Matthew 6:9-14 “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”

Luke 11: 2-4 “And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. [3] Give us day by day our daily bread. [4] And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.”

This prayer is in reality a prayer for those who love, trust and obey the Father as the creator of heaven and earth and the “Father” of the saved. It suggests to the child of God the proper objects of prayer. There are six petitions within the prayer dealing with the holiness of God and the meeting of our personal needs:

Holiness and the will of God
1. “Hallowed be thy name”
2. “Thy kingdom come”
3. “Thy will be done”
Our personal needs
4. “Give us…our daily bread”
5. “forgive…as we forgive”
6. “deliver us from evil”

This model prayer is given in two different texts in the Bible (Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4). Both prayers contain admiration and worship of God, petition for personal needs, for forgiveness, for deliverance from temptation and the acknowledgment of the glory of God. It is to us both individually and collectively and places the acknowledgment of divine things first, but also show the importance of our moral and social responsibilities.

Our Father which art in heaven—In calling Him "Father" we express a relationship we have all known and felt surrounding us even from our infancy; but in calling Him our Father "who art in heaven," we regard the Majesty and Glory of God and understand the personal relationship that we have with God as “Father”. What a glorious revelation!

Prayer involves the worship of the Father. As our Father, God loves and cares for us. He welcomes our intimacy and fellowship as we communicate our need for Him. We must see this relationship with God as one which depends on faith and obedience.

Hallowed be thy name”—that is, "Father God, you are to be held in reverence; we regard and teat You as Holy.” It means to hold in awe, and reverence as holy and "separated from sinners" in majesty, power, and sacredness: Leviticus 22:32, "And ye shall not profane my holy name; but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel."

"Hallowed be thy name." To "hallow the name" includes not only the inward attitude and outward action of profound reverence and active praise, but also that personal godliness and loving obedience which reveals the presence of God in our life.

To understand the importance of the term, hallow, we will take a review of Exodus 29:1 which reads "This is the thing that thou shalt do unto them (Aaron and his sons) to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest's office." The whole chapter is devoted to elaborate ceremonial offerings, consisting of ablutions, endowment in priestly robes and paraphernalia, anointing with oil, the offering of a bullock for a sin offering, and of a ram, the placing of the blood of another ram upon the right ear, right thumb, right great toe of each, the wave offering, the anointing of the holy garments, and the eating of the consecrated food, all this lasting seven days, and indicating the completeness with which they were set apart, the deep necessity of purification, and the solemnity and sacredness of the office.

God's name means "Himself as revealed and manifested." Everywhere in Scripture God defines and marks off the faith and love and reverence and obedience He will have from men by the disclosures which He makes to them of who He is. It is very important that God be glorified and exalted as “King of Kings and Lord of Lords”.

Thy kingdom come—our prayers must be for the kingdom of God on earth - now and in the future. We must pray for Christ’s return and the establishment of God’s eternal kingdom in the new heaven and earth.

We pray for the presence of the Spirit of God to be manifested in and on our lives on a daily basis. The kingdom of God (heaven) signifies the coming of God to this world to assert His power and glory against Satan’s dominion. It is both a present and future reality. When we experience God’s kingdom on earth we have a life of “righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost”. Roman 14:17

Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven— The will of God is another way of saying the Law of God or the Word of God.

The will and purpose of God must be fulfilled in our lives on a daily basis. This is done as we read the Bible and make its’ teaching a priority in our lives. The Holy Spirit works with us both to “will and to do of His (God’s) good pleasure. (Phil 2:13).” The days in which we live are evil so we must understand “what the will of the Lord is” (Eph 5:17). Once we understand the will of God, we must commit ourselves to do His will. That is why it is important for us to pray that God’s “will be done” in our lives.

Give us this day our daily bread—our prayers must contain requests concerning our daily needs. In Philippians 4:19 we read “But my God shall supply all of your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus”. God is a caring Father and will meet all of our material and spiritual needs. He wants us to present them to Him. It is important to remember that these needs and wants are satisfied only by union and fellowship with the Father and Son.

And forgive us our debts— Jesus shed His blood on the cross to remove our sins and to reconcile us to God. By His blood Jesus Christ forgives the sin of all who repent and believe. This forgiveness ransoms us from the power of Satan and justifies us. We must include the petition for the forgiveness of sins in our daily prayer.

as we forgive our debtors—the same view of sin as before; only now transferred to the offenses given and received between man and man. The power of the blood of Christ is continually given to believers as they come to God through Jesus Christ. If God forgave us, we must forgive one another (Matt 6:14).

If we are unwilling to forgive others, God will not forgive our offenses and our prayers will be of no avail (Matt 18:35; Luke 11:4).

And lead us not into temptation— Christ admonishes us to be on guard against commiting sins by commiting ourselves to prayer "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation"? (Matthew 26:41).

But deliver us from evil— Jesus warns us to pray for deliverance from Satan and his schemes. We must be in constant remembrance that as long as we are in the world we are in the presence of evil, and if not careful, we will commit evil acts. For this reason we must never forget to pray for deliverance from Satan's power and schemes.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen— God reigns in glory and in majesty.

Seeking the glory of God requires us doing His will. As we hallow God's name and call for the imminent presence of His kingdom, the coming of the His kingdom (presence) will come through us doing His will. The first part calls for the second, for when His will is done by us, we receive provisions, forgiveness and deliverance from evil. While we hallow His name we are sanctified in Him.