The next verse from the sixth chapter of the Gospel according to Matthew reads:
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
Saint Justin of Ćelije draws attention to the fact that this counsel of the Saviour is directed especially to those who suffer from the passion of man-pleasing. He writes:
“If anyone suffers from this affliction, he will be healed if he withdraws into solitude for prayer until he forms the habit of no longer seeking the praise of men, but of turning entirely towards God.”
Saint Gregory Palamas emphasizes a fundamental point, namely, that prayer is an act which demands the whole person—that is, we must strive in prayer both when we are in the church and when we are not, for only then will our prayer bear spiritual fruit. He writes:
“Prayer offered in solitude, at home, even on one’s bed, stirs us to pray in church; just as inward prayer of the heart incites us to vocal prayer. A man who comes to the temple of God desiring to pray, yet has not struggled in prayer either on the way or at home, will not truly pray even when he stands in the temple.”
This verse, about which we now speak, is cited by many saints as a direct invitation from the Lord Jesus to practice inner prayer—to strive for inner attentiveness throughout the entire day, and not only during the formal moments of prayer. A particularly practical counsel on this matter, highly relevant for us who are constantly occupied with worldly obligations, is offered by Saint Theophan the Recluse. He writes:
“How can one maintain inner attentiveness during a busy daily schedule? Do your work attentively and diligently, steadily and without haste, as the work of God—and your thoughts will remain in Him. Perform every task, great or small, in the presence of God; receive every person you encounter as one sent by God; and in all things inquire concerning the will of God.”
I continue with the next verse:
But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
Saint John Chrysostom explains that by vain repetitions the Lord refers to petitions that seek what is unworthy—such as power, glory, victory over personal enemies, and great material wealth, all of which Chrysostom describes as “utterly useless to us.” He continues:
“I believe that here the Saviour forbids long prayers—not in terms of duration, but in terms of excessive and wordy speech. We must patiently await that for which we pray, as the Apostle says: continuing instant in prayer (Romans 12:12). … The Lord commands that we do not address Him with prayers composed of many verses, but that we reveal our petitions to Him simply.”
Thus, Chrysostom points to what the Psalmist also calls us to: Trust in Him at all times, ye people; pour out your heart before Him: God is a refuge for us (Psalm 62:8).
At that time, as now, people composed prayers of literary beauty intended to impress God—just as such compositions might impress men. Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov comments on this phenomenon:
“The loquacity which the Lord condemned in the prayers of the heathen consists in the numerous requests for temporal goods with which their prayers are filled, and in the pompous manner in which these requests are made. It is as though rhetorical embellishments, material eloquence, and stylistic force might affect God in the same way that they affect the senses and nerves of carnal people. In condemning such loquacity, the Lord by no means condemned long prayers, as some heretics have imagined. He Himself sanctified lengthy prayer, having remained long in communion with God in prayer. And He continued all night in prayer to God (Luke 6:12), testifies the Gospel concerning the Lord.”
This, of course, does not mean that we are forbidden to present our petitions to the Lord in our own words.
Saint Theophan the Recluse offers the following explanation:
“You feel a need, you believe and hope that what you need can be granted only by the Lord. Tell Him, as best you know and are able. There is no need for many or elegant words. Speak as you feel—speak in your own words. The act of offering prayer proves your faith that the Lord is near and is watching you.”
The essential point is simply that spontaneous personal prayer should not become the sole rule, nor should it entirely replace our prayer using the words composed by the Saints, found in the prayer book.
We now continue with verse 8, which reads:
Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him.
This verse is sometimes cited by those who argue that prayer is essentially unnecessary—after all, if God already knows what we need before we ask, why should we pray at all?
Blessed Jerome responds succinctly:
“One must answer briefly that we do not inform God of our needs, but entreat Him for them. For it is one thing to speak to one who does not know, and another to petition one who does. The former is a matter of informing; the latter, of humble submission.”
Likewise, Saint John Chrysostom answers clearly and directly:
“Why is it necessary to pray? Not in order to inform God of our needs, but to entreat Him; through continual prayer to unite ourselves to Him, to humble ourselves before Him, to remember our sins.”
I now read verse 9:
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name.
Saint Isidore of Pelusium notes that the Lord’s Prayer is extraordinary precisely because it is so rich in meaning while remaining brief in form. It is unlike the prayers of the pagans, which the Lord rejected. Though short and composed of simple words, it encompasses everything necessary for our salvation. He writes:
“You are surprised by the brevity of this prayer, but I have always been struck—and continue to be struck—by the sublime wisdom within these brief words. For though it is not difficult to utter these words, the same cannot be said of grasping the power of their meaning. Here, it is necessary not only to be one who hears the words, but also one who fulfils them. For that reason, I hold that it is the height of presumption for someone who does not live in a manner worthy of a son to dare call the Lord his Father.”
As we see, the Saint clearly points out the audacity of those who do not strive to live according to the commandments, yet presume to utter this prayer. For God is Lord to such people—but to the faithful, He is Father.
Saint John Chrysostom draws particular attention to the theological weight of the word Father with which we address God. He writes:
“In fact, the one who calls God ‘Father’ by that very title acknowledges already the forgiveness of sins, the release from punishment, justification, sanctification, and redemption. He also acknowledges his own position as a son, the inheritance, the brotherhood with the Only-Begotten, and the gift of the Spirit. For one who has not received all these things cannot rightly call God his Father. …
When Christ says ‘in heaven,’ He does not thereby limit God to the heavens, but rather lifts the one praying from the earth and sets him in the most exalted heavenly places. Furthermore, by these words, the Lord Jesus teaches us to pray for all people. He does not say ‘My Father, who art in heaven,’ but Our Father, thus commanding us to offer prayers for the whole human race, never seeking our own benefit alone, but always striving also for the good of our neighbour. In doing so, He abolishes enmity, destroys pride, eradicates envy, and establishes love—the mother of all good things.
He abolishes the inequality of earthly status and reveals perfect equality in dignity between kings and beggars, for in the most exalted and essential matters we all share equally. And truly, what harm is there in low birth when we are all united in heavenly kinship, where none possesses more than another? God, who has deemed all worthy to call Him Father, has thereby bestowed equal value upon all.
Further, let no one entertain the foolish thought that by saying ‘Hallowed be Thy name,’ we somehow add holiness to God. These words mean: May Thy name be glorified. The Saviour is teaching us to live in such purity that all may glorify God through us. The mark of perfect wisdom is to exhibit before all a life without reproach, so that everyone who sees such a life may glorify the Lord.”
Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov adds that the very opening of this prayer—and our address to God as Father—speaks of the immense dignity of the gift we have received as human beings, a gift that is too often neglected or even despised. He writes:
“Our Father!”—this grants us the grace-filled right to approach God as our Father, to begin our prayer with an astonishing phrase which no human thought would dare to formulate on its own. The beginning of the Lord’s Prayer is a gift from the Lord Himself—a gift of infinite value, a gift of the Redeemer to the redeemed, of the Saviour to the saved.
The petitions that make up the Lord’s Prayer are prayers for spiritual gifts—those gifts which humanity received through redemption. There is no mention here of bodily or temporal needs. A son may ask from his father all that the father possesses. And we, in the Lord’s Prayer, ask God to grant us nothing less than Himself—as something that cannot be taken away from us. We ask Him to dwell within us and to establish His heavenly kingdom in our hearts.”
We now continue with the next petition from the Lord’s Prayer:
Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Saint John Chrysostom teaches that in this petition, the Lord calls us never to forget where our true homeland lies. Furthermore, He invites us to live in such a way that we transform the earth into a portion of heaven. Listen to Chrysostom’s reflection:
“The Lord first commands us to desire the things to come, and to strive toward our true homeland. Yet while we await its coming, those who dwell here must endeavour to live as befits the citizens of heaven. The Lord says we must desire heaven and heavenly things. Thus, even before we reach heaven, Christ has commanded us to make earth itself a heaven—to conduct ourselves in all things as though we were already there. And to ask the Lord for such grace.
Indeed, nothing prevents us from reaching the perfection of the heavenly powers, despite our earthly dwelling. For even while remaining here, we may act as though we were already in heaven. The meaning of the Saviour’s words is this: just as in heaven all is fulfilled without resistance, and the angels do not submit in some things while resisting in others, but obey fully in all things, so grant us, O Lord, not to fulfil Thy will partially, but in everything as pleases Thee…
Moreover, this prayer teaches us not to become overly attached to this present life, but to disdain what is here and long for what is to come, which is imperishable. It teaches us to seek the Kingdom of Heaven, and not to be enamoured of present pleasures, nor bodily beauty, nor abundant wealth, nor the many forms of earthly property… nor anything else that delights our senses. Rather, it calls us to renounce all of this and to ceaselessly seek the Kingdom of God.”
Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov reflects on a reality we encounter daily—the problems that arise when human wills diverge, oppose one another, or even enter into open conflict. He explains that we must strive to make earth resemble heaven in its obedience to the divine will. He writes:
“Heaven refers to the inhabitants of heaven. They do the will of God with purity, without fault. They do not add their own will to God’s will. They possess no independent will, for their will has been entirely united to the will of God. Earth, in this context, refers to Christians. None of us will err if, while saying this petition, we understand earth to mean our own heart—while not separating the body from the heart.”
Saint Cyprian of Carthage, in his reflection, highlights something we often forget: that Christ Himself is everything for us—He is the Kingdom, He is Paradise, He is our Salvation. Wherever Christ is, there is everything we long for. He writes:
“The Kingdom of God, beloved brethren, may even be understood as Christ Himself. We await His coming each day and pray that He may soon appear to us. Since He is our resurrection—for in Him we rise—we may understand that He is the Kingdom of God, for we shall reign in Christ.”
Blessed Augustine offers a complementary view. He interprets the words Thy Kingdom come to mean not that God does not already rule, but rather that His reign may be revealed. He writes:
“These words do not mean that God is not already reigning… The phrase Thy Kingdom come should be understood as let it be made manifest to humankind. For just as light exists even for the blind or for those who shut their eyes, so the Kingdom of God, though never absent from the world, is hidden from those who remain in ignorance.”
Adapted and rendered for the contemporary reader based on Patristic commentary by Stanoje Stanković.
