The last sentence in the Lords prayer leads to significant contextual understanding we should examine. In that regard, I ask for your indulgence with this expanded answer.
The Lord’s Prayer appears in two places in the Bible and is a prayer Jesus taught His disciples in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4.
Consider the account in Matthew..
Matthew 6:9-13
“9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.'“
This last sentenced is referred to as the Doxology, and often added to the end of biblical text and psalms.
This doxology in Matthews account is not contained in Luke's version, nor is it present in the earliest manuscripts of Matthew, which is to say that Jesus never said this, even though it is attributed to Him in scripture without distinction. What I mean by no distinction, is that today there are Red letter edition Bibles.
These red letters represent words that are spoke by Jesus, and although correct for the most part, red letter Bibles don’t take the red color out of the doxology, which implies Jesus said this, but He didn’t.
The first known use of the doxology for the Lord's Prayer was "for yours is the power and the glory forever"
Roman Catholics don’t use the doxology, However, "For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever" is used in Catholic Mass, but they say it separately in the context of a different prayer that is spoken or sung by the priest as the final petition.
The doxology in Mathew was originally added to the Lord's Prayer for use during congregational worship. It’s based on 1 Chronicles 29:11
1 Chronicles 29:11
“Thine, O LORD is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.”
Again this doxology, “For thine is the kingdom and the power and glory forever Amen” is not in Luke’s version of the prayer, it’s not in the earliest manuscripts of Matthew.
There are at least ten different versions of the doxology in early manuscripts of Matthew before it became standardized to this one. Jewish prayers at the time had doxological endings, most modern translations don’t include it.
A Doxology is an expression of praise to God, especially a short hymn sung as part of a Christian worship service. The word doxology comes from the Greek doxa, (“glory, splendor, grandeur”) and logos, (“word” or “speaking”). Most doxologies are short hymns of praise to God in various Christian worship services, often added to the end of canticles, psalms, and hymns.
Many people misunderstand the Lord’s Prayer to be a prayer we are supposed to recite word for word. Some people treat the Lord’s Prayer as a magic formula, as if the words themselves have some specific power or influence with God.
The Biblical accounts teach the opposite. God is far more interested in our hearts when we pray than He is in our words. “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words” (Matthew 6:6-7). In prayer, we are to pour out our hearts to God (Philippians 4:6-7), not simply recite memorized words to God.
The Lord’s Prayer should be understood as an example, a pattern, of how to pray. It gives us the “ingredients” that should go into prayer. Here is how it breaks down. “Our Father which art in heaven” is teaching us whom to address our prayers to—the Father. “Hallowed be thy name” is telling us to worship God, and to praise Him for who He is. The phrase “thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven” This is to say that God’s will is NOT being done on Earth as His will is done in Heaven. This is a warning, as the World belongs to Satan as it was delivered to him by Adam’s sin.
Luke 4:5-8
5 “And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.
8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve”.
We are to pray for God’s will to be done, not simply for our desires. We are encouraged to ask God for the things we need “give us this day our daily bread.” This is not to say that God does not know what we need, it is for us to recognize the difference.
Matthew 6:7–8
7 “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him”.
“and Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” this reminds us to confess our sins to God and to turn from them, and also to forgive others as God has forgiven us. Its important to note the condition of forgiveness, that you must first forgive..
Matthew 6:14-15
14 “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses”.
The conclusion of the Lord’s Prayer, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:” This verse is not to say that God is the one leading us into temptation.
James 1:13
“Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:”
This portion is a plea for help in achieving victory over sin and a request for protection from the attacks of the devil.
Many people who are not comfortable with praying in general, recite the Lords prayer almost as a trusty fall back. In most cases, this prayer is said with the hope that God understands the heart of the person and that He will give them grace or show them mercy in their situation. This is predicated on the belief that God is merciful, regardless of ones understanding of Gods character and nature.
The question we should ask ourselves is if the Lords prayer is applicable for us today? If God is a God of order, does the Lords prayer work today?
This may NOT seem like a fair question and fly in the face of religious tradition, but the fact is that since the New Covenant was instituted, God has little to do with our traditions, particularly religious traditions. God is not religious.
As a pattern for prayer it should include.
1. Reverence
2. Praise
3. Petition
4. Salutation –which after Jesus’ resurrection is “in Jesus Name”
Many may disagree with this sentiment because they find comfort believing that Jesus intended this as a specific prayer to be used.
The New Testament records Jesus and the disciples praying on many occasions, but there is no record of Jesus or the disciples from the books of Acts to Revelation praying this prayer, ever.
With that said, we should consider how this prayer truly applies to us today. We first see that there is something missing from this prayer that is most important, the name of Jesus. Jesus gave us an instruction for how we should pray, a new model for prayer as it were.
John 16:23
“And in that day you shall ask me nothing, verily, verily, I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, He will give it you”
The power of prayer rest in the name of Jesus, if Christians don’t invoke the name of Jesus in our prayers they are not heard by God because the authority is through the name of Jesus. This is a fact after Jesus ascension, which gives the context to what Jesus meant when He said “in that day” He was referring to the day He would go back to the Father.
In the prayer the phrase “Thy Kingdom come” suggest that Gods Kingdom has NOT come to Earth as of the time Jesus gave this instruction to the disciples, which is true. Gods Kingdom on Earth manifest after the final judgment and after He brings down the New Jerusalem, Rev. 21:1-3.
In addition, the portion of the Lords prayer saying “Thy will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven” this refers to Gods will which is not being done on Earth the way His will is being done in Heaven, however, the Kingdom of God is all inclusive, Heaven, Hell, the Universe itself, all the planets including Earth, but the distinction of Heaven and Earth applies in this way. Gods gave all power in Heaven and Earth to Jesus, and God has set Jesus before and above every creature, Angels, man and everything in between.
The Kingdom of Jesus, by His own admission is not specifically Earth, but Heaven.
John 18:35-37
35. “Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done?
36. Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.
37. Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.”
God will rule in the physical sense on the Earth with Jesus. (Revelation 22:3-5) But wherever the Father is, He is above all. Keep in mind all powers and authority come from God alone.
Colossians 1:12-13
“Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light,
Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son”
This letter from Paul comes after the resurrection of Christ. In this passage the reference “hath made us” refers to born again people, Christians, those who have accepted Christ as their savior and follow after Him.
“Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness”
The power of darkness is also referred to as “the Evil one” in that Jesus delivered us from the power of the evil one, who is Satan.
The resurrection of Christ and the entirety of His work not only delivered us from Satan’s authority and capacity to destroy us, but His work culminated in such power, that simply the mention of His name under the proper conditions of a believer, deflects Demonic influence in the life of men. This power is so complete, it can be wielded simply by Jesus giving us permission to use His authority.
Matthew 28:18
“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”
Mark 16:17-18
“And these signs shall follow them that believe, in My name shall they cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues,
The shall take up serpents and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover”
The point is, the power Jesus has given us who are in Christ, has in part translated us into the Kingdom of Christ, or the Kingdom of Gods dear Son. This is to say that after Christ ascension, man goes to Heaven, which is where Jesus is, the Kingdom of God’s dear Son.
This is specifically accomplished in the fact that a Christian dies and goes to heaven directly, not into paradise, prior to the resurrection everyone went to Paradise until this aspect of the spiritual and later, physical manifestation of all of Jesus’ work on Earth had been fulfilled.
Because of Christ, Heaven is NOW available to Christians who believed and accepted Jesus. That is what the translation to the Kingdom of Gods Son is – our access to heaven.
In a tangible spiritual level, we have been given evidence of the manifestation of this translation of Christ in our physical lives by the power of the Holy Spirit manifest in us through the gifts of the Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12: 1-11)
When you view all this in context, more evidence is that the power of Satan, which would be the power of darkness, can’t work against a Christian who believes and operates in the authority of Christ as given to us.
The capacity to resist the devil, and that the devil actually departs, is a real tangible manifestation.
James 4:7
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
The point here, is that you can’t resist the devil and the devil actually stop and leave you alone in the moment, unless you had the authority to do so. In the Old Testament, this could only happen with the direct intervention of God or Angels or the manifestation of Gods power through the prophets.
You have to be delivered from the power of darkness or the authority of the devil, in order for this reality to exist in the way it does for us today.
Luke 10:19
“Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”
This is power, this is how it works in Heaven, God has given Jesus this authority and when Jesus speaks in Heaven that which He has said is done instantly. This authority is given to us and manifested today in a watered down version, because of all the sin and lack of faith in us.
I say that it is watered down, because men today do not wield the power of the Lord as they did during antiquity. Elijah and Elisha are examples of the power of God manifest in the physical world by the Holy Spirit far more dramatically then today. This is because men were closer to God in those days, they didn’t have the distractions of TV and the internet and the advent of science to minimize the action of their faith.
This all speaks to the practical application of whether or not we have been translated into the Kingdom of His Dear Son, evidenced in the fact that we have been effectively and practically delivered from evil.
This is not to say that reciting the Lords Prayer in no way causes a disconnect in or communication with God, rather it is to say that by looking at what Jesus said after he spoke these words to the disciples and their actions, not reciting this prayer itself, there is a clear path to understanding the context we should view this prayer in.
When a man would enter the throne room of the King, he speaks praises to the king for the things that king has done, he praises the king for who he is, then he waits to be acknowledged by the king, and makes his petition.
An example is the greeting given to the First King of Egypt “Seti the 1st”, upon entering his Throne room.
“I under the majesty of Seti I . . . His majesty returned with glad heart from his first victorious campaign, when his onset passed over every country, and he took captive the rebellious countries by the puissance of his father, Amon, who decreed to him victorious might. He puts himself before him with glad heart, furnishing protection for his son, assigning to him South, North, West, and East.
They who invade his border are gathered together and delivered into his hand. There is none that thrusts aside his hand, carrying away their chiefs as living captives, with their tribute upon their backs, presenting them to his august father, Amon, and his associate gods, in order to fill their storehouse with male and female slaves, the captivity of every country. Lo, his majesty was at the Southern City (Thebes), performing the pleasing ceremonies of his father, Amon-Re, lord of Thebes
This was an actual traditional greeting of a King when you entered his court, before you even began discussing your business.
The Lords prayer provides guidance to us in the approach we should have when we go before God. Earthly kings were type and shadow of the respect that should be given to God when we approach him. Humility, respectful, praise, honor and then ask for what you want i.e. the Lords Prayer.
Ultimately, the Lords prayer does not apply in that aspects of this prayer have been fulfilled by Christ.
(a) The power of the Holy Spirit in spiritual gifts. (b) Man being translated or going to Heaven, (c) the capacity to resist the Devil on your own, (d) this prayer having no authority in that Jesus’ name was not given at the time Jesus gave this prayer, and (e) moreover it is not used in scripture by anyone.
Consider the fact that all the Apostles in the book of Acts and all that Paul did after Jesus gave His authority and instruction to use His name is the New Model of prayer.
John 16:23-27
23 “And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
25 These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father. 26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:
27 for the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.”
Everyone prayed and did their works of casting out demons, healing the sick, administering salvation, receiving the Holy Spirit, everything was done in Jesus name, sacrosanct to the new model prayer Jesus gave them, nobody recited the Lords prayer, not even once.
With all the slants offered today on the Lords Prayer, including this one by me, we should never forget that God in all His grace, mercy, wisdom, omniscience and understanding of the creature He has created in us, He alone knows best our hearts and how to relate to us.
The Lords prayer in spite of the contradictions by scholars or absolute acceptance by others, in no way creates a disconnect in our communication with God, who knows your heart.
Although the word doxology is not found in the Bible, the themes expressed in doxologies are certainly scriptural. Praising God for His blessings (Ephesians 1:3), ascribing to Him all glory (Romans 11:36; Ephesians 3:21), and affirming the Trinity (Matthew 28:19) have always been integral parts of true Christian worship.
The Lords prayer can do you no harm as you are seeking God when you say it in the first place. That is an absolute good thing, but as a practical matter it is NOT an effective prayer if God is the God of order He says He is and instructs us in scripture. “For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed”. Malachi 3:6
For all these reasons I have shared with respect to the Lords prayer, say it, don’t say it, it is entirely up to you, just understand what is behind the prayer and what you are doing when you do so.