of the rite used during some worship services.

Verse 8 tells us we are not in the position to inform God of anything. He knows what we need. It gives us as believers an opportunity to show our faith in our Heavenly Father.

Verse 9 “After this manner” shows us that Jesus never intended what we call “The Lord's Prayer” to be our prayer or the prayer the apostles were told to use when communicating with God. This is an example of the proper form or structure of a prayer. The prayer is like a letter, it begins with who it is addressed to: “Our Father in Heaven.”

“Hallowed be thy name.” means the name of our heavenly Father is holy.

Verse 10 was appropriate for the disciples to use at that time. Both Jesus and John the “baptist” taught that the kingdom was near. The kingdom referred to in verse ten is not the Heavenly kingdom of after the day of judgment. Jesus was telling them to pray for the coming of the church, which is the kingdom which would come soon.

For us to pray “Your kingdom come. Your will be done” or “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done,” is inappropriate and unscriptural for us to do because the church has been established for two thousand years now.

Verse 11 gives us two outstanding thoughts. “Daily” is from a Greek word which means “necessary” meaning we need to pray for what we need and not what we want. “This day” means we need to pray daily for the things we need, even if God already knows what we need.

Verse 12 is a reminder to us that we will be treated by God as we treat others. If we are not forgiving of others then God will see us as someone not worthy of his grace of forgiving us when we sin against Him.

Verse 13 has a few words which tend to seem conflicting with what we know of God. God does not tempt humans with sin. So we do not need to ask him not to tempt us. What this verse really means, the word temptation comes from the Greek which means, adversity, affliction, or trouble. And the word “evil” means hardships. Meaning the trials of life. We are asking God to help us through the daily grind of living here on earth.

“For Yours is the kingdom the power and the glory” means that God created the earth and everything in it and can control it. He can control the elements we face and can give us assistance as He wills.

Verses 14 and 15 echo the words of verse 12. If we are not forgiving of others then God will not be forgiving of us.