Intercessory Prayer

How often have we recited the words Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father”? More times than we can count, right? But what are we saying when we pray them?

In English, we use two words to pray “Our Father.” In Hebrew, we are praying using only one אָבִינוּ (avinu) literally “The Father of us.” When we pray “Our Father,” we are praying both possessively and communally (the “Father-of-us”) and not individually (“the father we share”). The first breath of the prayer Jesus teaches us to pray puts us into God’s family before it asks for anything.

This familial relationship with God and his family has its roots in the Old Testament. (See Deuteronomy 32:6, Isaiah 64:8, Malachi 2:10). In the New Testament, we hear Jesus praying, “Abba, Father.” Abba is the Aramaic word for the Hebrew word for “father” - Avi. The first breath of Jesus’ prayer is in the voice of a tender, small child calling to his loving and good father. Jesus teaches us to do the same. Romans 8:15 and Galatians 4:6 carry this same thought into our prayers, declaring to us that the Spirit cries “Abba” in our hearts.

When we pray, we are never alone and apart from our good Father who loves us and who is for us and who can do “far more than we can ask or imagine.” When we pray, may we always pray, “Our Father,” Father-of-us, Avinu, Abba, Daddy.

“Hallowed be Thy Name,” this is not a task for us to accomplish. It is our request to the Father that He would cause His name to be hallowed, where it is not yet hallowed.

Admittedly, in English it sounds like an instruction for us to do something to sanctify God’s name. But consider the New Testament Greek word for “hallowed,” which is “hagiazo.” Grammatically speaking, it is in its aorist imperative form, which is to say that the “Hallowing” of God’s name is already completed by God in the past and that we are asking that God’s name would be holy among us also. Consider also that this petition in biblical Hebrew, “yitkadash shimcha” is a request to God, asking God to make His own Name holy in our world. And this is the first thing we ask God to do, before His kingdom, daily bread, forgiveness, and deliverance from evil.

What we pray for is what God has already declared He will do. In Ezekiel 36:23, God declares, “I will sanctify my great name… and the nations shall know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when I am sanctified in you before their eyes.”

As you pray the Lord’s Prayer this week, pause at this first petition. Consider where you observe or realize that God’s Name is not being hallowed. Let’s pray “Hallowed be Your Name” over what we cannot fix or change and ask God to do what only He can do.

In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches us to pray, “Thy Kingdom Come.” The Greek New Testament word for Kingdom is “βασιλεία.” (Pronounced basileia). Its root word is the word for King “βασιλεύς” (basileus). This word for Kingdom speaks about the King’s active, authoritative rule. The Old Testament Hebrew word for Kingdom, “malkhut” (מַלְכוּת) (pronounced mal-KHOOT), is also formed from its root word for “King” melekh (מֶלֶךְ), also emphasizing the King ruling in his sovereign authority.

From these biblical words, we learn that when we pray for “God’s Kingdom to come” we are not praying for a geographical place to arrive, but rather for God to rule and reign in the fullness of His authority over us and the world.

With this in mind, praying “Thy Kingdom Come” focuses our attention on at least two things.

First, on the Great Commission mission of God. That God would reign in His love, grace, and mercy, producing faith that saves through the Gospel. And we can pray this specifically for those we know, meet, and love who have yet to receive Jesus as their Savior, as well as this same missionary Gospel proclamation goes forth to reach all people wherever they have yet to hear and receive the Good News.

Second, we can also pray “Thy Kingdom Come,” focused on seeking the Holy Spirit’s formation of the character of Christ in us and others through God’s Word. (e.g., the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5). Praying that God’s active reigning in us through the Gospel would transform our lives into Christ-likeness.

Lord, may You continue to extend and expand Your kingdom rule and authority–so that all might be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth, and may You fully form the character and way of Jesus in us so that we are always reflecting Your Gospel heart in the way we live.

Jesus teaches us to pray “Thy will be done” in the Lord’s Prayer. In English, that sounds like a decree: “May what God has already decided be done.” But the Greek New Testament word for “Will” is θέλημα (the-lay-mah), whose meaning carries the sense of an attitude favoring or delighting in one alternative over others. The biblical Hebrew word for “Will” is “Ratzon.” It comes from the root word (Rtzh), which means “to be pleased with, to find favor in.” So “Ratzon” and “Thelema” are the things in which God delights, not merely what God decides.

Jesus teaches us to pray as He does before the Father, not with grudging submission but by seeking alignment with what delights Him. Jesus is not asking us to pray, “Thy verdict be enforced” but “Thy delight be done.”

In the darkest hour of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed, “If this cup cannot pass unless I drink it, may your will (ratzon)(the-lay-mah) be done.” — Matthew 26:42. Notice how Jesus is praying, even then, aligning His desire with the Father’s delight in saving the world through Him. At the cross, with one word, God’s decree and delight become the same.

When we give a thoughtful gift, we seek to give one that will bring delight to the receiver. Our heavenly Father delights in seeking our good and blessing. He is full of mercy, compassion, and grace. He can do far more abundantly than all we could ask or imagine. He is always working all things together for our eternal good and blessing. That’s why Jesus teaches us to pray, “May Your will, what delights You, be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

I invite you to pray this way as you intercede for others and seek God’s mission to be accomplished in us and through us to the world.