Summary
What is Jesus teaching His people here in this model LP? It would appear that apart from the plea for daily bread, there really are two major themes that take up the bulk of the whole prayer.
Petitions at the Horizontal Level of Man’s Existence
The second major set of petitions, those which revolve around the horizontal level of man’s existence, begins in 6:11 and flows through to 6:15. As was true in the vertical petitions, one also finds here in the horizontal petitions a set of three particular pleas.
What if you were being questioned by God instead of Job (Ch.38)? We all, at one time or another will question the sovereignty of God. For example, do you maybe have a weakness you struggle with? Do you cry out to God and ask Him to deliver you from this weakness only to get the deafening response of, silence? Why doesn’t God answer you? You read your Bible, attend Church, tithe, and believe in Christ, yet this weakness seems to hold you in its death grip and you blame God for not delivering you from this weakness. Or, do you maybe wish God would have created or foreordained you to have different gifts or a different appearance? Do you silently assume that God owes you such?
Second and Third Vertical Petitions: The Plea for the Messianic Kingdom
to Come and the Plea for God’s Will to be Done on Earth as it is in Heaven
In light of all that has been said with reference to the first petition, it should now be clear to the reader that both the second and third petitions bear a very close relationship to that first petition, for they are intimately connected with one another in theme.
Petitions at the Vertical Level of Man’s Existence
In historical context, the LP stems from the rebuke that Jesus had just given his opponents about hypocritical, Pharisaic practices of worship. This included a rebuke for several forms of hypocritical externalism that seemed impressive to man, but was abominable in the eyes of God. For example, Jesus told His disciples that the giving of alms should not be done in a way that brings attention to the act itself (Matt 6:1-4). Giving that is done with the motive of man’s praise finds no favor in the eyes of God; in fact, it is detestable to him.
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