Prayer is an exercise in theology and the language of prayer is the vocabulary of theology. Even so, we must acknowledge that the infinite and perfect God cannot be fully known by finite human language. We must acknowledge the mysterious and apophatic nature of God. Prayer places us in a posture of bowing down while looking up in wonder. The act of prayer is to acknowledge that God is. As we encounter God in the language of prayer and the place of worship, we are compelled to engage the mystery of the Holy One who is wholly other, uncreated, self-existent and omnipresent. As we step into that holy place we are at once terrified and at peace, overwhelmed by the omnipresent One. To “see” God is to fall “like a dead man” (to be slain in the Spirit?!) (Revelation 1:17; cf. Ex. 33:20).
God is “Our Father in Heaven.” God is at once transcendent and immanent. God rules from heaven. This signifies separation from that which is created and that which is uncreated. God is Father – the uncreated God is in relationship with all that is created. Creation reveals God’s power and glory (Romans 1:20). Humanity, male and female, is created in God’s image, but God’s otherness cannot be contained in any created being or object. Therefore, God is not to be imagined according to “any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth” (Exodus 20:4). God’s glory cannot be expressed in any created form – human, beast, or heavenly object; male or female. To do so is to act corruptly and foolishly (Deut. 4:15-19; Romans 1:22-23). Because God is wholly other, God’s ontological essence remains unknown and unrevealed.
The name of God is “hallowed” – sacred, holy, sanctified. The divine name is revealed as Yahweh – I am that I am (Exodus 3:14). God is self-existent, before and beyond space, matter, and time; but at once omnipresent and omnitemporal. The God of Israel is unique – utterly unlike the gods of the Ancient Near East (Ex. 15:11; Ps. 86:8; 89:6; 113:5). Whereas, the gods of ancient Egypt emerged from the primeval swamps of the Nile delta; Yahweh is utterly independent of and separate from all creation. Therefore, the name of God is to be reverenced, not to be used vainly (Exodus 20:7). This speaks to the public use of God’s name. Rulers who use God’s name to act unjustly, or prophets who speak falsely in God’s name, are to be condemned. Those who are in covenant with God are to “keep the way of Yahweh to do righteousness and justice” (Genesis 18:19 LSB).
The holiness of God’s name is demonstrated in God’s acts in hearing the following petitions.
The first petition of the Lord’s prayer – “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” – signifies the holy purpose of God, which is the “restoration of all things” (Acts 3:21); the coming down of heaven upon the earth (Revelation 21:2) so that all creation is illuminated by the glory of God (Rev. 21:23) and all the nations of the earth will be governed by God’s holiness (Rev. 21:24). “Holy, Holy, Holy, is Yahweh of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory” (Is. 6:3 LSB).
The petition for “daily bread” indicates the love of God. In the Garden, God planted the Tree of Life (Gen. 2:9). In the wilderness, God provided manna from heaven (Ex. 16:15). The love of God is expressed in the sending of the Son (John 3:16). Jesus said, “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats from this bread, he will live forever; and the bread which I will give for the life of the world also is My flesh” (Jn. 6:51).
The petition for the forgiveness of debts indicates the mercy of God. In the OT, offenses or injuries were often measured in terms of economic value (cf. Ex. 21:18ff). Jesus suggested that humans are indebted to God, and to each other, for intentional or accidental acts of violence. The Law provided equal justice as a remedy – an eye for an eye. However, some debts are so great they are beyond one’s ability for reparation. This is a petition for reconciliation based on God’s mercy in which all debts are forgiven. The gospel is that the “favorable year of the Lord” has come (Luke 4:16). This is a holy jubilee (Lev. 25:10-12).
The petition for deliverance from evil indicates the goodness of God. Humans suffer evil in terms of oppression and injustice, suffering and death. Israel’s deliverance from Egypt was because of the goodness of the Lord (Ex. 18:9). God’s goodness is a manifestation of God’s grace and compassion (Ex. 33:19). David proclaimed God’s goodness and faithfulness because he was delivered from death and comforted by God’s presence (Ps. 23). This signifies the eschatological hope of the Faith in which God will “wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away” (Rev. 21:4).
