An Exegesis on Matthew 6:9-13

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Matthew 6:9-13 - An Exegesis

Introduction
In today's society prayer is the main focus of the majority of world religions, Christianity being one of them. From the early days of His ministry Jesus would point out the virtues of prayer, often taking the time to talk alone with the Father for days at a time. There are many forms of prayer; it can be private, public, in times of fasting or times of personal reflection. Jesus desired to help his disciples communicate more openly with the Father, and to educate future followers, on how to do the same. Jesus spent a great deal of time speaking on the topic of prayer. A perfect rendition is the Lord's Prayer, forming the foundation of Matthew 6:9-13. The Lord's Prayer is likely the most commonly recited prayer throughout Christianity. Some theologians fear its true meaning, context, and relevance have been lost through the generations. They argue the prayer is not supposed to be a simple prayer to be recited by routine, the prayer is designed to teach Jesus's disciples and followers about not only the importance of prayer itself, but also of the need for developing a spirit of forgiveness and of oneness with God the Father. With this in mind, it is important to look at the context of the prayer to formulate a commentary on its importance and to look at the theological implications that still apply to Christians to this day.

Literary Criticism
Context
The focus of this particular prayer seems to be on the continued teaching that Jesus Christ was doing in regard to how his disciples should conduct prayer. In the beginning of the chapter verses one caution against practicing righteousness in front of others. Equally, later verses speak of giving to the needy in secret. Verses five and six point out the need to pray in private behind and closed doors. Jesus pointed out to His disciples that in the open he points the prayers seemed to be self-centered, as opposed to being centered on God. This can be seen in the detail effort that Jesus is putting forth to us in verses nine-13, expounds on this principle as Jesus wanted it to be understood first and foremost, the Lord's name is to be respected. Verse nine reminds us of the certainty that God's name is hallowed. This is in deference in verses seven and eight, which in some cases followers referenced their own name as they prayed. In addition, Jesus makes the shift in this passage towards a more public Father, with Him being addresses in verse nine as 'Our Father', as opposed to the urging us to 'pray to your Father' in verse six (O'Collins 360).
The Lord's Prayer is a change from the common prayers of the Old Testament. While many people today quote the Lord's Prayer at public gatherings, such as a fellowship meeting and other events this seems to take away from the context in which Matthew 6:9-13 was written. The prayer is designed to be more of an example for how we should pray, rather than what we should say while praying. Again focusing on our needs, Jesus uses this particular block teaching to ask us to take time to reflect on the needs of the Father. It is a move away from self-centeredness, towards a truly God-centered mindset that can enable followers to tap into what Jesus desires and wants for our individual lives and the world in general.

Form Criticism
As mentioned earlier, in the beginning of Chapter six, Jesus cautioned the disciples against praying as the pagans do. In fact, in verses seven and eight He urges followers to 'not be like them'; which is largely telling them to not be arrogant and self-righteous. The chapter begins with an admonishment for followers to try as hard as they can to not just say words while praying simply for word's sake. In fact, the Lord's Prayer consists of 57 words in the Greek, and only 54 words in many English translations. Upon further examination, Jesus teaches us that lengthy prayer is acceptable, as long as the purpose of the ...