Bible Study with the Cincotti’s – Our Father – 12/14/2025
Today’s Bible Study, Authored by Arthur Cincotti.
Listen to our Bible Study Discussion at: Our Father Bible Study Audio Podcast
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Our Father
“Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray as John also taught his disciples.” Lk. 11:1
Considering all the foolish questions the disciples asked Jesus; “Lord, should we rain down fire from heaven upon them?” “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” “Lord, may we sit on Your right hand and your left when you come into your kingdom?” with this one they finally got it right. Their intimate fellowship with Jesus revealed to them the richness of His prayer life to a degree that they longed for it. We have reduced this prayer to a rote recitation that often lacks impact and meaning. Today we will look more closely at the Mt. 6:9-13 version of the prayer in order to extract more of what Jesus intended for us.
An enhanced and more vibrant prayer life should always be on our docket. We see many glimpses. in the narrative of Scripture, of the frequency and intensity of Jesus prayer. The apostle Paul picks us the gauntlet, saying things like, “we…do not cease to pray for you…” to the church in Colosse; and, “Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers:” to the church in Ephesus.
We have said, in the past, that prayer is a two-way conversation with God, in which it is far more important to listen than to speak. Though we endorse “free prayer” which is praying your heart, we at the same time take no issue with scripted prayer, especially scripted prayer that Jesus gives us. We should, however always be mindful of what we are saying, both in essence and in text.
In the ramp up to the Matthew passage, Jesus says, “And when you pray, you should 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. 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. 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. Therefore do not be like them, for your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.
In this manner pray” Mt. 6:5-8
“Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.” Mt. 6:9
Immediately we see an amazing contrast. Jesus is inviting believers to use very intimate language by calling God (Yahweh) “Father”, and yet, with the very next words He renders the majesty of where He is and Who He is. He is Holy. The Jews wouldn’t even use the personal name of God. On one occasion they sought to kill Jesus because He said that, “God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.” Jn. 5:18. Just in order to temper and clarify the language, many were called, “sons of God” in the OT; Israel, the divine council, Adam, David. We mustn’t be confused between the “only begotten,” Beloved, Sonship represented by the second person of the trinity, and the sonship that Jesus is inviting us into.
I like to personalize the prayer from the beginning by saying, “My Father” or sometimes, just, “Dad.”
“Your kingdom come. Your will be done. On earth as it is in heaven.”
This is a proclamation and a prophetic word. God’s intent is to reestablish His kingdom here on earth which was forfeited because of sin. Ps. 2:8 says, “Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance.” We come into agreement with this when we proclaim it in prayer and then walk it out.
“Give us this day our daily bread.” Mt. 6:11
This request has many dimensions. First and most obvious is our basic needs. Further along, in Mt. 6:31-32, Jesus says, “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” It is good for us to ask God and to thank God for our provision. He is the source of all things. But Jesus also says, “Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Mt. 4:4. Is He really talking about food, or truth, or Himself, in the prayer. Pr. Jeff Haynor adds and interesting glimpse into this verse. He points out that Num. 14:9 says, “Only do not rebel against the LORD, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the LORD is with us. Do not fear them.” Essentially this is saying to us that God is giving our enemies into our hands. Ps 23:5 also confirms, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies” Actually, they’re on the menu.
“Forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. Mt. 6:12
Different translations given for “debts” can be: “offenses” Knox; “the wrong we have done” NEB; and “sins” from Lk. 11:4
God alone can forgive sin. David says, in Ps. 51:4, “Against You, You only, have is sinned.” All sin is high treason against God, but His forgiveness is always before us. I Jn. 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This is the centerpiece of the Christian faith. The thing that scares me about this verse, though, is the word, “as.” What if God is saying that He will forgive us to the extent, or in the way that we forgive others. 🙁 This should compel us to seriously up our game in regard to forgiveness. Jesus emphasizes this at the end of the prayer: “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Mt. 6:14-15. This is a hard word!
“And do not lead us into temptation,” Mt. 6:13
This is not to say that there is the possibility that God might lead us into temptation unless we ask Him not to. Js. 1:13 clarifies for us, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.” This is why we compare Scripture with Scripture. Instead, I believe that this verse is saying, “lead us away from temptation.” In our pilgrimage we will potentially cross many situations that pose temptation. Best to just avoid them when possible. A tower of a verse to help us with temptation is,
I Co. 10:13, which says, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” In this manner we can refine our prayer to be specific.
“But deliver us from the evil one.” Mt. 6:13
This is part of the same sentence and we can easily see how it is a continuation of thought. Some translations say, “deliver us from evil.” Temptation and evil give sway to the ugly fact that we have an enemy constantly trying to draw is back into the bondage of sin. Rm. 6:20-20 says, “For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.” The emphasis of these verses is that we need deliverance; yes, even after we are saved. Our Calvinist friends like to point out that we didn’t save ourselves and we can’t sanctify ourselves; we need God’s help, and we should proactively ask for it and expect it. Deliverance is a complicated subject which deserves its own study, but suffice to say, we are stalked constantly by evil which we cannot repel in our own flesh, apart from Christ. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Ph. 4:13
“For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” And I add, Amen! Let us never forget to Whom we belong.
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