The Lord's prayer is the most familiar prayer in christian tradition. It has been memorized from years of repetition to the point of becoming a public recital. Yet, when the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, their concern was not about learning a new recital or prayer formula per se. They came from a long tradition of Jewish devoted prayer lifestyle. They knew how to pray from their religious perspective. However, their walk with Jesus made them to understand the fundamental gap between the way Jesus prayed and their own daily devotional routine. What was new about the Lord's prayer? Jesus prayed from heaven's priorities down to earth, contrary to religious traditions that petition from earthly perspective while asking for heavenly assistance. The order of request works in a reverse mode in the Lord's prayer. Indeed, heaven's priorities seem at odds with the preoccupations of a fallen man. Thus, to pray as we ought, we must download the pattern of righteousness decreed in heaven to become functional on earth. Put another way, prayer is a "co-operation" with God to build a heaven on earth, starting with our own action.

Rightly so, to prevent from asking amiss, Jesus taught his disciples his own prayer protocol by way of building codes, regulations, and patterns of heaven's government blueprint. The Lord's prayer takes its configuration and borrows its purposes from heaven and then makes inroads into earth. As a matter of fact, Jesus was teaching heaven's mission priorities to his disciples in the form of a policy statement so that believers will work out those priorities into reality on earth. The radical change in the Lord's prayer in comparison with religious prayers is that we pray to successfully advance God's heavenly government policies on earth rather than petition God for redress of earthly grievances. As we thoughtfully analyze the Lord's prayer in Matthew 6: 9-13, we notice that there are 7 Government Policy Statements that form the protocol of prayer. Obviously, the Lord's prayer is not about submitting to some formal recital procedures, but rather teaching the protocol or pattern of praying from a heavenly mission statement perspective.

MISSION ORIENTED 

No one undertakes a government's assignment with his own agenda. When we become part of God's kingdom or government, our focus as ambassadors is to implement heavenly mission policy statement for earth. For instance, being mission oriented takes into account :

• - Working as a team : Our Father and not my Father. This kind of statement brings us all into the same ruling family, community or governmental belonging with the head of the mission. God is God for every body, but He is only the Father of those who have given their life to Jesus. 

• - Setting high standards. The highest honor and obedience are given to the Head of the government who gives us the mission: Hallowed be thy name. We make God's top priority our top priority. The highest priority for God is that his Name be glorified, hallowed, obeyed on earth.  

• - Committing to the mission and putting the mission first before personal needs:  Your kingdom come, Your will be done

• - Not quitting and accepting defeat or temptations, completing the mission despite obstacles that may arise : Keep us from evil and do not lead us to temptation.

7 GOVERNMENT'S MISSION STATEMENTS IN THE LORD'S PRAYER 

1. Hallowed Be Your Name 

The Lord's prayer leads the believer to undertake a government's mission with intended and tangible results. It's not an exercise in persuasive rhetoric. The Lord's prayer is a "performative utterance". To claim the utterance is to embark on a journey of performing the missionary action or duty. When a city mayor declares: "I hereby declare the bridge open!", immediately, this new city facility becomes open to the public. When a father tells his son : "Let the doors closed all day long". The son will prove his reverence, trust, and obedience to his father by strictly abiding and taking action to ensure that the doors remain closed all day long. A son demonstrates reverence to his father by acting according to the father's spoken word. In the same protocol, when we make the utterance: "Hallow be thy Name !", we submit our action to take an immediate effect on the environment. For, we hallow God's name by our very actions, not by our lips service. Our daily actions create the hallow or defile God's name. The actions and the conduct of our character are the proof or the token of the honor we show to God. We hallow the Lord's name when we revere Him, believe Him, give Him glory, obey, and trust Him. God's name and character are firmly established in his Word. There is no other way we can hallow God's name outside his Word. 

Threefold dimension of the meaning of "hallowed be thy name". First, 'Hallowed be thy name' means: cause your commandments to be obeyed. Second, cause your Word to be believed. Third, cause your words to be trusted and glorified.

To hallow God's name is to obey or keep his commandments. 

We defile God's name and honor when we break or transgress his commandments. Like a father and son relationship, we prove our sonship by honoring and respecting the words given by a father. Likewise, in a state, the token of our loyalty to the state is demonstrated through the way we abide to the laws regulating  public life. Committed citizenship is demonstrated through the way we comply to State laws. Life is sacred because it came from God who is holy. There is no way we could prove God's name to be holy when we treat human life with contempt. By declaring, "Father, hallowed be your name," we actually mean, "Father, cause your commandments to be obeyed on earth." As Psalm 67: 2 says, "May your ways be known throughout the earth, your saving power among people everywhere". Knowing God and keeping his Word go together. "And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep his commandments." 1 John 2:3 .

 "So you shall keep my commandments and do them. I am the Lord. And you shall not profane my holy name, but I will be hallowed among the people of Israel" Leviticus 22: 31 

To hallow God's name is to trust Him 

The better we know a person, the more we trust that person. And the more we trust that person, we become bold to take risks and sacrifice for that person. 

"Those who know thy name put their trust in thee" Psalm 9:10

"In God, whose word I praise - In God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?" Psalm 56:4

"You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you." Isaiah 26: 3

To hallow God's name means: to cause people to believe in Him 

In the wilderness, the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and demonstrated a lack of faith and belief in God because of a shortage of water. Moses became so impulsive to the point of not obeying God's words. So, God took this careless behavior as a way of failing to hallow his name and trust his words. The first way to show God as holy is to trust His words and what He says. A lack of trust in God's words is a sign of distrust, misjudgment, disloyalty, and suspicion. God is not hallowed when our heart is still restless, seeking for other alternative ways for self-security, and lacking peace despite his words.   

"Because you did not believe in me, to sanctify me (hallow me) in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land I have given you." Numbers 20:12

"He who does not believe God has made Him a liar" 1John 5:10. When we hold somebody to be a liar, we defile and profane his name as holy. "Hallowed be your name", means, "Trusted be your words; cause people to have a high view of you."

2. Your Kingdom or Government Come

God's kingdom (basilea) refers to his reign, his lordship, his sovereign governance or government. The coming of God's kingdom is God's reign through his people by the Holy Spirit. Without the work of the Holy Spirit, there is no kingdom manifestation on earth. When we pray, "Your kingdom come !", it's a vow that we take to work about to bringing God's government of justice, peace, joy, and righteousness on earth through the Holy Spirit. For, this is the evidence that the kingdom of God has come on earth. We see the manifestation of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. 

Your Kingdom come means: Cause us to demonstrate and govern the earth in Righteousness

A righteous government is the clear sign that the Kingdom of God has come.

"Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom" Psalm 45:6

"Behold, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely, and do justice and righteousness in the land. "In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell securely; and this is His name by which He will be called, 'The LORD our righteousness." Jeremiah 23: 5-6

" Pay attention to Me, O my people, And give ear to Me, O my nation; For a law will go forth from Me, And I will set my justice for a light of the peoples. My righteousness is near, my salvation has gone forth, And my arms will judge the peoples" Isaiah 51: 4-5

Your Kingdom come means: Cause us to govern the earth in a peaceful rule and not through violence and wickedness

"And He will judge between many peoples And render decisions for mighty, distant nations. Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they train for war." Micah 4: 1-3 

"At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart."  Jeremiah 3: 17

"For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this. " Isaiah 9: 6-7 

Your Kingdom come, means: Cause us to work to bring joy in the earth

The visible evidence of the coming of God's kingdom is when disease, sickness, and death have loss their power over humankind. If ever mankind has to be restored to divine government on earth, joy must return to man's heart. That's why miracles are an essential component of the Kingdom. In God's government, there are no sick, poor, and downtrodden people. 

"Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness." Matthew 9:35

"And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing." Luke 9:2

Your Kingdom Come, means: Let the Holy Spirit be in charge and take control

The Holy Spirit is the one who manifests God's kingdom on earth through those who have given their life to Christ. That's the reason why Jesus said, "For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you" Luke 17:21.

The outcomes of the kingdom are the byproduct of our obedience to the Holy Spirit. In Galatians 5: 22-23, Paul reminds us that, it is the Holy Spirit who produces fruits in the believers. The gifts of the Spirit are to empower us to demonstrate and manifest the Kingdom on earth (1Corinthians 12: 1-11).

When God's kingdom comes, we manifest divine Light and become Light to a dark world; we bring justice to a corrupt world; we bring a multitude back to God's house; we manifest God's character of love in a world of hatred; we do good and shun from evil; we turn the children's hearts to their fathers because obedience will be restore in relationship. Pentecost is the coming of God's government on earth by his Holy Spirit.

3.Your Will be Done on Earth as it is in Heaven

Let your will be done implies submission to God's sovereign will through his Word. It is a pledge of obedience to God's will. God's will is expressed through his Word. God's will is embedded in his Word. 

God's clearly stated his will in Zechariah 8: 15-17 : "Tell the truth to each other. Render verdicts in your courts that are just and that lead to peace. Don't scheme against each other. Stop your love of telling lies that you swear are the truth. I hate all these things, says the Lord. "

And in Zechariah 7: 9 God brings out another aspect of his will: " This is what the Lord of heaven's armies says: Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another. Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. And do not scheme against each other."

God's will is : do not kill, do not lie, honor your father and mother, etc... We hinder God's will on earth when we act contrary to His Word. God government takes effect when his words come to pass. Without God's will being implemented on earth, the kingdom cannot be manifested. The Lord's prayer is teaching us that God's kingdom is the manifestation of his sovereign rule. That's how the King wants his kingdom and and his people to look like. When we pray, "Your will be done", we are reminded that the prime objective of an effective prayer is when we line up our will with the will of the Father. It is a way of asking God to increase righteousness in the world, and further the outcome of the kingdom.

4. Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread

Praying for bread is intimately connected to God's kingdom goals. God's plan of salvation is that no one should be lost or perish.The bread provision for a spiritually dying world answers and fits into the divine rescue mandate for all. It becomes imperative for people to partake to a life-giving bread, lest they will surely perish. "For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:3-4).

In a welfare state, citizens are looking to government rather than God for bread. Here, perishable bread is not the issue. Bread in the Lord's prayer refers to something much more than the eating commodities on our table. In Deuteronomy 8:3, living fully requires for man not to bank on bread alone, but on every Word that comes from the mouth of God. Give us our daily bread means: give us the indispensable and vital necessities of life, what our life depends on. What does an abundant life depend on? Life depends on salvation. Unsaved lives are destined to perish. Without salvation our life is lost.

3 aspects of bread we need to depend on to sustain our daily life. 

Hebrews 9: 4 speaks about three items placed within the Ark of the Covenant: the Manna, Aaron's rod, and the 10 commandments. Those three items point to the same reality. Manna as heavenly bread represents the living Word of God. Aaron's rod that budded represents a resurrected life through Christ. The 10 commandments speak about God's Word or divine standards of righteousness through his spoken Word. Receiving God's Word is eating the living bread. The bread from heaven is life-giving. As the Word of God made flesh, Jesus is the bread of life from heaven. He is the resurrection and life. He is our righteousness. The bread we are praying for in the Lord's prayer refers to the bread of salvation found only in Jesus. "Truly, truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but its my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." John 6: 27-36

God's Word is the living bread for man

Without God's word, man runs to spiritual starvation, decay, and death. People perish because of lack of the bread of knowledge. The bread of knowledge is all about knowing God and His son Jesus, the source and sustainer of life. We become cut off from our vital supplies when we are no longer receiving the bread of the knowledge of God. In Luke 1: 77, John the Baptist came with a clear mandate: to give to his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins. The people were in spiritual darkness and perishing from their sins because they have no access to the knowledge of salvation. The bread of salvation that John was preaching was available via repentance and forgiveness from the burden and torments of sins and wrong doing. 

Salvation is Man's Bread

In Matthew 5:6, we read: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled." Without righteousness, peace, and justice, life will be a nightmare in individuals as well as in nations. God's reign of salvation on earth  is the very bread we need to fulfill our life mandate in the world. The bread we are asking for in prayer is salvation. Salvation refers to prosperity, safety, welfare, deliverance, liberty, being protected from harm, and freedom from sin and evil. Salvation is causing one to be rescued from : illness, poverty, enemies or opposition bringing trouble and violence, domination, slavery, insecurity, and iniquity. The Hebrew root word for savior is ישועה - Yeshua. Joshua or Yeshua means, God saves. 2 Samuel 22: 3 emphasizes:  "The Lord is my rock, in Him I trust; He is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; you saved me from violence."  

Salvation is the power of God to rescue people from the penalty of sins through Jesus. Thus, the bread we are asking for is Jesus. Jesus refers to himself as the bread of life, the redemption and the very freedom people have been searching and looking for. "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst" (John 6: 35). God's will is for all the people and everyone to be saved and come to the saving knowledge of Christ. That is represented by the good shepherd who cares for his sheep to the point of going after the lost one and feeding them through the miracle of the multiplication of bread. To pray, "Give us our daily bread", is asking God to fulfill his salvation plan by giving living bread to all. For God is "not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance" 2 Peter 3:9

Partaking of the Bread Seals our Belonging to God's family and fellowship

God's ultimate goal in feeding his people with the living bread from heaven answers to his divine redemptive will to have back his family by saving all his lost children through relationship with Jesus. The bread is the means for bringing back God's lost children home. The banquet table is an intimate family reunion. It is a way of adoption into God's royal family. God's purpose in giving the living bread from heaven was both to adopt and redeem. For it was not enough to simply rescue us from slavery to sin, but most importantly, to turn slaves into sons.

"God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure." Ephesians 1:5 

"Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God." Galatians 4: 7-9

"But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as son."  Galatians 4: 4-5

5. Forgive us our Debts as we Forgiven our Debtors

The Greek word, "opheilēma", is translated as debts/debtors. Sin is apprehended as a debt that is owed because sin or iniquity inflicts harm and damage on someone else. A price has always to be paid to cover the debt of our sins. We can never pay off the debt of our sins against God. Opheilema conveys the idea of owing a financial or moral debt or obligation and at the same time a kind of sin that oversteps prescribed boundaries. Because of our sins and iniquity, we committed a treasonous trespass. We owe to God the debt of treason, that is eternal death. Jesus paid that debt of treason by taking upon himself our own death sentence. Through Christ's death and the spilling of His blood for our sins, we obtain forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22).

Now, where is the relationship between debts forgiveness and God's government on earth? Forgiveness is not about lips service utterance. In God's economy, forgiveness of sins goes hand and hand with restoration. It's not enough to forgive without restoring the person who committed an offense. The mission of Jesus in bringing to mankind salvation fits into a restoration plan for a fallen man. Salvation is all about restoration to the prime position of man.Through salvation, man is restored back into his position of sonship and fellowship with God.

The parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15: 11-32 gives us the clue of how a lost and indebted son is restored back to his full position of authority and kingship with his Father when he received forgiveness from his transgressions and iniquity. Indeed, not only was the prodigal son forgiven. He was restored back to his original position of sonship through a royal robe, a ring of authority on his fingers, and royal sandals, on top of a fat cow to seal the deal. The salvation mandate would have been incomplete without the restoration plan. 

Thus, forgiveness of sins and trespasses necessarily take into account restoration. It's not enough to forgive people who did us wrong without restoring them. I forgive you your wrong, means, I restore you back to your original position. As we go about  forgiving others, we restore them. Because God has restored us, we have the mission to restore others. The purpose of salvation and forgiveness is the restoration of a fallen mankind. Building a heaven on earth without restoring people back to righteousness and authority will be a shallow and unfinished business. The forgiveness mandate on earth is simply a replica of what Jesus purchased for us through salvation: our long awaited restoration to God. King David so well understood the intrinsic link between forgiveness and restoration when he pleaded in Psalm 51:12: "Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you." God is in the restoration mission, that's why He sent his Son to bring us salvation. God longs to do more for us than stop at the doorsteps of simple forgiveness. God wants to restore us. And then, He expect those who have been restored to help restore others. 

6. Lead Us Not into Temptation

Falling into temptation will derail us from God's kingdom and his will. To avoid being sidetracked from the important divine mandate on earth, we have to petition God to free us from that which keeps us from our true mission and purpose on earth.

This prayer beseeches the Lord to lead us not into evil occurrences, misfortune, disease, etc... beyond what our human limitations can bear.

"Let no one say when he is tempted, " I am being tempted by God", for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust." (James 1: 13-14)

The daily Jewish prayer contains a similar request: "Do not let us be overcome by sin, disobedience, or iniquity, not by trials, nor by disgrace; and do not let the evil inclination rule us. Distance us from harmful people and harmful friends...rescue me today and every day ... from evil inclination, from an evil friend, from an evil neighbor, from an evil incident... and from the destructive adversary (satan)."

Who Has Been Tempted Before Us?

Abraham was proven by test trials so that he could demonstrate his loyalty to God (Genesis 22). 

Immediately after Jesus' baptism, satan came to tempt him. Satan's goal was to get Jesus to misuse his authority and privileges to oppose God's Word and will. Jesus overcame temptations by using God's words as a weapon. 

Satan tempted Job through misfortune to get him curse God and die. Job remained faithful to God despite his trials. 

Joseph was tempted in Potiphar's house to commit adultery and fall from grace while losing his position. He overcame the trial to become victorious. "Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approve, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love him" James 1:12

"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. " 1 Corinthians 10: 13

And here is the crux to avoid from misguided debates ! Sins, temptations, and trespasses are the main stumbling blocks that hinder and prevent the coming of God's kingdom on earth in a double sense. First, when sin and temptations are not overcome, man cannot enter the Kingdom of God. "Neither fornicators, nor idolaters shall possess the Kingdom of God." (Corinthians 6: 9-10). Adam lost his fellowship with God at Eden because he failed to overcome the temptation of disobedience to God's Word. As long as sins prevail and have the upper hand, God's kingdom cannot be manifested. That' s why Jesus come for us to overcome sins. Second, wherever temptations and sins are not overcome, God's will cannot be manifested. Temptations and sins run counter to God's will and character.

7. Rescue us From the Evil One

In Genesis 3, when Adam and Eve fell in disgrace in Eden, they run into hiding from God's presence. God came looking for them. Since then, God has not stopped pursuing mankind in a rescue mission bearing in mind that evil is real and brings havoc in the world. Praying to be rescued from evil is working with God to achieve a divine mandate. Man betrayed God and was under control by the evil one. Yet, God never stop looking for mankind. The rescue mission is God's plan, not man's plan. From Genesis to Revelation, God has never stepped back from rescuing his children.

God rescued Noah from being eradicated by the flood caused by wickedness prevailing in the world. 

God rescued Abraham. 

God rescued Israel from slavery and restore the nation to freedom. 

The Messiah came to rescue and restore the lost and perishing people. It's those who are sick who are looking for a medical doctor. When evil and wickedness run the world, God has to intervene to rescue mankind from the peril of darkness. That's why it is so relevant to pray daily for divine intervention against evil. 

Matthew 8:28 gives us a clear picture of the mission of the Son of God in this world. Jesus came to rescue us from the prince of darkness. During Jesus' public ministry, he encountered a man who had been controlled by evil spirits. The violent demon-possessed man from the region of the Gadarenes was completely out of control, living among the tombs. The evil one took control of all his faculties and tormented him day and night. When Jesus visited the area, the demonic kingdom was in total panic. Jesus delivered the man from the powers of darkness and restored him to God.

John 5: 19 reminds us that, "the whole world lies in the power of the evil one" and under the devil's deathly grip. Revelation 12:9 emphasizes that satan "deceives the whole world." Unmistakably, our urgent endeavor is to "escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will" (2 Timothy 2: 24-26). We are under bondage and unable to rescue ourselves. That' s why we need God's intervention through prayer. In 1 John 3:8, the very reason the Son of God came in the world was to destroy the works of darkness. Heaven cannot be manifested on earth until the evil one has been defeated and mankind rescued from his claws. 

As Colossians 1: 13-14 brought us the clear revelation, God "has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins."

The salvation mission brought about by Jesus is a rescue mission from the evil one so that, those who are saved are bought back from slavery to sin into God's family. Jesus prayed in John 17:15 asking God: " I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one." 

Satan's prime strategy to entice men to do evil is through deception. He is primarily "the deceiver of the whole world". The essential weapon satan uses to gain ground in us is not power, but deception. 

Through his death Christ has destroyed "the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery." Hebrews 2: 14-15

Narcisse Jean Alcide Nana