The Theology of Prayer (2)
Deconstructing the Lord’s Prayer.
This model prayer for Jesus’s disciples is similar to the one in the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 6:9–13), but much shorter. Apparently, the disciples were motivated to learn to pray by both Jesus’s example and that of John the Baptist and his disciples. It was unusual for Jews to refer to God as Father. Such an address would seem too personal and familiar. Even though Luke emphasized the offer of the kingdom of God (4:43) and the nearness of the kingdom in Jesus’s ministry (10:9, 11), some aspects of the kingdom are still future (your kingdom come). All people are dependent on the Lord to meet their daily needs, as in give us … our daily bread. In debt refers to what is “owed” to us spiritually (i.e., having been sinned against). The phrase do not bring us into temptation is in contrast with Christ himself, who was led by the Holy Spirit to be tested by Satan (see note at 4:1–2). See also note on Mt 6:13.