“And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.”
Matthew 6: 12

Jesus teaches that our relationships with God and our neighbours are closely tied. This was different from the tradition in which Jesus was raised and appears contrary to the world’s mindset today. Today, the typical human assumption is that the violator must ask for forgiveness before the wronged party can be expected to accept the apology and grant forgiveness. The cry “Never forget and never forgive” has been echoed throughout history. But Jesus asks the person wronged to forgive the one responsible for the wrongdoing even when there is no confession of guilt.

Is this possible? Can I forgive someone who has caused me great pain and sorrow? Can Christians who have suffered at the hands of oppressive governments, forgive them for years of murder and mayhem? This is a tricky question to which those of us who have never endured such suffering. We cannot presume to give easy answers. Yet a voice from the cross echoes across history to all, saying: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Neither Pilate, the high priest, nor the centurion offered any apology to Jesus, yet he prayed for divine forgiveness for them amid their brutality to him. Jesus acted out the second half of this prayer on the cross in total innocence of wrongdoing. This is not the cry of the weak but the extraordinary voice of the strong.

The world despises Jesus’ message because it thinks anger is necessary to fuel the struggle for justice.  In very few words, the Lord’s Prayer weaves together some of the weightiest themes of Jesus’ theology. In this week’s verse, Jesus connects God’s forgiveness of his people with their willingness to forgive others. Forgiveness must be offered even when it is not requested. The model is Jesus on the cross. Jesus used the Aramaic word khoba when he taught the Lord’s Prayer. That word means both debts and sins. We need forgiveness for both. Debts refers to unfulfilled obligations toward God and our fellow human beings. We should have reached out compassionately to our neighbour but failed to do so, and so our love for God is incomplete. So, we ask God to forgive us for our failures towards Him and others. 

Corrie Ten Boom once said, “Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hatred. It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness”.

Forgiveness is a recurring need, like daily bread.

“Give us this day our daily bread.”
Matthew 6:11 NKJV 

I think one of the most crippling fears of the human spirit is the fear of not having enough to eat. Will we have enough? We are managing now, but what about the future? What if I lose my job? What if the kids get sick? What if I am unable to work? How will we survive? Fear of not having enough to eat can destroy a sense of well-being daily and erode hope for the future. 
 
Could this verse also suggest, “Deliver us, O Lord, from the fear of not having enough to eat”? Give us bread for today, and with it, give us confidence that we will have enough tomorrow. Our prayer can legitimately suggest, “Give us today the bread that does not run out.” This mindset focuses on an amount, frequency, and the fear that we will not have enough. It requests deliverance from that fear. It also implies that the bread requested is bread, not cake, cars, or wealth. 
 
We pray OUR BREAD, not my bread. Bread is a gift; when we pray and ask for our bread, we affirm that all bread comes as a gift. It comes as a gift from the one who owns all things. It is not a right, and we have not created it. We are given such gifts in trust, holding and using them for the one who gives them. All material possessions are on loan from their owner, the God who created matter itself. 
 
When you pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Do you ask for bread that sustains life, not all its extras? Do you mean ours and not mine? Do you acknowledge it is a gift?

^“Your Kingdom come, Your will be done. On earth as it is in heaven.” 
Matthew 6:9 NKJV 

Have you heard the Latin expression “Deo volente”? In some cultural and religious circles, it is often a concluding statement that follows the making of plans. The conversation ends with a disclaimer that suggests let’s not forget God’s role. Deo Volente means “God willing”. It suggests that the sovereign God of the universe, whom we call out to when we begin the Lord’s Prayer, is in control. 
 
The will of God is everything that God desires or allows to happen in heaven and on earth; we acknowledge this when we say Deo Volente. For some, God’s will dominating all our plans and desires can appear defeatist. They may adopt a mindset of “why bother if God is going to do what God is going to do”. Why did Jesus invite us to make the statement, “Your will be done. On earth as it is in heaven”, if everything was out of our control? Jesus taught us to say these words because He knows we can participate in God’s will and even influence its success in our lives.  
 
We pray for God’s will to be done. When we say these words, it is not only because we acknowledge God as the sovereign ruler of the universe overseeing all that happens. We pray these because we have free will and can choose, to an extent, to be part of God’s plan. If we could not choose because it was already predetermined, then we aren’t created in the image of God, an image that chooses between good and evil. God’s will can be simplified into two categories: Sovereign/hidden will and revealed will. The sovereign will is all that God ordains to happen with or without our awareness. The revealed will is given to us in scripture, allowing us to participate in His will done on earth. 

The human will is our capacity for choice and action, which we can exercise for good or evil. As such, it enables us to respond to God’s word in obedience or disobedience. Scripture reveals God’s will that helps us choose between good and evil. It guides us to loving God and others with our whole being. Scripture shares many stories of obedience, disobedience, living in harmony, and heartbreak. It reveals choices between right and wrong, and we must acknowledge that God wants us to do what is right. When we pray Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, we are praying for the hidden and revealed will. And when we offer these words to our Father, we must acknowledge that there is much of God’s will that we can know that will help us live life to the fullest, understand God’s presence in our life, and keep us on that path to living the kingdom life now and in eternity. 

When we pray, “Your will be done. On earth as it is in heaven.” We are saying we desire God to keep His holy and loving hand over us, and that we want to do our part to see His will be done wherever we are. 

“In this manner therefore pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name” 
Matthew 6:9 NKJV 

My wife and I took ill on Christmas Eve, and since that date, we have gone through several iterations of the flu and other bugs. Currently, she has pneumonia, and I have bronchitis. Our illnesses have been in spurts. We lay in bed for several days, would get up for a few hours and then back down again. Neither of us have been this ill for so long, and despite our best efforts, we could not maintain any sense of routine. I say we, but superwoman (my wife) would get up, make coffee, and keep the fireplace going while I was man-sick in bed. Praise the Lord; we (including our doctors) believe we are at the end of this mess. 

Before becoming ill, I had been studying the Lord’s Prayer to write a series of articles on the prayer. I was able to submit one article before mushy brain syndrome took over. I tried to continue with devotions and prayers but admittedly struggled during this time. I was both physically and mentally wiped out, but I did not want to ignore God because I knew He was not ignoring me. I tried to listen to sermons, devotionals, audiobooks, and praise songs but quickly lost focus or fell asleep. However, throughout my illness, the phrase “Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name” (Matthew 6:9 NKJV) kept coming to mind, specifically the words Father and Hallowed. 

My Father passed when I was in my early teens, so I had no role model, nor was I capable of idolatrously compare God to an earthly father. Using the story of the prodigal son helped me understand the loving, gracious term ABBA. Modern life creates great distances between members of a family. However, this is not the norm in traditional communities in the Middle East. Their mother and father have lived near their children all their lives. In short, the Father is near and usually lives in the same house. In contrast, the Abba of Christian prayer is near yet far away; He is in the heavens. The worshipping community is part of the created world. Abba is the Creator. The faithful are servants, and Abba is the Master. Mortals are born and die, while Abba is the eternal One. Abba’s name is Hallowed, and my thoughts during my illness were, Abba, continue to make Your name hallowed so the world will see You are in control. You are loving, gracious, personal, and close to those who desire You”. 

Abba, the loving Father, is approachable yet dwells in excellent majesty in the heavens in all His glory. Jesus taught His disciples to pray to God, who is near and yet far away. He is “our Father” and, at the same time, is “in the heavens.”